"Telstra Air" emanates from antennae above telephone booths.
Is it directional? What is its frequency? And wattage? Is it on 24/7?
Help!

Why did you post it in aus.tv ? aus.computers added.

On Tue, 09 Aug 2022 10:42:00 +1000, Peter Jason <pj@jostle.com> wrote:

> "Telstra Air" emanates from antennae above telephone booths.

Because that is easy to do, but there are fuck all of them left anymore.

> Is it directional?

Nope.

> What is its frequency?

2.4GB

> And wattage?

> Is it on 24/7?

Yep,

> Help!

You have always been beyond any help.

On Tue, 09 Aug 2022 13:52:57 +1000, "Rod Speed"
<rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote:

>Why did you post it in aus.tv ? aus.computers added.
>
>On Tue, 09 Aug 2022 10:42:00 +1000, Peter Jason <pj@jostle.com> wrote:
>
>> "Telstra Air" emanates from antennae above telephone booths.
>
>Because that is easy to do, but there are fuck all of them left anymore.
>
Too true. There used to be one close to my place, but they removed it
for some reason. I used to get the Internet therewith, albeit slowly,
for FREE! Now I can't because the other hotspots are too far away.
Life is so cruel.

>> Is it directional?
>
>Nope.
>
>> What is its frequency?
>
>2.4GB

If I want to install a dish on the roof pointed at a close-as-possible
hotspot, can I arrange some sort of repeater & amplifier?
>
>> And wattage?
>
>> Is it on 24/7?
>
>Yep,
>
>> Help!
>
>You have always been beyond any help.

Peter Jason <pj@jostle.com> wrote
> Rod Speed <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote

>> Why did you post it in aus.tv ? aus.computers added.

>> Peter Jason <pj@jostle.com> wrote

>>> "Telstra Air" emanates from antennae above telephone booths.

>> Because that is easy to do, but there are fuck all of them left anymore.

> Too true. There used to be one close to my place, but they removed it
> for some reason.

Hardly anyone uses them anymore. I often drive past one
that is still there in a street with lots of blocks of flats that
the dregs of society 'live' in and I have never seen anyone
using one for more than a decade now.

> I used to get the Internet therewith, albeit slowly, for FREE! Now I
> can't because the other hotspots are too far away.

Are you really so poor that you can't affort a $10/month plan
with 8GB of data a month ?

> Life is so cruel.

Its punishment for your sins, you sinner.

>>> Is it directional?

>> Nope.

>>> What is its frequency?

>> 2.4GB

> If I want to install a dish on the roof pointed at a close-as-possible
> hotspot, can I arrange some sort of repeater & amplifier?

No, but a decent aerial like that alone might be enough.

>>> And wattage?

>>> Is it on 24/7?

>> Yep,

>>> Help!

>> You have always been beyond any help.

In aus.computers Peter Jason <pj@jostle.com> wrote:
>
> If I want to install a dish on the roof pointed at a close-as-possible
> hotspot, can I arrange some sort of repeater & amplifier?

WiFi boosters and directional aerials are commonly available. You
could also look up "cantenna" designs for a DIY approach, and
potentially use an old wireless router in place of the repeater
if you run an Ethernet cable to it.

--
__ __
#_ < |\| |< _#

In aus.computers Rod Speed <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote:
> Peter Jason <pj@jostle.com> wrote
>> Rod Speed <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote
>
>>>> "Telstra Air" emanates from antennae above telephone booths.
>
>>> Because that is easy to do, but there are fuck all of them left anymore.
>
>> Too true. There used to be one close to my place, but they removed it
>> for some reason.
>
> Hardly anyone uses them anymore. I often drive past one
> that is still there in a street with lots of blocks of flats that
> the dregs of society 'live' in and I have never seen anyone
> using one for more than a decade now.

I've seen people using them pretty often lately, maybe because
they're free now. They recently moved the one in a nearby town
from the old site outside the former post-office and now it's
getting far more use than I ever saw it get before.

If only they'd install a Telstra Air hotspot on _that_ phone booth
then I'd be able to park nearby and leave a laptop downloading
things while I do my shopping, but no such luck.

In another town I heard from across the road someone talking on one
with such loud and vulgar language that they might have been
reading out one of your posts. The old encosed ones were better in
that way, I saw someone using one of them last week in yet another
town.

--
__ __
#_ < |\| |< _#

/Computer Nerd Kev <not@telling.you.invalid> wrote
> Rod Speed <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote
>> Peter Jason <pj@jostle.com> wrote
>>> Rod Speed <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote

>>>>> "Telstra Air" emanates from antennae above telephone booths.

>>>> Because that is easy to do, but there are fuck all of them left
>>>> anymore.

>>> Too true. There used to be one close to my place, but they removed it
>>> for some reason.

>> Hardly anyone uses them anymore. I often drive past one
>> that is still there in a street with lots of blocks of flats that
>> the dregs of society 'live' in and I have never seen anyone
>> using one for more than a decade now.

> I've seen people using them pretty often lately,

I haven't.

> maybe because they're free now.

Can't see it myself given that for most free mobile calls are dirt cheap.

And now that they are free, I can see Telstra pulling the plug on
most of them now that they get no revenue from them anymore.

Just a trivial number of reverse charge calls now.

> They recently moved the one in a nearby town
> from the old site outside the former post-office

Ours still has a number of them there, with no one using them.

> and now it's getting far more use than I ever saw it get before.

Where are you ? Hard to believe that there are that many desperate povs
there.

> If only they'd install a Telstra Air hotspot on _that_ phone booth
> then I'd be able to park nearby and leave a laptop downloading
> things while I do my shopping, but no such luck.

Are you that desperate a pov yourself ? Figures given you 'live' there I
spose.

> In another town I heard from across the road someone talking onone with
> such loud and vulgar language that they might have been
> reading out one of your posts. The old encosed ones were better in
> that way, I saw someone using one of them last week in yet another
> town.

That only happens in the absolute dregs of the country.

In aus.computers Rod Speed <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote:
> Computer Nerd Kev <not@telling.you.invalid> wrote
>> Rod Speed <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote
>>> Peter Jason <pj@jostle.com> wrote
>>>> Rod Speed <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote
>
>>>>>> "Telstra Air" emanates from antennae above telephone booths.
>
>>>>> Because that is easy to do, but there are fuck all of them left
>>>>> anymore.
>
>>>> Too true. There used to be one close to my place, but they removed it
>>>> for some reason.
>
>>> Hardly anyone uses them anymore. I often drive past one
>>> that is still there in a street with lots of blocks of flats that
>>> the dregs of society 'live' in and I have never seen anyone
>>> using one for more than a decade now.
>
>> I've seen people using them pretty often lately,
>
> I haven't.
>
> > maybe because they're free now.
>
> Can't see it myself given that for most free mobile calls are dirt cheap.
>
> And now that they are free, I can see Telstra pulling the plug on
> most of them now that they get no revenue from them anymore.

Yeah though I'm surprised that they went to the trouble of moving
the old one in the rearby town, which happened after they'd made
them free of charge. They had to cut a (now very visible) track
through the concrete to connect it up. Didn't bother filling in the
hole where the wires came up for the old one though.

> Where are you ? Hard to believe that there are that many desperate povs
> there.

Rural Victoria. The Princes Hwy goes through the town I'm talking
about and I expect most of those phone booth users are passing
through. Hence they didn't use it in the old location which wasn't
near where such travellers usually stop.

>> If only they'd install a Telstra Air hotspot on _that_ phone booth
>> then I'd be able to park nearby and leave a laptop downloading
>> things while I do my shopping, but no such luck.
>
> Are you that desperate a pov yourself ? Figures given you 'live' there I
> spose.

No point wasting money if someone's giving you the service for
free. I used to park near places like McDonald's (whose food I
never touch) in bigger towns and use their free WiFi, but once more
people started using smartphones which tap into WiFi all those free
hotspots got overloaded and too slow/unreliable for downloading
gigabytes of data in the hour or two that I'd be out shopping in
the surrounding area. So I've given up on that now.

T&C web pages where one's "acceptance" times out after so long and
cuts off in-progress downloads also became more common with many
of these free WiFi providers. Probably to stop people who live
nearby using it for their home internet.

>> In another town I heard from across the road someone talking onone with
>> such loud and vulgar language that they might have been
>> reading out one of your posts. The old encosed ones were better in
>> that way, I saw someone using one of them last week in yet another
>> town.
>
> That only happens in the absolute dregs of the country.

Another curious user was at the other booth after it was was moved.
There was an SUV parked right next to it, hazard lights on and
blocking half the road next to an intersection. A woman was at the
phone booth talking on it. After observing this, a little later I
heard a bang which caused me to look back, where I saw the woman
run around the car and jump in the driver's seat frantically, then
she did a U-turn, turned on to the highway, and accelerated away at
full throttle.

The mind boggles.

--
__ __
#_ < |\| |< _#

Computer Nerd Kev <not@telling.you.invalid> wrote
> Rod Speed <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote
>> Computer Nerd Kev <not@telling.you.invalid> wrote
>>> Rod Speed <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote
>>>> Peter Jason <pj@jostle.com> wrote
>>>>> Rod Speed <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote

>>>>>>> "Telstra Air" emanates from antennae above telephone booths.

>>>>>> Because that is easy to do, but there are fuck all of them left
>>>>>> anymore.

>>>>> Too true. There used to be one close to my place, but they removed
>>>>> it for some reason.

>>>> Hardly anyone uses them anymore. I often drive past one
>>>> that is still there in a street with lots of blocks of flats that
>>>> the dregs of society 'live' in and I have never seen anyone
>>>> using one for more than a decade now.

>>> I've seen people using them pretty often lately,

>> I haven't.

>> > maybe because they're free now.

>> Can't see it myself given that for most free mobile calls are dirt
>> cheap.

>> And now that they are free, I can see Telstra pulling the plug on
>> most of them now that they get no revenue from them anymore.

> Yeah though I'm surprised that they went to the trouble of moving
> the old one in the rearby town, which happened after they'd made
> them free of charge. They had to cut a (now very visible) track
> through the concrete to connect it up.

And to power it presumably.

> Didn't bother filling in the hole where the wires came up for the old
> one though.

>> Where are you ? Hard to believe that there are that many desperate povs
>> there.

> Rural Victoria. The Princes Hwy goes through the town I'm talking
> about and I expect most of those phone booth users are passing
> through. Hence they didn't use it in the old location which wasn't
> near where such travellers usually stop.

Hard to see that a car owner wouldn't be able to afford a dirt cheap
used mobile phone and a $10/month unlimited calls and texts plan.

>>> If only they'd install a Telstra Air hotspot on _that_ phone booth
>>> then I'd be able to park nearby and leave a laptop downloading
>>> things while I do my shopping, but no such luck.

>> Are you that desperate a pov yourself ? Figures given you 'live' there
>> I spose.

> No point wasting money if someone's giving you the service for free.

But the free isnt anywhere near as convenient to use.

I can see that some might not have any viable mobile coverage at home
but even then, your own mobile phone is still a lot easier to use than
having to go into your tiny town that likely still has a phone box.

> I used to park near places like McDonald's (whose foodI never touch) in
> bigger towns and use their free WiFi,

Yeah, you do see a lot of the pickers outside our
library and one of our malls has free wifi too.

> but once more
> people started using smartphones which tap into WiFi all those free
> hotspots got overloaded and too slow/unreliable for downloading
> gigabytes of data in the hour or two that I'd be out shopping in
> the surrounding area. So I've given up on that now.

> T&C web pages where one's "acceptance" times out after so long and
> cuts off in-progress downloads also became more common with many
> of these free WiFi providers. Probably to stop people who live
> nearby using it for their home internet.

Dunno what the story is with our library.

>>> In another town I heard from across the road someone talking onone
>>> with such loud and vulgar language that they might have been
>>> reading out one of your posts. The old encosed ones were better in
>>> that way, I saw someone using one of them last week in yet another
>>> town.

>> That only happens in the absolute dregs of the country.

> Another curious user was at the other booth after it was was moved.
> There was an SUV parked right next to it, hazard lights on and
> blocking half the road next to an intersection. A woman was at the
> phone booth talking on it. After observing this, a little later I
> heard a bang which caused me to look back, where I saw the woman
> run around the car and jump in the driver's seat frantically, then
> she did a U-turn, turned on to the highway, and accelerated away at
> full throttle.

> The mind boggles.

Presumably some do use the phone box in an emergency
when they have lost their phone or dont have any credit on it.

On Thu, 11 Aug 2022 09:27:37 +1000, "Rod Speed"
<rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote:

>Computer Nerd Kev <not@telling.you.invalid> wrote
>> Rod Speed <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote
>>> Computer Nerd Kev <not@telling.you.invalid> wrote
>>>> Rod Speed <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote
>>>>> Peter Jason <pj@jostle.com> wrote
>>>>>> Rod Speed <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote
>
>>>>>>>> "Telstra Air" emanates from antennae above telephone booths.
>
>>>>>>> Because that is easy to do, but there are fuck all of them left
>>>>>>> anymore.
>
>>>>>> Too true. There used to be one close to my place, but they removed
>>>>>> it for some reason.
>
>>>>> Hardly anyone uses them anymore. I often drive past one
>>>>> that is still there in a street with lots of blocks of flats that
>>>>> the dregs of society 'live' in and I have never seen anyone
>>>>> using one for more than a decade now.
>
>>>> I've seen people using them pretty often lately,
>
>>> I haven't.
>
>>> > maybe because they're free now.
>
>>> Can't see it myself given that for most free mobile calls are dirt
>>> cheap.
>
>>> And now that they are free, I can see Telstra pulling the plug on
>>> most of them now that they get no revenue from them anymore.
>
>> Yeah though I'm surprised that they went to the trouble of moving
>> the old one in the rearby town, which happened after they'd made
>> them free of charge. They had to cut a (now very visible) track
>> through the concrete to connect it up.
>
>And to power it presumably.
>
>> Didn't bother filling in the hole where the wires came up for the old
>> one though.
>
>>> Where are you ? Hard to believe that there are that many desperate povs
>>> there.
>
>> Rural Victoria. The Princes Hwy goes through the town I'm talking
>> about and I expect most of those phone booth users are passing
>> through. Hence they didn't use it in the old location which wasn't
>> near where such travellers usually stop.
>
>Hard to see that a car owner wouldn't be able to afford a dirt cheap
>used mobile phone and a $10/month unlimited calls and texts plan.
>
>>>> If only they'd install a Telstra Air hotspot on _that_ phone booth
>>>> then I'd be able to park nearby and leave a laptop downloading
>>>> things while I do my shopping, but no such luck.
>
>>> Are you that desperate a pov yourself ? Figures given you 'live' there
>>> I spose.
>
>> No point wasting money if someone's giving you the service for free.
>
>But the free isnt anywhere near as convenient to use.
>
>I can see that some might not have any viable mobile coverage at home
>but even then, your own mobile phone is still a lot easier to use than
>having to go into your tiny town that likely still has a phone box.
>
>> I used to park near places like McDonald's (whose foodI never touch) in
>> bigger towns and use their free WiFi,
>
>Yeah, you do see a lot of the pickers outside our
>library and one of our malls has free wifi too.
>
>> but once more
>> people started using smartphones which tap into WiFi all those free
>> hotspots got overloaded and too slow/unreliable for downloading
>> gigabytes of data in the hour or two that I'd be out shopping in
>> the surrounding area. So I've given up on that now.
>
>> T&C web pages where one's "acceptance" times out after so long and
>> cuts off in-progress downloads also became more common with many
>> of these free WiFi providers. Probably to stop people who live
>> nearby using it for their home internet.
>
>Dunno what the story is with our library.
>
>>>> In another town I heard from across the road someone talking onone
>>>> with such loud and vulgar language that they might have been
>>>> reading out one of your posts. The old encosed ones were better in
>>>> that way, I saw someone using one of them last week in yet another
>>>> town.
>
>>> That only happens in the absolute dregs of the country.
>
>> Another curious user was at the other booth after it was was moved.
>> There was an SUV parked right next to it, hazard lights on and
>> blocking half the road next to an intersection. A woman was at the
>> phone booth talking on it. After observing this, a little later I
>> heard a bang which caused me to look back, where I saw the woman
>> run around the car and jump in the driver's seat frantically, then
>> she did a U-turn, turned on to the highway, and accelerated away at
>> full throttle.
>
>> The mind boggles.
>
>Presumably some do use the phone box in an emergency
>when they have lost their phone or dont have any credit on it.

Yes, here you can dial 000 free from any phone box. I did just that
once when almost tripping over some drunken derro with his head in the
gutter. None of the surrounding onlookers had a mobile; nor did I.

On Thu, 11 Aug 2022 10:46:59 +1000, Peter Jason <pj@jostle.com> wrote:

> On Thu, 11 Aug 2022 09:27:37 +1000, "Rod Speed"
> <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Computer Nerd Kev <not@telling.you.invalid> wrote
>>> Rod Speed <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote
>>>> Computer Nerd Kev <not@telling.you.invalid> wrote
>>>>> Rod Speed <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote
>>>>>> Peter Jason <pj@jostle.com> wrote
>>>>>>> Rod Speed <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote
>>
>>>>>>>>> "Telstra Air" emanates from antennae above telephone booths.
>>
>>>>>>>> Because that is easy to do, but there are fuck all of them left
>>>>>>>> anymore.
>>
>>>>>>> Too true. There used to be one close to my place, but they removed
>>>>>>> it for some reason.
>>
>>>>>> Hardly anyone uses them anymore. I often drive past one
>>>>>> that is still there in a street with lots of blocks of flats that
>>>>>> the dregs of society 'live' in and I have never seen anyone
>>>>>> using one for more than a decade now.
>>
>>>>> I've seen people using them pretty often lately,
>>
>>>> I haven't.
>>
>>>> > maybe because they're free now.
>>
>>>> Can't see it myself given that for most free mobile calls are dirt
>>>> cheap.
>>
>>>> And now that they are free, I can see Telstra pulling the plug on
>>>> most of them now that they get no revenue from them anymore.
>>
>>> Yeah though I'm surprised that they went to the trouble of moving
>>> the old one in the rearby town, which happened after they'd made
>>> them free of charge. They had to cut a (now very visible) track
>>> through the concrete to connect it up.
>>
>> And to power it presumably.
>>
>>> Didn't bother filling in the hole where the wires came up for the old
>>> one though.
>>
>>>> Where are you ? Hard to believe that there are that many desperate
>>>> povs
>>>> there.
>>
>>> Rural Victoria. The Princes Hwy goes through the town I'm talking
>>> about and I expect most of those phone booth users are passing
>>> through. Hence they didn't use it in the old location which wasn't
>>> near where such travellers usually stop.
>>
>> Hard to see that a car owner wouldn't be able to afford a dirt cheap
>> used mobile phone and a $10/month unlimited calls and texts plan.
>>
>>>>> If only they'd install a Telstra Air hotspot on _that_ phone booth
>>>>> then I'd be able to park nearby and leave a laptop downloading
>>>>> things while I do my shopping, but no such luck.
>>
>>>> Are you that desperate a pov yourself ? Figures given you 'live'
>>>> there
>>>> I spose.
>>
>>> No point wasting money if someone's giving you the service for free.
>>
>> But the free isnt anywhere near as convenient to use.
>>
>> I can see that some might not have any viable mobile coverage at home
>> but even then, your own mobile phone is still a lot easier to use than
>> having to go into your tiny town that likely still has a phone box.
>>
>>> I used to park near places like McDonald's (whose foodI never touch)
>>> in
>>> bigger towns and use their free WiFi,
>>
>> Yeah, you do see a lot of the pickers outside our
>> library and one of our malls has free wifi too.
>>
>>> but once more
>>> people started using smartphones which tap into WiFi all those free
>>> hotspots got overloaded and too slow/unreliable for downloading
>>> gigabytes of data in the hour or two that I'd be out shopping in
>>> the surrounding area. So I've given up on that now.
>>
>>> T&C web pages where one's "acceptance" times out after so long and
>>> cuts off in-progress downloads also became more common with many
>>> of these free WiFi providers. Probably to stop people who live
>>> nearby using it for their home internet.
>>
>> Dunno what the story is with our library.
>>
>>>>> In another town I heard from across the road someone talking onone
>>>>> with such loud and vulgar language that they might have been
>>>>> reading out one of your posts. The old encosed ones were better in
>>>>> that way, I saw someone using one of them last week in yet another
>>>>> town.
>>
>>>> That only happens in the absolute dregs of the country.
>>
>>> Another curious user was at the other booth after it was was moved.
>>> There was an SUV parked right next to it, hazard lights on and
>>> blocking half the road next to an intersection. A woman was at the
>>> phone booth talking on it. After observing this, a little later I
>>> heard a bang which caused me to look back, where I saw the woman
>>> run around the car and jump in the driver's seat frantically, then
>>> she did a U-turn, turned on to the highway, and accelerated away at
>>> full throttle.
>>
>>> The mind boggles.
>>
>> Presumably some do use the phone box in an emergency
>> when they have lost their phone or dont have any credit on it.
>
> Yes, here you can dial 000 free from any phone box. I did just that
> once when almost tripping over some drunken derro with his head in the
> gutter. None of the surrounding onlookers had a mobile; nor did I.

We had one unconcioius with blood coming out of one ear making a pool
on the road, right in the middle of one of our higher traffic streets very
early
in the morning, just after sunrise. Me and some others all had phones and
the only public phone is half a km away, before the free calls. After they
got
him to the hospital he refused to have anything to do with the cops but did
recover. Made the local non free newspaper and presumably the local TV
amd radio news.

I always have my phone with me when out of the house, I use it to pay for
everything now except the garage sales and it might come in handy if I
ever fall over and break something. I walk quite a bit on very rough tracks
well out of town and could well end up dead if I couldnt walk after
falling.

On Thu, 11 Aug 2022 14:03:04 +1000, "Rod Speed"
<rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Thu, 11 Aug 2022 10:46:59 +1000, Peter Jason <pj@jostle.com> wrote:
>
>> On Thu, 11 Aug 2022 09:27:37 +1000, "Rod Speed"
>> <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Computer Nerd Kev <not@telling.you.invalid> wrote
>>>> Rod Speed <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote
>>>>> Computer Nerd Kev <not@telling.you.invalid> wrote
>>>>>> Rod Speed <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote
>>>>>>> Peter Jason <pj@jostle.com> wrote
>>>>>>>> Rod Speed <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote
>>>
>>>>>>>>>> "Telstra Air" emanates from antennae above telephone booths.
>>>
>>>>>>>>> Because that is easy to do, but there are fuck all of them left
>>>>>>>>> anymore.
>>>
>>>>>>>> Too true. There used to be one close to my place, but they removed
>>>>>>>> it for some reason.
>>>
>>>>>>> Hardly anyone uses them anymore. I often drive past one
>>>>>>> that is still there in a street with lots of blocks of flats that
>>>>>>> the dregs of society 'live' in and I have never seen anyone
>>>>>>> using one for more than a decade now.
>>>
>>>>>> I've seen people using them pretty often lately,
>>>
>>>>> I haven't.
>>>
>>>>> > maybe because they're free now.
>>>
>>>>> Can't see it myself given that for most free mobile calls are dirt
>>>>> cheap.
>>>
>>>>> And now that they are free, I can see Telstra pulling the plug on
>>>>> most of them now that they get no revenue from them anymore.
>>>
>>>> Yeah though I'm surprised that they went to the trouble of moving
>>>> the old one in the rearby town, which happened after they'd made
>>>> them free of charge. They had to cut a (now very visible) track
>>>> through the concrete to connect it up.
>>>
>>> And to power it presumably.
>>>
>>>> Didn't bother filling in the hole where the wires came up for the old
>>>> one though.
>>>
>>>>> Where are you ? Hard to believe that there are that many desperate
>>>>> povs
>>>>> there.
>>>
>>>> Rural Victoria. The Princes Hwy goes through the town I'm talking
>>>> about and I expect most of those phone booth users are passing
>>>> through. Hence they didn't use it in the old location which wasn't
>>>> near where such travellers usually stop.
>>>
>>> Hard to see that a car owner wouldn't be able to afford a dirt cheap
>>> used mobile phone and a $10/month unlimited calls and texts plan.
>>>
>>>>>> If only they'd install a Telstra Air hotspot on _that_ phone booth
>>>>>> then I'd be able to park nearby and leave a laptop downloading
>>>>>> things while I do my shopping, but no such luck.
>>>
>>>>> Are you that desperate a pov yourself ? Figures given you 'live'
>>>>> there
>>>>> I spose.
>>>
>>>> No point wasting money if someone's giving you the service for free.
>>>
>>> But the free isnt anywhere near as convenient to use.
>>>
>>> I can see that some might not have any viable mobile coverage at home
>>> but even then, your own mobile phone is still a lot easier to use than
>>> having to go into your tiny town that likely still has a phone box.
>>>
>>>> I used to park near places like McDonald's (whose foodI never touch)
>>>> in
>>>> bigger towns and use their free WiFi,
>>>
>>> Yeah, you do see a lot of the pickers outside our
>>> library and one of our malls has free wifi too.
>>>
>>>> but once more
>>>> people started using smartphones which tap into WiFi all those free
>>>> hotspots got overloaded and too slow/unreliable for downloading
>>>> gigabytes of data in the hour or two that I'd be out shopping in
>>>> the surrounding area. So I've given up on that now.
>>>
>>>> T&C web pages where one's "acceptance" times out after so long and
>>>> cuts off in-progress downloads also became more common with many
>>>> of these free WiFi providers. Probably to stop people who live
>>>> nearby using it for their home internet.
>>>
>>> Dunno what the story is with our library.
>>>
>>>>>> In another town I heard from across the road someone talking onone
>>>>>> with such loud and vulgar language that they might have been
>>>>>> reading out one of your posts. The old encosed ones were better in
>>>>>> that way, I saw someone using one of them last week in yet another
>>>>>> town.
>>>
>>>>> That only happens in the absolute dregs of the country.
>>>
>>>> Another curious user was at the other booth after it was was moved.
>>>> There was an SUV parked right next to it, hazard lights on and
>>>> blocking half the road next to an intersection. A woman was at the
>>>> phone booth talking on it. After observing this, a little later I
>>>> heard a bang which caused me to look back, where I saw the woman
>>>> run around the car and jump in the driver's seat frantically, then
>>>> she did a U-turn, turned on to the highway, and accelerated away at
>>>> full throttle.
>>>
>>>> The mind boggles.
>>>
>>> Presumably some do use the phone box in an emergency
>>> when they have lost their phone or dont have any credit on it.
>>
>> Yes, here you can dial 000 free from any phone box. I did just that
>> once when almost tripping over some drunken derro with his head in the
>> gutter. None of the surrounding onlookers had a mobile; nor did I.
>
>We had one unconcioius with blood coming out of one ear making a pool
>on the road, right in the middle of one of our higher traffic streets very
>early
>in the morning, just after sunrise. Me and some others all had phones and
>the only public phone is half a km away, before the free calls. After they
>got
>him to the hospital he refused to have anything to do with the cops but did
>recover. Made the local non free newspaper and presumably the local TV
>amd radio news.
>
>I always have my phone with me when out of the house, I use it to pay for
>everything now except the garage sales and it might come in handy if I
>ever fall over and break something. I walk quite a bit on very rough tracks
>well out of town and could well end up dead if I couldnt walk after
>falling.

Sign of the times I fear. Just like very many bank outlets closing
necessitating a drive into town to deposit after-hours cash/cheques
into an ATM. And why don't telcos issue spare phones? These could be
set up to toggle between one or the other.

Peter Jason <pj@jostle.com> wrote
> Rod Speed <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote
>> Peter Jason <pj@jostle.com> wrote
>>> Rod Speed <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote
>>>> Computer Nerd Kev <not@telling.you.invalid> wrote
>>>>> Rod Speed <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote
>>>>>> Computer Nerd Kev <not@telling.you.invalid> wrote
>>>>>>> Rod Speed <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote
>>>>>>>> Peter Jason <pj@jostle.com> wrote
>>>>>>>>> Rod Speed <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote
>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> "Telstra Air" emanates from antennae above telephone booths.
>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Because that is easy to do, but there are fuck all of them left
>>>>>>>>>> anymore.
>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Too true. There used to be one close to my place, but they
>>>>>>>>> removed
>>>>>>>>> it for some reason.
>>>>
>>>>>>>> Hardly anyone uses them anymore. I often drive past one
>>>>>>>> that is still there in a street with lots of blocks of flats that
>>>>>>>> the dregs of society 'live' in and I have never seen anyone
>>>>>>>> using one for more than a decade now.
>>>>
>>>>>>> I've seen people using them pretty often lately,
>>>>
>>>>>> I haven't.
>>>>
>>>>>> > maybe because they're free now.
>>>>
>>>>>> Can't see it myself given that for most free mobile calls are dirt
>>>>>> cheap.
>>>>
>>>>>> And now that they are free, I can see Telstra pulling the plug on
>>>>>> most of them now that they get no revenue from them anymore.
>>>>
>>>>> Yeah though I'm surprised that they went to the trouble of moving
>>>>> the old one in the rearby town, which happened after they'd made
>>>>> them free of charge. They had to cut a (now very visible) track
>>>>> through the concrete to connect it up.
>>>>
>>>> And to power it presumably.
>>>>
>>>>> Didn't bother filling in the hole where the wires came up for the old
>>>>> one though.
>>>>
>>>>>> Where are you ? Hard to believe that there are that many desperate
>>>>>> povs
>>>>>> there.
>>>>
>>>>> Rural Victoria. The Princes Hwy goes through the town I'm talking
>>>>> about and I expect most of those phone booth users are passing
>>>>> through. Hence they didn't use it in the old location which wasn't
>>>>> near where such travellers usually stop.
>>>>
>>>> Hard to see that a car owner wouldn't be able to afford a dirt cheap
>>>> used mobile phone and a $10/month unlimited calls and texts plan.
>>>>
>>>>>>> If only they'd install a Telstra Air hotspot on _that_ phone booth
>>>>>>> then I'd be able to park nearby and leave a laptop downloading
>>>>>>> things while I do my shopping, but no such luck.
>>>>
>>>>>> Are you that desperate a pov yourself ? Figures given you 'live'
>>>>>> there
>>>>>> I spose.
>>>>
>>>>> No point wasting money if someone's giving you the service for free.
>>>>
>>>> But the free isnt anywhere near as convenient to use.
>>>>
>>>> I can see that some might not have any viable mobile coverage at home
>>>> but even then, your own mobile phone is still a lot easier to use than
>>>> having to go into your tiny town that likely still has a phone box.
>>>>
>>>>> I used to park near places like McDonald's (whose foodI never touch)
>>>>> in
>>>>> bigger towns and use their free WiFi,
>>>>
>>>> Yeah, you do see a lot of the pickers outside our
>>>> library and one of our malls has free wifi too.
>>>>
>>>>> but once more
>>>>> people started using smartphones which tap into WiFi all those free
>>>>> hotspots got overloaded and too slow/unreliable for downloading
>>>>> gigabytes of data in the hour or two that I'd be out shopping in
>>>>> the surrounding area. So I've given up on that now.
>>>>
>>>>> T&C web pages where one's "acceptance" times out after so long and
>>>>> cuts off in-progress downloads also became more common with many
>>>>> of these free WiFi providers. Probably to stop people who live
>>>>> nearby using it for their home internet.
>>>>
>>>> Dunno what the story is with our library.
>>>>
>>>>>>> In another town I heard from across the road someone talking onone
>>>>>>> with such loud and vulgar language that they might have been
>>>>>>> reading out one of your posts. The old encosed ones were better in
>>>>>>> that way, I saw someone using one of them last week in yet another
>>>>>>> town.
>>>>
>>>>>> That only happens in the absolute dregs of the country.
>>>>
>>>>> Another curious user was at the other booth after it was was moved.
>>>>> There was an SUV parked right next to it, hazard lights on and
>>>>> blocking half the road next to an intersection. A woman was at the
>>>>> phone booth talking on it. After observing this, a little later I
>>>>> heard a bang which caused me to look back, where I saw the woman
>>>>> run around the car and jump in the driver's seat frantically, then
>>>>> she did a U-turn, turned on to the highway, and accelerated away at
>>>>> full throttle.
>>>>
>>>>> The mind boggles.
>>>>
>>>> Presumably some do use the phone box in an emergency
>>>> when they have lost their phone or dont have any credit on it.
>>>
>>> Yes, here you can dial 000 free from any phone box. I did just that
>>> once when almost tripping over some drunken derro with his head in the
>>> gutter. None of the surrounding onlookers had a mobile; nor did I.
>>
>> We had one unconcioius with blood coming out of one ear making a pool
>> on the road, right in the middle of one of our higher traffic streets
>> very
>> early
>> in the morning, just after sunrise. Me and some others all had phones
>> and
>> the only public phone is half a km away, before the free calls. After
>> they
>> got
>> him to the hospital he refused to have anything to do with the cops but
>> did
>> recover. Made the local non free newspaper and presumably the local TV
>> amd radio news.
>>
>> I always have my phone with me when out of the house, I use it to pay
>> for
>> everything now except the garage sales and it might come in handy if I
>> ever fall over and break something. I walk quite a bit on very rough
>> tracks
>> well out of town and could well end up dead if I couldnt walk after
>> falling.

> Sign of the times I fear.

Yep, with no revenue, payphone won't be around for much longer
now that everyone and their dog and their kids have a mobile.

> Just like very many bank outlets closing
> necessitating a drive into town to deposit after-hours cash/cheques
> into an ATM.

You never have to do that when you have enough of a clue
to accept payment by card and take a photo of the cheque
instead of physically taking/sending it anywhere,

> And why don't telcos issue spare phones?

Because anyone with even half a clue keeps the previous
phone to use as a spare if they lose the main one.

> These could be set up to toggle between one or the other.

You can do that by moving the esim, stupid.