My numeric-only pager just bought the farm & I’m tired of the cheap plastic, biodegradable offerings from the local wireless company.
I did a Google search on Abuse Resistant Pagers & came up with more sites relating to the copious consumption of alcohol than I care to read!
Any one out there able to suggest a specific model of pager that can take the abusive pounding that jobsites provide? I’m thinking that a metal case & metal belt clip would be a good platform to build a device around but the “highly trained customer representative” that I spoke to at the local wireless outlet gave me a blank stare similar to deer caught in my headlights when I tried to explain what I’m looking for!
No fancy ring tones or alpha text messaging, no integrated camera, no on-board games or upgradable software and color is not a selection criteria!
Unlike a Suit & Tie, I tend to move around a lot and twist, crawl, get banged by heavy objects and generally take more abuse than the average consumer “toys” were ever designed for.
For those who might wish to suggest a cell phone, I have one of those but prefer to leave it in the vehicle & receive pages only, selecting the time when I wish to converse with someone by returning their page from my phone on my schedule ie; not perched precariously someplace with both hands required to prevent an argument with gravity.
Thanks in advance,
STAINLESS
Replies
Ruggedized pager
SamT
SamT,
Sorry about the delay in thanking you for taking the time.
Just now got around to looking up your link to ruggedized pagers. It appears that most of the sites, (if not all them) refer to the same Motorola product in slightly different configs. ie: an emergency fire pager. I'm hoping that our local wireless supplier will be able to integrate something like these into their system, however I'm not holding my breath!
It does seem l to me that a fire response pager would have the robustness that I'm looking for, though.
Thank-you again for the link.
Regards,
STAINLESS
SamT
Don't know if this will help . . . but I've recently seen a number of people carrying cellphones in some sort of a hard case attached to their belt and has a strong snap-shut magnetic closure that seems to keep its contents secure. Perhaps that can be adapted to your pager.
hast, you may have the final solution if no decent device shows up.
Perhaps I'll have to craft my own something to compensate for the poor ergonomics of what is out there. A hard shell case seems like a good place to start my design.
Thanks,
STAINLESS
I hear you on this one. I also carry a pager but the place where I go says pager users like us are a dying breed. He had the choice of ten carriers five years ago. Now with the proliferation of cell phones there's only two choices. The Motorola pager that I got from him 6 months ago (because my previous one died) hasn't been manufactured in a few years but he gets them from a rebuilder.
I think at some point, we'll have to bite the bullet and just use our cell phones as pagers.
Glad to hear from the other member of our dying tribe, fingers.
As in my previous post to MSA1 you will see that I did try the pager option with the cell, to poor result.
Where I live, my cell phone actually works better in analogue mode than in digital mode due to a quirk in cell tower placements locally. Unfortunately the cell phone defaults to digital mode if it detects even a weak digital signal, even though a strong analogue signal is available. The phone needs to be reset to "analogue only" as my preference each time it is turned on (the default at start up is digital & can't be defeated!) to get anywhere decent reception near home. If I move only 10-15 Km from home base, digital mode becomes the better option.
There is so much to annoy me in life that I will not struggle with the poor reception from an expensive toy when I need to speak to some one!.
The cell phone is just too pretty to follow me around all day, too!
Sincerely,
STAINLESS
I really didnt know they still made pagers.
May I ask why you're still in the 80's? Though I guess I couldnt blame you. I swear some people can see what i'm doing before they call me. You know the drill, board in one hand, drill in the other, mouth full of screws, climb to the top of the ladder.....ring, ring.
A question! Why in the 80's ?, you ask, MSA1.
May have something to do with a borning date some 30 yrs. prior to that!
Also may have something to do with a belief that although "NEW & IMPROVED " MAY be acceptable, there is often nothing wrong with "OLD & RELIABLE"
If a cell phone were to be had that was nothing more (or less) than the exemplary communication tool that I require, and if it had coverage that rivaled that of my pager (I'm in a rural, long distance everywhere area) and if it was available in a STAINLESS STEEL case that took more abuse than I give myself on a daily basis, (yes, I admit it, I'm a self-abuser!) and if it wouldn't cause a charge to both the caller & myself every time I answer it, & if people wouldn't call me when I just can't take time to speak to them that minute ...THEN I wouldn't require both a pager & a cell phone.
Every time I answer the phone at home or on cell & some telemarketer or wrong number has called my number by mistake, & I answer, precious seconds & minutes of my life have been squandered to no gainful purpose. I have taken steps to avoid such theft. To pay for such theft as well is cruel and unjust punishment just because I neglected to think through the clever schemes from the wireless thieving bandits surrounding us!
The pager + cell phone solution I use has been effective for me and aside from the recent failure of the case of the pager, has been very reliable. I miss very few pages & am usually well prepared to speak to my callers when I return their call. This saves both of us time as I scramble to gather my thoughts and any info. that is required. If the scrambling is done on my time only, my caller benefits. (I also work & think better when not rushed.)
My cell-phone, though diminutive, is treated like a Prima Donna. It gets its own seat in my vehicle and only gets turned on when I wish to make a call. I ALMOST NEVER take calls on it and don't give out its number except in the rarest of circumstances. It can function as a pager & indeed I have experimented with it in that mode. Unfortunately the area in which I live provides spotty reception at best for the cell phone compared with the excellent coverage from the pager which is numeric only.
The cell phone (shes a pretty little thing) just isn't up to the task of keeping up with my daily activities. Its cute but high maintenance, and as the saying goes I can't live with it, can't live without it, and can't leave it at the side of the road!.
It is a tool, not a toy for me.
Sincerely,
STAINLESS
My wife has a pager as well as a cell phone. The only people who know her cell phone number are her mother and I.
I understand your frustration - she had to go from a sturdy old Motorola pager to their newer version which isn't nearly as rugged. And there used to be a dozen places to buy them, but now there's one or two. But she still prefers the pager to having to answer a cell phone. With a pager, you don't have to answer it. The callback number is there for you to use when it's convenient (or safe) for you to do so.
I could never figure out why they didn't make the pagers in a different form factor. I had to carry one for a couple of years, and the belt-mounted device was always getting knocked off. But they were too bulky to fit in a shirt pocket, and also not the right shape for a pants pocket.
Seems to me they could make one about the form factor of a pen, so it could be cliped in your shirt pocket or carried in the corner of a pants pocket.