What To Do When You Don’t Have Your Phone [Archive]

Chance

07-26-2015, 02:14 PM

Interesting story from Dallas Morning News (http://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/headlines/20150724-dallas-girl-thinks-fast-gets-intruder-some-facetime-with-police.ece). A 12-year-old girl was home by herself, when an intruder broke into the house. She had left her phone in the kitchen to charge, which is where the thief made entry. Not being able to call for help, she hid in her room and used her to tablet to FaceTime a friend, whose father called the cops. Happy ending.

I was thinking about something similar just the other day. I often leave my phone in one room (usually, the living room), while I’m off doing something in another. Unfortunately, to get to both the living room, and the alarm panel, you have to pass the front door. So, while bunkering down is easy, I could potentially find myself without the means to call for help from a safe-ish area in the event of a home invasion.

I’m curious if anyone here has thought about this, and came up with solutions. While it’s easy to say, “Just carry your phone”, grabbing my cell every time I get up to use the restroom, or grab a drink of water, is kind of a pain. I would love to hear what y’all've come up with.

Totem Polar

07-26-2015, 02:33 PM

Test reply, for forum tracking.

But so long as I'm at it, the simple solution is a cheap prepaid on a charger in your safe room--the only purpose of which is as a backup (in any situation that would call for a backup; losing the primary or dunking the smart phone in the biffy is probably a lot more likely than home invasion, but either way...).

Just one idea. Two is one, and all that. Another idea is a land line; hey, why not? People still tote Ruger Vaqueros in rural areas on occasion, too... :D

Default.mp3

07-26-2015, 03:05 PM

But so long as I'm at it, the simple solution is a cheap prepaid on a charger in your safe room--the only purpose of which is as a backup (in any situation that would call for a backup; losing the primary or dunking the smart phone in the biffy is probably a lot more likely than home invasion, but either way...).
You don't need a prepaid, any cellphone that can turn on can call 911, regardless of whether or not it has a service plan attached to it, as long as it has a signal. Preferably a newer phone, as they will have better location indicators.

Luke

07-26-2015, 03:13 PM

I usually keep my phone on me. But I do have guns on either side of the house.

Chance

07-26-2015, 04:13 PM

You don't need a prepaid, any cellphone that can turn on can call 911, regardless of whether or not it has a service plan attached to it, as long as it has a signal.

That's basically what I was thinking, but I was a tad concerned about the phone holding a charge. I was considering just keeping it plugged in long-term, but I don't know if keeping a battery powered device plugged in for what would likely be years at a time is a good idea.

The phones I have seem to lose a charge after about three weeks of lying around, even when they're off. I thought about removing the battery, and see how long the charge would last then.

Drang

07-26-2015, 05:26 PM

Is mine the last household with a landline?

BehindBlueI's

07-26-2015, 05:41 PM

Is mine the last household with a landline?

Yes. Yes you are. Do you pay your bill via carrier pigeon?

Anyway, options include:

Alarm key fobs. (You do have a monitored alarm, don't you?)
Old cell phones
A landline, if you are Amish
Nosy neighbors

Drang

07-26-2015, 05:45 PM

Yes. Yes you are. Do you pay your bill via carrier pigeon?
Pony Express. The cats kept eating the pigeons...

Wondering Beard

07-26-2015, 06:02 PM

Is mine the last household with a landline?

Nope, and I've got a phone for every important room.

Wendell

07-26-2015, 06:03 PM

http://www.frontpointsecurity.com/~/media/frontpoint/images/illustrations/ill_wearble.png?h=150&la=en&w=180 (http://www.frontpointsecurity.com/equipment-overview/controls/panic-pendant)

LSP972

07-26-2015, 06:19 PM

I was considering just keeping it plugged in long-term, but I don't know if keeping a battery powered device plugged in for what would likely be years at a time is a good idea.

Its generally not, depending upon the battery chemistry. Most cell phones use lipo (lithium-polymer) batteries these days, and leaving one of those plugged in is definitely asking for a fire.

The way to do it would be to find a phone that has a NiMH (nickle-metal-hydride) or a Nicad (nickle-cadmium) battery, and hook it up to a trickle charger at C10 rate (one tenth of the "standard" charge rate, which depends upon the milliamp-hour capacity of that specific battery). Two problems with this… finding a usable phone with such a battery, and setting the C10 rate of the charger. The second problem shouldn't be too difficult; you can find trickle chargers that "pulse" the energy input. You plug it in between the phone and the charger, and it causes the charger to send the charging energy into the battery at timed intervals instead of a steady rate. I have left these two types of batteries, in my R/C model airplanes, on trickle charge for over a year with no damage to the battery or its capacity.

Finding a phone with these batteries… well, that will be the trick.

AFAIK, you cannot do this with the newer lipo and li-on (lithium-ion) batteries. The latter are particularly dangerous in that they are quite intolerant of over-charging or -discharging. Remember some years back when folks were having their cell phones blow up in their face? That was li-on batteries.

The lipos are relatively safe, IF you pay attention to their status. They do not do well when discharged below 20% of rated capacity, nor left fully charged over a long period. They will "keep" fully charged, but every time you do you diminish the capacity somewhat, and its a logarithmatic progression; i.e., gets worse.

ANY of these batteries will fry if kept hooked up to a full rate charger once they are "full". The lithium batteries are a real fire/explosion hazard if handled this way; the nicads and NiMH batteries will just die.

You bring up a very valid concern, one that never occurred to me- probably because I have stash guns in strategic locations and plan on handling business myself; calling the cops to clean up the mess afterward, etc.

If I were going to emplace a "stash phone", what I would do is buy a Go Phone and set up a maintenance schedule on my roster of "Shit to Do on a Regular Basis"; IOW, plug the charger in for 24 hours every two weeks or so.

If you have any e-geek friends, setting up a phone with a nicad or NiMH battery and trickle charger would be an interesting and challenging project… and you'd have a "set and forget" system.

.

Malamute

07-26-2015, 08:12 PM

Is mine the last household with a landline?

I have both. Cell is pretty flaky where I live, I can usually only talk if I'm on the porch, and still lose calls and people say I'm breaking up all the time if I turn slightly. Land line is the only reliable communications right here.

I leave an old cell and car charger in my vehicle in case I forget my phone when leaving home. If I need it it will work fairly quickly while plugged in.

Chance

07-26-2015, 08:20 PM

Alarm key fobs. (You do have a monitored alarm, don't you?)

We do, and I keep it armed 24/7 for this exact reason, but my SO isn't quite as fastidious about arming it sometimes. I hadn't thought about the fob, though. My SO keeps one on her key chain, so I know the system works with one. I'll call the company to see if we can get another.

Its generally not, depending upon the battery chemistry.

Good info, thanks.

UNK

07-27-2015, 09:06 AM

I like the prepaid idea. You get a brand new phone and battery. Tracphone, as far as I know will triple your Minutes data and call time when you buy a smart phone. Additionally you get lifetime activation with a smart phone. Buy once and you are set. And it gives u a backup phone as mentioned earlier.

ffhounddog

07-27-2015, 09:47 AM

I have a landline because I want to be able to make sure I can get calls. My wife's famous iPhone gets bad reception where my little Nokia Windows phone gets good reception and we are on the same carrier.

EricM

07-27-2015, 11:22 AM

Panasonic has a range of cordless home phones that also work via Bluetooth as handsets for cell phones, the feature is called Link2Cell. So you can have multiple handsets on charging bases throughout the house that can both answer calls and dial out on either your landline or linked cell phone. I believe some models can be used without a landline. Not ideal for emergency scenarios but it has solved the problem of my wife (who does not believe in pockets) frantically trying to get to her phone when it rings from wherever she happened to have left it.

To power a spare phone in an emergency situation, what about a AA-powered USB charger? Charging the phone every few weeks seems to be the best solution, but a charger powered by Energizer Lithium AA's could be a decent backup plan. Assuming your phone can power on from the charger even if its own battery is dead, that is...I've seen some that want to be charged to a minimum level before they'll power up, would need to test it out.

That idea made we wonder whether there might be some phone out there actually powered by AA's...a quick search turned up the SpareOne Emergency Phone (http://www.spareone.com/). That looks perfect. $50, powered by a single AA, designed for long term storage (15 year shelf life with included L91), one touch 911, built in flashlight, can take a GSM SIM.

Chance

07-27-2015, 11:47 AM

That idea made we wonder whether there might be some phone out there actually powered by AA's...a quick search turned up the SpareOne Emergency Phone (http://www.spareone.com/). That looks perfect. $50, powered by a single AA, designed for long term storage (15 year shelf life with included L91), one touch 911, built in flashlight, can take a GSM SIM.

This thingy is interesting. Reviews on Amazon are saying the emergency button dials the European 911, which is apparently 112. Not like just dialing the numbers 9-1-1 is that big of a deal.

On a side note: how can you test calling emergency services without actually calling emergency services? Just calling 911 and saying, "Oh, I was just seeing if my phone works" seems like it would make them angry.

BehindBlueI's

07-27-2015, 11:50 AM

On a side note: how can you test calling emergency services without actually calling emergency services? Just calling 911 and saying, "Oh, I was just seeing if my phone works" seems like it would make them angry.

You probably can't. In a small jurisdiction, you might call the non-emergency line and ask if you can do so. Simply testing it would be illegal in some places and annoying in all.

Any cell phone that will function will call 911. It doesn't matter if it has service, if it ever had service, if it was a prepaid that was never activated, etc. It will call 911.

EricM

07-27-2015, 12:09 PM

This thingy is interesting. Reviews on Amazon are saying the emergency button dials the European 911, which is apparently 112. Not like just dialing the numbers 9-1-1 is that big of a deal.

Wonder if the people with the 112 issue were possibly sent the version of the phone for the European GSM frequencies? The manual available online says the emergency button is programmable, whereas two of the reviews say it is not...maybe they didn't read the manual, or maybe that function doesn't work as it's supposed to. The review mentioning the 2G GSM issue is more concerning, I'd want to look into that before picking one up. Also one of the reviews mentioned that the phone talks to you, I'd like to understand under what circumstances it does so as that could obviously be less than ideal in certain types of emergencies.

Paul

07-27-2015, 12:20 PM

I paid a kid at a t-mobile store $20 years ago and got a bagful of old cell phones and chargers. I have phones and chargers stashed in every room, including bathrooms. After reading this I went and plugged them in and they all still power up, most pop up an "emergency call only" message. Not the most elegant solution and has plenty of flaws, but it's better than nothing.

That Guy

07-27-2015, 12:45 PM

If I were going to emplace a "stash phone", what I would do is buy a Go Phone and set up a maintenance schedule on my roster of "Shit to Do on a Regular Basis"; IOW, plug the charger in for 24 hours every two weeks or so.

If you have any e-geek friends, setting up a phone with a nicad or NiMH battery and trickle charger would be an interesting and challenging project… and you'd have a "set and forget" system.

What about using a regular charger and one of those cheap 24-hour timers? Set it up so that the phone only charges, say, 15 minutes per 24 hours.

JV_

07-27-2015, 12:50 PM

Is mine the last household with a landline?

I have one. I think traditional phones are important (for access and reliability) to have around while I have young kids.

TGS

07-27-2015, 04:17 PM

Sort of related in a general sense, but a buddy of mine is into ham radio.

Gone are the days of big radios. He has some for long range use in catastrophes, but day-to-day he carries around a radio about the size of a glucometer. Using VOIP or some sort of computer based linking of repeaters, he can talk to anyone in the world.

Something to consider for backup communications, maybe if looking for such outside the home.

ubervic

07-27-2015, 05:18 PM

If one is concerned about having communication at all times, then one may simply carry one's mobile phone at all times...rather than rely on alternate communication means/methods.

Do not allow yourself to become trapped within an "analysis paralysis" dynamic. The simplest solution is often the best one.

LSP972

07-27-2015, 07:23 PM

What about using a regular charger and one of those cheap 24-hour timers? Set it up so that the phone only charges, say, 15 minutes per 24 hours.

That would definitely be worth examining… see what the battery state is after, say, a week of that.

.

LSP972

07-27-2015, 07:30 PM

Do not allow yourself to become trapped within an "analysis paralysis" dynamic. The simplest solution is often the best one.

And, perhaps, a less-than-palatable one. How about a shoulder rig to carry the phone while you're puttering about the house in your skivvies???

Wait; I've got it… put it on a lanyard next to your neck knife.

Sorry for the snark; but c'mon, man. The OP is voicing a legitimate concern. How many folks do you know- "switched on" or otherwise- who carry their cell phone around with them at home? Excepting a female teen-ager, of course…

.

LOKNLOD

07-27-2015, 08:02 PM

Sorry for the snark; but c'mon, man. The OP is voicing a legitimate concern. How many folks do you know- "switched on" or otherwise- who carry their cell phone around with them at home? Excepting a female teen-ager, of course…

I can't claim to be overly "switched on", but if I'm upright, I'm clothed, and if I'm clothed, I have pockets.

Totem Polar

07-27-2015, 08:58 PM

I don't know about you guys, but when I finally get home for the night, the last thing I want to see is more texts or calls. I always have some sort of defensive tool on me, but I'll admit that the phone gets dumped with the car keys.

LSP972

07-27-2015, 09:13 PM

I don't know about you guys, but when I finally get home for the night, the last thing I want to see is more texts or calls.

Bingo.

.

BehindBlueI's

07-27-2015, 10:21 PM

If one is concerned about having communication at all times, then one may simply carry one's mobile phone at all times...rather than rely on alternate communication means/methods.

Unless you have a really long charging cable, this might not always be feasible.

Malamute

07-27-2015, 10:55 PM

... how can you test calling emergency services without actually calling emergency services? Just calling 911 and saying, "Oh, I was just seeing if my phone works" seems like it would make them angry.

You probably can't. In a small jurisdiction, you might call the non-emergency line and ask if you can do so. Simply testing it would be illegal in some places and annoying in all.

^ ^ This works in slow, quiet places. They want you to call the non-emergency line and ask if they are busy and can you can do a 911 check call.

I paid a kid at a t-mobile store $20 years ago and got a bagful of old cell phones and chargers. I have phones and chargers stashed in every room, including bathrooms. After reading this I went and plugged them in and they all still power up, most pop up an "emergency call only" message. Not the most elegant solution and has plenty of flaws, but it's better than nothing.

That works, or ask friends for old phones. I havent bought one in several years, most people buy the latest greatest, I just want a basic functioning phone. Many people are happy to give you their 1 or 2 year old phones. Some can get downright insistent when they see you with an antique phone.

Chance

07-28-2015, 08:18 AM

He has some for long range use in catastrophes, but day-to-day he carries around a radio about the size of a glucometer. Using VOIP or some sort of computer based linking of repeaters, he can talk to anyone in the world.

Does that variety of radio have a name, and are there protocols you need to be aware of/certified in? Can you dial regular phone numbers with it?

Is mine the last household with a landline?

Honestly, one of the reasons I'm hesitant to get a land line is telemarketing.

What about using a regular charger and one of those cheap 24-hour timers? Set it up so that the phone only charges, say, 15 minutes per 24 hours.

This is an interesting idea. I have some 24-hour timers lying around, so this is worth a try.

I can't claim to be overly "switched on", but if I'm upright, I'm clothed, and if I'm clothed, I have pockets.

Even if I'm dressed in something appropriate for public, I have a lot of athletic wear that doesn't have pockets. My SO's uniform around the house is an over-sized t-shirt and undies.

I don't know about you guys, but when I finally get home for the night, the last thing I want to see is more texts or calls.

This is exactly what my SO does. Once she gets home, she wants nothing to do with her phone.

LOKNLOD

07-28-2015, 11:08 AM

Even if I'm dressed in something appropriate for public, I have a lot of athletic wear that doesn't have pockets. My SO's uniform around the house is an over-sized t-shirt and undies.

I don't even wear pocketless athletic stuff at the gym. Heck I even made a point to find swim trunks with pockets. I probably sound like a d*ck but I can't fathom being out and about like that. If you see me out of the house in shorts, it means my house caught fire while I was sleeping or I'm currently being abducted. :p

Malamute

07-28-2015, 11:41 AM

Honestly, one of the reasons I'm hesitant to get a land line is telemarketing...

Once on the do not call list, I get about 2 or 3 calls a year from the state university or some such thing doing surveys. I've actually done them once or twice, they werent that annoying. That sort of thing isnt restricted by the call list, but if I dont want to deal with them they have always been polite. Caller ID is also nice. And unidentified caller block.

Cell phones now can get spam calls and texts. I get a spam text now and then.

TGS

07-28-2015, 12:08 PM

I get way more annoying telemarketing calls on my cellphone from the Second Amendment Foundation....single-handedly....than we ever got with a landline.

And yes, I've asked them to put me on the do not call list. Multiple times.

Does that variety of radio have a name, and are there protocols you need to be aware of/certified in? Can you dial regular phone numbers with it?

I don't know about phone numbers. The basic radio operator license costs about $10, IIRC.

Drang

07-28-2015, 07:18 PM

Does that variety of radio have a name, and are there protocols you need to be aware of/certified in? Can you dial regular phone numbers with it?
Amateur Radio. You must be licensed. License is $15 (unless the FCC changed it again...) plus a possible fee for training and testing. There are various fancy methods, technologies, and protocols, including some which let you make a phone call. These are falling out of use, ironically, due to the rise of cell phones.

Honestly, one of the reasons I'm hesitant to get a land line is telemarketing.
Between the do-not-call registry and caller ID, telemarketing is a minor nuisance. (Our Caller ID is provided by the satellite provider, number and ID are displayed on TV screen. I spend a lot of time "watching" the satellite radio channels, so this is OK.)

Bigguy

07-29-2015, 10:13 AM

On call 16/7, so being without isn't an option. I can promise the cell beats the heck out of the old pagers.
I've got personalized ring tones for every group, so I know who's calling without looking. Each paper and the cell numbers of the people who are likely to call me from those papers have their own ringtone. The wife and each of the kids have their own ring tone. Other social groups have ringtones assigned. If I don't recognize the number, goes to voice mail. I haven't found many telemarketers who leave voice mail, so it's just not a problem.
I take comfort in knowing that if people need to reach me, they can. But I control the door. The phone is with me 24/7. I charge it at night on the nightstand. Otherwise, it's in a pocket. The only time I'm without it is when I hit the head in the middle of the night. The bathroom is right across the hall and I'm also with out my EDC. (Also on the night stand) If I ever decide to take the EDC with me on these trips, I can't see how grabbing the phone at the same time would be much more trouble.

StraitR

08-05-2015, 10:23 PM

"Smart" phones these days are exactly that, smart. They don't care about a charging schedule, a little here, a little there, doesn't matter with todays battery tech like it once did. I charge my phone anytime it approaches 50% power, and I generally charge it at work or in the car to and from. Been an iPhone user forever, so I can't swear about others, but iPhones have "Do Not Disturb" mode for those that don't want to be bothered, which can be set for whatever times you like. Or, even easier, simply turn the ringer and vibration off.

My phone has been attached to me due to work for so long that it's rarely out of my sight as it is. Making sure it's on the nightstand when I finally tuck in is no more intrusive than that of the pistol and surefire it sits next to. I get the "what if I get up up at night and walk away from my phone?" part, and admittedly I do that a lot, but I take the pistol/light without fail. At first, my wife used to roll her eyes, but after reading more and more about home invasions these days, she'll now call me out if I get up and take a few steps without it when I'm just heading over to turn on the ceiling fan or crack the blinds.

Having your phone with you is perfect if you're in a good spot to bunker down and defend, but if caught on the wrong side of the house at midnight when someone kicks in my front/back door, I'd much rather be holding the pistol than my phone. That, and any noise in or around my house or alert from the dogs and I'm up and challenging, as my three year old daughter is on the other side of our typical single story FL home with the master on one side and all the spares on the other. That said, I can see her hallway from my spot in the bed and nobody can beat me there if they force entry through any door.

Malamute

08-05-2015, 11:50 PM

StraitR

08-06-2015, 08:36 AM

Your daughter being on the opposite side of the house made me think of the cameras with the hand held monitors. I think I'd like a camera showing the middle room and hallway to her room and the monitor on the table by your bed. It can be unplugged and taken with you if you go exploring. It could also monitor outside cameras.

Some run them from their phones, but if you can, others may be able to also. They may have figured out a secure way to do that though.

Thanks Malamute. We have such a system, called "Wifi Baby", and it feeds via streams to any computer, and an app on our IOS devices (two iPads and both of our iPhones). We leave an iPad streaming all night on our nightstand. The video quality is excellent, the audio is good, but can reverb a bit at times. As a side note, I wouldn't recommend it for newborns, as it has on occasion, stopped streaming.

There is a newer version out now, which may have addressed some of the above. That said, we used a dedicated baby monitor/camera up until she was two.

Screen capture of the one pointed at her bed, shortly after we got it. It's much clearer in it's native form than it appears on this screenshot.

3716

Drang

08-07-2015, 05:09 PM

StraitR

08-07-2015, 06:16 PM

Getting 'way off track, lots of good info here: Battery Information Table of Contents, Basic to Advanced (http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/)
Newer battery technology has made old concerns about batteries developing a memory passe.

Which was precisely my point, but thank you for digging up some supporting technical info though.

dbateman

08-08-2015, 05:50 AM

I have thought of the whole what to do if I can't call for help.
Mainly because quite often I am out of cell range.

Other than HF and UHF radios in my vehicles I haven't come up with a lot.

In regards to when I am at home I have three land line phones in the house, one is fixed the other two are cordless. They are in areas I spend most of my time.
I also have a cell, it's never too far, I kind of figure if I have a big enough problem at home one of the neighbours will be phoning in anyway.

Malamute

08-08-2015, 12:33 PM

I have thought of the whole what to do if I can't call for help.
Mainly because quite often I am out of cell range.

I dont recall if it was mentioned already, but some areas, different companies use different towers, so coverage isnt the same with all carriers. One companies phones may work in places others dont. When making a 911 call, even if you dont have a signal through your provider, the phone will kick over to searching for any signal it can find. Moral being, even if your phone shows no service, it may work on a 911 call on another carriers tower.