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Mobile phone for breakdowns

 
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Mgoetz



Joined: 06 Jun 1997
Posts: 53

PostPosted: Thu Jul 13, 2017 11:34 am    Post subject: Mobile phone for breakdowns Reply with quote

Last year my boom broke while I was sailing about a mile offshore and in between the time I was able to jury rig my, uh, rig, and sail back in, my wife got pretty worried and called the coast guard. I wanted to call and let her know about my situation so she didn't panic but had no source of communication. Anybody out there carry a cell phone on the water and if so, do you have one that's waterproof or is it a non water proof phone in a water proof pouch? I don't want to carry my iphone because they get wet so easily and was thinking like a bare-bones, prepaid phone that didn't have ongoing fees. Perhaps this question is best posed to a Verizon/ATT rep though was curious if any other windsurfers had found a cost efficient solution.
Thanks.
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B737



Joined: 27 Mar 2009
Posts: 216
Location: Jersey Shore

PostPosted: Thu Jul 13, 2017 11:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Half the time i am on the water, i am on call for work. its a buzz kill, but sailing with my phone allows me to get out on the water while being paid, rather than kicking the can at home on standby.

I used to swap my sim card from my iphone into a 'disposable' trac phone then strap that to the mast in a water proof bag. over the years this has devolved to just putting my iphone into a drypak or aquapak dry bag. Then i strap that to my arm, or sail with my vest and stow it the front pocket. An extra layer of protection is putting the phone inside a ziplock bag, then inside the dry bag.

the dry bags work. what worries me is aquapak and drypak used to make quality bags, but they have been pushed out of the market by really cheap knockoff garbage. and when i replace my current 'name brand' bag, im worried about what i'll have to use next. lots of horror stories in most of their reviews.

tethering your phone is the next hurdle. velcroing the case to your arm can be risky should the loops or strap break. If you tether it to the mast it bangs around way too much. i dont like sailing with a vest but physically tethering the bag by paracord to the vest, and securing it in the pocket of the vest has been the safest course.

this is my life lol its a pain in the ass! Smile

further thoughts ive had on this topic.... was to find a cheap 'waterproof' phone, like the older flip, or brick style, then adding it to your account as its own line. now your iphone stays safe in your car. However, i have hard time justifying $120 a year and a separate phone number just for sailing while i am on call... on the other hand it is cheap insurance to keep your iphone and its data safe.

I would love to hear input from others regarding their solutions. I have had to search kite forums and surf forums a lot to get ideas for this.

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Lavallette & Seaside NJ
Fanatic Falcon Light Wind 159l 230cm
Starboard Atom IQ 104l 239cm
Fanatic Freewave 95l 240cm


Last edited by B737 on Thu Jul 13, 2017 6:42 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Alena



Joined: 04 Jul 2000
Posts: 43

PostPosted: Thu Jul 13, 2017 6:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I am in the same unpleasant situation.
So I have a Lifeproof case that the I phone lives in all the time and is waterproof.
When sailing I place it in a waterproof pouch in my case "Drypak" was very cheap and is completely waterproof.
Just to warn you the covers trigger the proximity sensor in the I phone and it turns the screen off as soon as you make the call so you can not put in extensions if needed.
A way around it is to use the speaker mode but that is some times a problem.
Same thing happens with all cell smart phones and I spent a lot of fruitless time on this.
Alena
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joethewindsufa



Joined: 10 Oct 2010
Posts: 1190
Location: Montréal

PostPosted: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

i use a drypak - for keys and/or phone
have replied to on-call, but take phone out of bag ...
works fine for me
.
http://cdn3.volusion.com/9j7vu.jw4f2/v/vspfiles/photos/DryPak-WPCP46-2.jpg?1383564285
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Mgoetz



Joined: 06 Jun 1997
Posts: 53

PostPosted: Fri Jul 14, 2017 9:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good to hear that there's still such enthusiasm for the sport that a method has been found to sail while on call. Thanks for the suggestions. I anticipate pulling the phone from the case when having to make a distress call and just being extra careful to keep it dry enough to transmit at least one call. I may also invest in a a carbon boom that is not susceptible to hidden corrosion.
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lturkevich



Joined: 11 May 2000
Posts: 68

PostPosted: Fri Jul 14, 2017 1:36 pm    Post subject: Dry Case Reply with quote

I've been happy with the Dry Case. It keeps my iPhone dry which I use now for GPS tracking (my Foretrex died this year). Comes with a rubber bulb so you can suction out the excess air after sealing using the nozzle on the lower right (see picture below). Comes with headphone jack if you want to make calls, too.

I use the armband in subplaning conditions, and stick it in the front pocket of my NeilPryde PFD when the wind picks up.

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Mgoetz



Joined: 06 Jun 1997
Posts: 53

PostPosted: Fri Jul 14, 2017 1:45 pm    Post subject: Re: Dry Case Reply with quote

[quote="lturkevich"]I've been happy with the Dry Case. It keeps my iPhone dry which I use now for GPS tracking (my Foretrex died this year). Comes with a rubber bulb so you can suction out the excess air after sealing using the nozzle on the lower right (see picture below). Comes with headphone jack if you want to make calls, too.

Pretty cool, thanks for that.
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boardsurfr



Joined: 23 Aug 2001
Posts: 1266

PostPosted: Fri Jul 14, 2017 1:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Always double-bag! Every waterproof bag will leak, the only difference is how long it takes. I have had Dry Case bags that started to leak relative quickly. Had one replaced on warranty, the second one also leaked after a few sessions.

Even bags that typically last dozens or even hundreds of sessions can develop a leak in unfortunate crashes. A 2-cent ziplock bag on the inside may just save your $500 phone.
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brianboonstra



Joined: 17 Aug 2009
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Sat Jul 15, 2017 10:40 am    Post subject: Mesh backpack, marine radio and flip phone Reply with quote

I don't use a smartphone because they are very hard to use with wet fingers. If there's any kind of surf you will have trouble getting and keeping your fingers dry to use a touchscreen (though voice commands likely work).

I ended up putting a flip phone in one of these mesh backpacks, and including a marine radio with EPIRB since I take long rides significantly offshore in Lake Michigan.

[img]https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/3157593a-b6fd-4b4d-927e-9dfe89a79660_1.8620dc4a8025c6fb3a095b1e81fc927a.jpeg?odnHeight=450&odnWidth=450&odnBg=FFFFFF[/img]
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B737



Joined: 27 Mar 2009
Posts: 216
Location: Jersey Shore

PostPosted: Sat Jul 15, 2017 10:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

which flip phone did you use?
with all this input regarding the failure of the dry bag at some point now im leaning towards adding a line and using a disposable phone. then only giving that phone number to work. during the 4 month off season just suspend the service.

i saw this phone claims to be water proof to to 16 feet for 30 seconds. would prob hold up ok in drypak

"Kyocera Dura XV+"

_________________
Lavallette & Seaside NJ
Fanatic Falcon Light Wind 159l 230cm
Starboard Atom IQ 104l 239cm
Fanatic Freewave 95l 240cm
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