Wilderness Communications

[Rondeaunian]

Hello All, this is a first post, so apologies in advance if this is posted elsewhere, but my searching did not find the answer I was looking for.

I have a freind who is getting on in age, and whose health is declining. They still want to spend solo time at their off -grid primative hunting camp in the bush of NW Ontario, about 40 miles from cell service. They have emergency gas generator for electricity, and propane via small pig tanks, but otherwise its park and walk/ATV to the truck, nearest drivable road.

This is not a rich person , so choice of technology matters (ie $3K for a sat. phone is not going to happen) They don't need alot of portability in a unit, they can leave an attena or dish set up at the camp (it has a 20' x 20 cabin on it), but for security reasons they woudl likely want to unplug and take the device home for safekeeping.

This person (who is a female by the way) really just needs this as a "safety blanket" for emergencies, not to chat w/ folks, etc.

What are my choices? Thanks in advance, I can see from the other posts people know thier onions on this site.

[tsitenha]

In case of emergency in that area of the woods possibly an ERB (emergency radio beacon?) would be in order, to use in an emergency only no communication.
Ham radio could be an option but may get pricey and a liscense is in order?
CB are too hit and miss to rely on.

BTW an intro is usually good

[crashdive123]

+1 on what Tsitenha said. Emergency locator or a Spot Satellite Messenger http://www.findmespot.com/en/ (make sure coverage is available for where she will be using it) A hand held ham radio may be good, but range on a hand held may be limited.

[crashdive123]

As far as satellite phones go - they are still a little spendy, but some models are in the $500 to $600 range. If you Google "used satellite phones for sale" you get quite a few affordable options. I don't know what the various services cost, but I would think that limited use and emergencies wouldn't be too much.

[DOGMAN]

how long does she stay out? Sat phones can be rented very cheap...even for up to a month at a time, and if you dont use them (no emergency)- they're even cheaper

[Alaskan Survivalist]

You might consider the possibilty that she may not want to communicate. Leaving the world behind and creating your own is why many live that far out.

[AdventureDoc]

I agree with the above post that Spot Messengers is a great thing to investigate. http://www.findmespot.com/en/ Inexpensive and reliable, they allow for one to be able to hike around the area of base camp and still be in contact. They have a "way point feature" that allows you to actually track progress while the person is hiking around, via the internet. Plus, the carrier can have it set up so that it will send a signal at the start of the hike and then another at return safely back to camp. This allows a great deal of freedom for the carrier but still peace of mind for those back home.
Note: I have no affiliation with Spot and get no money from this endorsement...unfortunately

[Rondeaunian]

thanks all, these are good tips. A.S, this request is hers, not mine. She is making a hard decesion to either not go anymore from fear, or find a solution. This is a
place she loves but is getting afraid of, if that makes any sense.
I am just a working stiff from the Midwest (Michigan) who met her while doing a circle tour of the Great Lakes this spring on my MC.