Electronics

[ValuSkr]

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@terriebear wrote:

@Zhills

Yes, Your phone will work in a hurricane because they operate off of satellites way, way up in the sky, all over the nation.  That is the way that they work.    It is the way all wireless phones work.

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I thought that only satellite phones worked that way.  Most (non-satellite) phones use the antennae, receivers, and other electronics that are on cell phone towers.  If a tower lost power or was blown over, cell phone reception would be affected.

[Zhills]

@chrystaltree  I agree.  It is quite unusual for that to happen.  Irma was far from normal.  Hope she was "unique" and there's never another one like her!

[dooBdoo]

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2blonde wrote:

Tracfone uses a lot of different carriers, so whether or not you have service depends mostly on what carrier they have set up for your phone, and if those towers are still functioning.  When I transfered over to Tracfone recently (my old T-Mobile "dumb" phone had died), the CS rep asked me which carrier I wanted.......depending on the quality of service for my area.  She suggested Verizon or AT&T, and I wasn't really sure, so I picked Verizon because I knew it was popular around here.

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              Everyone's cell phones do use various carriers, no matter which one is the primary carrier we've signed up for.    For example. even though I'm an AT&T customer my service is from Sprint at the moment (I can view the service when I use the Speedtest app from Ookla to check the connection speed -- http://www.speedtest.net/mobile/).

[dooBdoo]

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ValuSkr wrote:

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terriebear wrote:

@Zhills

Yes, Your phone will work in a hurricane because they operate off of satellites way, way up in the sky, all over the nation.  That is the way that they work.    It is the way all wireless phones work.

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I thought that only satellite phones worked that way.  Most (non-satellite) phones use the antennae, receivers, and other electronics that are on cell phone towers.  If a tower lost power or was blown over, cell phone reception would be affected.

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That's correct, @ValuSkr.   GMTA!

[dooBdoo]

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Zhills wrote:

We lost power about 12:20 a.m. and IRMA was directly over us.  We were in the "coma" they talked about.

After we lost power, I turned on my Tracfone LG Treasure and we watched the storm go over us and clear the area on a live feed out of Tampa.  

It certainly was a comforting feeling to have that available.  Hurrah for Tracfone!

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            I'm glad you're safe, @Zhills!❤️   Cell phones are wonderful during storms as long as the cell towers are available -- sometimes they aren't, and the phone itself is still "working" as long as it's charged but it won't be able to get a signal.  

[stevieb]

As others have said, they won't always work. I recall two weather events in my area that blew out the cell service for most, if not all, providers for a short time. It seems to depend on so many things.

[stevieb]

I know people who only have their cells and have dumped their land lines... To be sure, land lines that rely on electricity are a pain, but you can get a battery back-up. I couldn't do with just a cell because the reception in my area isn't good. I live right outside a major metropolitan area and you'd think the cell service would be exemplary, but it really isn't always reliable.

[dooBdoo]

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Zhills wrote:

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I am still oxox wrote:

Hmm I have never heard of the coma of a hurricane do you perhaps mean cone?

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As IRMA moved up the state and weakened, the bottom and left side of the eye just disappeared.  It looked like a coma.

Once the red cleared our area it was calm enough that we went to bed.  It took it a couple of hours that were scary between midnight and 2 am.  Weird, I know.

I was in this picture.  Right above the A in LAKELAND.  See how the left side was gone and the right side dips down.

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            @Zhills,  do you mean the "comma" shape?   I've never heard of this, but I can see how someone might describe it as looking like a comma.   Terrifying.

[Zhills]

" @Zhills,  do you mean the "comma" shape?   I've never heard of this, but I can see how someone might describe it as looking like a comma.   Terrifying."

I have never heard of it either.  Yes it was terrifying! The rain was raining as hard as it is possible to rain and the wind was blowing it against the house.  Thankfully, it only lasted (the worse... the red in the picture) 2 - 2 1/2 hours.  The rain and wind gusts lasted much longer.  It was moving 30 mph by the time it got to us.  At one time it was going 6 mph.

[Moonchilde]

Cell phones have definitely failed during earthquakes because towers became inoperable. They don't withstand everything.