Onboard GSM repeater

At those prices it should be, but really I have no idea There must be an approval framework for this class of products, since they are used in tunnels, for example.

arj1 wrote:

this one appears to be legal, right?

I don’t know if it is according to EU or national rules, but I do know that in Sweden you need approval both from your network operator and the telecom authority,

What is bothering me a little is the cost… Having Golze ADL is not much more expensive than dual-band repeater, but you get much better coverage.

The repeater won’t work in a plane, because signal level is not the issue.

NicR wrote:

What Golze plan are you getting for 25 EUR/mo? Looking at their services page https://www.ing-golze.de/service.jsp the monthly plan is 39.50 EUR/mo.

Long time ago the devices used to be more expensive and the subscription was a bit cheaper. To be fair I kept those prices for existing customers as long as they keep their contract not to make them pay twice. But those old plans also do not include the free download volume the new plans do.

arj1 wrote:

What is bothering me a little is the cost… Having Golze ADL is not much more expensive than dual-band repeater, but you get much better coverage.

Satellite is never free but if cost is an issue please inquire about pre owned devices to be used with trip kits. Options start at 190 Euro for an overhauled ADL120.

One of the great things about flying is I don’t get bothered by my mobile phone……… such a device would just create a problem I don’t have.

One also can get full 3G/4G internet access (on any phone that I’ve had) when flying at typical European VFR levels, say a few k or below. Not enough for voice calls but I reckon > 50% of the time.

I have played with a few of these, in the context of a 3G/4G backup on a router, for loss of ADSL.

They work pretty well. The main drawback is that you need to maintain a contract SIM card in them, although there are some deals for specialist data-only SIM cards down to £3/month (not sure if these are available to the public, and probably non-roaming).

Whether you get better connectivity than with a phone in the cockpit, I have no idea. You might, because these devices are potentially more powerful. A phone is 23-24dbm. This box is more

but only on GPRS/EDGE and these are often useless, because while GPRS is fine for messaging and short emails, web server to web client connections tend to just break due to the slow speeds and latencies. In reality, IME, GPRS achieves about 20kbps, in Europe.

You could try it…