Carrying a cell phone while diving

[Glock Diver]

Guys, guys, guys...
Of course you won't have a good cellphone signal UNDER water. (or very rarely) I'm talking about carrying it for use on the SURFACE. Even if you could dial it underwater... how would you talk???

For those who said you won't have reception at sea-- you'd be surprised. I've been surprised that of all the dive charters I've been on in the last 2 years, only once can I remember NOT having signal back onboard. Granted, our boat was usually only 2-8 miles out, but even on a phone without GPS technology, your location can be approximated with triangulation.

 

[Glock Diver]

or a ? There are versions suited for deep immersion.

Anyplace where you can get lost (and it is "not your fault") while diving - they don't have cell phone service there, anyway. Darwin in action.

We see these threads once every 45 days.

Thanks for the tip, RoatanMan. I actually did a search for threads about carrying a cell phone while diving, (keywords "cell phone diving"), and no threads were found.

If you did get service... What are you going to do with a cell phone, anyway? If it has GPS, that might be something you could tell the person on the other end- otherwise, what was it that you were going to chat about? Program the boat captain's number in before you back-roll.

To answer the second second part-- if I surfaced and couldn't find the boat, my first call would be to the charter who had brought me out there. They're much more likely to be closest, know my approximate location, etc.

But if I had cellphone service, and couldn't reach the captain, a call to 911 would be routed to the Coast Guard and my side of the conversation would be something like: "I was on a dive with XYZ Charters, I surfaced 20 minutes ago and the boat is gone. We were diving Molasses Reef, off Key Largo. Send help" Now, currents may have moved me off that dive site, but it would give a search party a very specific place to begin looking.

 

[El Orans]

If you ask me, if you have reception, a cellphone should be part of your regular dive kit.

Quite right.

 

[Hoomi]

Tree leaves disrupt the signal. Can we start a pool. I bet you lose signal within the first 6 inches under water.

R..

That's pretty much what I expect. GPS signals run in the 1.5 Ghz range, and as I recall, the best option for transmitting through water is actually very low frequencies (I'd have to ask some of my co-workers that used to be submarine jockeys about that).

Really; I don't even have to dive to check that one out. All I need is the clear waterproof case and an outdoor swimming pool. A kids' wading pool might even be deep enough to test it.

About the biggest reason I could see for carrying a GPS receiver while diving is if it's a boat dive and you do end up lost on the surface. With a GPS, you could get a fix on your actual location, and then zoom out enough to see where you are in relation to the nearest land, or, if you happen to know where you were supposed to meet the boat, in relation to those coordinates.

It did surprise on our dive trip two weeks ago just how far we could travel underwater without realizing the distance.

 

[bleeb]

That's pretty much what I expect. GPS signals run in the 1.5 Ghz range, and as I recall, the best option for transmitting through water is actually very low frequencies (I'd have to ask some of my co-workers that used to be submarine jockeys about that).

Really; I don't even have to dive to check that one out. All I need is the clear waterproof case and an outdoor swimming pool. A kids' wading pool might even be deep enough to test it.

Or a large bucket.

If testing on land, might be interesting to try both salt and fresh water.

 

[Hoomi]

As another aside, as far as 9-1-1 service goes here in the United States (and perhaps elsewhere), a cell phone does not have to be actively subscribed to any carrier service to reach 9-1-1. Ergo, if you have a nice cell phone that you don't want to risk ruining while diving, you can buy an old cell phone from a thrift store, usually for a couple of bucks, and so long as the battery is in decent shape, it will work to call for emergency services if it is range of any cellular carrier.

Cellphone 911 calls

 

[emoreira]

Guys, guys, guys...
Of course you won't have a good cellphone signal UNDER water. (or very rarely) I'm talking about carrying it for use on the SURFACE.

I've been thinking how to improve navigation underwater, or, specifically, how to use a GPS underwater, well underwater, 10 to 40 mts.
I was thinking in a device with a reel and a buoy.
The buoy should have the GPS antena and the required electronics. The cable to the GPS underwater will carry the signal to the display.
As a first thought, the device could be huge in size, but a lot of engineering is required to make it small enough to fit in a diver BC or arm.

 

[jridg]

Signaling devices that are specific to the boat you are on can get you picked up quickly, but the advertising of PLB's and EPIRB's in terms of how soon help is going to arrive if it is your own device registered to you personally is incredibly misleading.

Instead of a cellphone, a handheld marine radio that can transmit on the frequency being monitored by the radio on board (as well as every other vessel in the area) seems a bit more practical even if the range is very limited given the fact you are in the water.

A handheld marine radio is an interesting idea - but unless the boat has a direction finder, all it will do is let them know you are OK - also, I don't know how small they make these things.

Hey guys - let's keep to the original intent - emergency communication.

The OP was NOT talking about making a call from underwater.

For an emergency, a SPOT, PLB, or, if you are close enough to shore, a cell in a waterproof case will do the trick.

 

[charlesml3]

I should say that my dive team wasn't involved in the accident. We responded to something happening in another group after their dive spun out of control and created this situation.

The main point being, that having a cellphone on site saved us precious minutes. As I said before, if you have reception, you should have it with you.

R..

Diver0001, I don't think this is the scenario the OP is describing. You had a cell phone on the boat. I don't think that's terribly unusual. I don't think I've ever been on a dive boat that didn't have a cell phone and/or a VHF radio. Any of those could have been used to call for a rescue.

The OP is talking about actually carrying a cell phone on the dive itself.

Personally, I'm not that wild about the idea. If you're diving in a location where currents and weather can change rapidly and get you swept away you should be looking at a "real" solution such as a waterproof EPIRB. I dove the Palau Aggressor a year or so ago and each buddy team had one attached to their BC.

-Charles

 

[Laustimus]

I've never carried mine (party because I don't have a waterproof phone like the Casio G'zOne from Verizon), but it's something I'm thinking about. A Verizon rep told me this device is water-resistant to 6'.

If you only dive in the US this is fine but unless you have a Verizon Globe Phone (and they are less then impressive phones) then you are hosed with this phone.

Just something to note.