Why I love Pageplus....

Larry <[email protected]> wrote:

>
>That $942 let's me buy a Cricket unlimited AIRCARD for my mobile router
>and netbook for 12 x $40 = $480/year. $942-$480 STILL saves me $462/year
>with FULL INTERNET SERVICE to whatever I want to plug the Cricket aircard
>into....not some stupid hobbled up little smartphone that doesn't play
>Livestation TV or any other streaming media I want, when and where I want
>it. Cricket aircard has NO additional charges and NO contract nonsense.
>The A600 USB aircard was free.
>
>$462 is STILL pretty serious money even AFTER the internet toys have
>mobile service all over town....(c;]
>
>It just makes better sense.....


Good idea above Larry..... exactly what I intend to
do...... you use CardlePoint mobile router yes?

---

› See More: Why I love Pageplus....

Larry <[email protected]> wrote:

>That $942 let's me buy a Cricket unlimited AIRCARD for my mobile router

Just found out no Cricket service for me here

I will have to use Virgin Mobile Unlimited broadband
service I guess

On 10/8/2010 9:44 AM, [email protected] wrote:
> Larry<[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> That $942 let's me buy a Cricket unlimited AIRCARD for my mobile router
>
> Just found out no Cricket service for me here
>
> I will have to use Virgin Mobile Unlimited broadband
> service I guess

That's a great deal if you have good native Sprint coverage in your area.

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected]
says...


> But, unlike you, I took the time to explain, in detail, how this person
> could get hooked to PP, telling them not to try a Sprint phone, and, in
> detail, what to expect as a PP customer.....unlike your usual terse, and
> sometimes quite acid, little 10 liners.

OK, that's fair.


>
> Notice all the other posters who went to great detail about THEIR pageplus
> service.....(crickets chirping)....

Well, see, here's the point. I said nothing about PagePlus because I've
never used them, and know nothing about them.

Now, I'm not saying you contribute nothing. I'm saying that when you
post about stuff that you are not familiar with, it's generally
speculation, and completely inaccurate. That's obnoxious, and when you
post completely inaccurate stuff, I'm *going to call you on it.*



--
Steve Sobol, Apple Valley, California, USA
[email protected]

On Fri, 08 Oct 2010 01:37:06 -0400, Larry <[email protected]> wrote:

> tlvp <[email protected]> wrote in
> news[email protected]:
>
>> Alltel in CT may be a stretch ... but I'll see ... Thx 4 the tips.
>> Anyway, if I do find a likely candidate handset, how to confirm w/
>> Page Plus that it will work through their plan(s) without first
>> dropping the $10 for a starter without yet knowing for sure?
>
> Pull battery and record mile-long MEID on paper so you can give it to
> them.
>
> Turn the phone on and let it log onto its native CDMA carrier, then:
>
> Call (800) 550-2436 from any DIFFERENT phone so it can be programmed over
> the air.

Cute mnemonic -- 2436 = AGEN(t) :-) .

> Tell the nice lady you have a CDMA phone and want to buy Pageplus service
> if the phone works on PP.
>
> She will ask for your ECN (MEID) and you carefully read it to her.

"ECN" ... Is that also referred to as "ESN"? The Sprint PCS dual that I'll
probably be unable to use has an 11-digit "ESN"; a Verizon-branded LG I have
(that I can't use 'cuz it has neither charger nor battery :-{ ) uses a
14-character (alphanumeric) "MEID".

> She enters the MEID so the system can find the phone you're NOT using to
> call her. The system finds the phone, she presses a few buttons after
> you give her all your information to setup a new account and the phone
> goes into reload (or she tells you to dial #22890/#22891 on some phones).
> The current system loads PP data into the phone without reprogramming the
> current firmware and she tells you when it's ready for use....in about 2
> minutes, usually.
>
> You call out on your new PP phone to verify it works (just dial PP
> support at #737, not 611. If you dial 611, you get Verizon Wireless,
> useless.

Another cute mnemonic -- 737 = PDQ :-) .

> While you have her online, having verified the phone on its new PP number
> works fine, tell her you'd like to port your old number over to that new

Heh ... in my case there's no old number to port. They'll just *assign*
a new number? in my current area?

> phone/account from whatever it's on, now. She ports the number and that
> might take some time to grind through the system. You call your old
> number to verify when it rings the PP phone a couple hours later......
>
> Your calls go from $70/month to 4c/min with NO FUNNY BUSINESS. Every
> month, you notice this charge on your PP online account webpage:
>
> 0 0 02:37 AM EST Sep. 25, 2010 82.83 82.33 Audits
> (Daily Access Fee, Quick Access)
>
> which I copied right off mine just now.,,,,,, The princely sum of 50
> cents deducted from your prepaid balance, which NEVER goes away IF you
> simply buy a minimum of $10/100 mins every 4 months, but can just enter a
> bigger amount's PIN number from callingmart.com at 7% current discount,
> if you like. $80 card for $74.40 = 2000 minutes of service = 3.72c/min
> actual cost, but you'll notice all calls are charged at 4c/min ($80 card
> rate you only paid $74.40 for from Callingmart.com account.) It takes me
> forever to use up $80 on Pageplus....which is wonderful!
>
> If you screw up and don't let the call complete, it shows up like this:
> 0 08:45 AM EST Sep. 30, 2010 81.41 81.41 Abbreviated
> Dialing
> (I deleted the number I dialed, of course, which also shows up on the
> call log.) Notice I was NOT charged.
>
> A regular call out has the number plus this:
> 6 12:57 PM EST Sep. 29, 2010 81.65 81.41 Successful
> O/G calls
> (all on one line)
>
> When someone calls you, you get their caller ID number plus this:
> 7 04:58 PM EST Sep. 26, 2010 82.29 82.01 Successful
> I/C calls
>
> If someone calls you and you do not answer, you get the caller ID plus:
> 0 01:40 PM EST Sep. 23, 2010 83.75 83.75 Calling
> Party Abandon
> Again....NO CHARGES, NO FUNNY BUSINESS, no matter how long they let it
> ring. I do not have voicemail active, so I don't have to pay to call it
> and listen to messages. If they want me, they'll call back soon. I'm
> retired!
>
> When you call an 800 number, you see the 800 number plus this:
> 11 03:48 PM EST Aug. 26, 2010 89.63 89.19 Successful
> O/G calls
> You are charged for airtime on 800 numbers, same as any other number
> except calling PP on #737 to put in a new pin or #CCARE to talk to the
> nice ladies in Ohio. Those calls are free, as expected.
>
> Again...NO SURPRISES, NO FUNNY BUSINESS, NO CHARGES NOONE CAN
> IDENTIFY.... (c;]
>
>
>
> After overcharging up my account because there was a 10% Callingmart
> special at Christmas 2009, Here's my total phone replenishment ($20) for
> 2010. It's almost like stealing service!
>
> REPLENISH DATE AMOUNT ADDED ENDING BALANCE
> Oct. 07, 2010 $10 $89.65
>
> Jun. 11, 2010 $10 $127.49
>
>
> iPhone my ass....(c;]
>
> With the $70 + $18 monthly "fees and charges" X 12 months = $1056 (for
> Verizon with smartphone data) minus ($127.49 - 89.65) = 37.84 from June
> to Oct phone service X 3 periods = $113.52/YEAR for PP phone
> service....so $1056 - 113.52 = $942.48 SAVED!
>
> That $942 let's me buy a Cricket unlimited AIRCARD for my mobile router
> and netbook for 12 x $40 = $480/year. $942-$480 STILL saves me $462/year
> with FULL INTERNET SERVICE to whatever I want to plug the Cricket aircard
> into....not some stupid hobbled up little smartphone that doesn't play
> Livestation TV or any other streaming media I want, when and where I want
> it. Cricket aircard has NO additional charges and NO contract nonsense.
> The A600 USB aircard was free.

Whose cellular data network services is Cricket reselling, if I may ask?
And is that GSM/GPRS/EDGE/UMTA/HSPA data or CDMA/WCDMA data?

> $462 is STILL pretty serious money even AFTER the internet toys have
> mobile service all over town....(c;]
>
> It just makes better sense.....

Thanks, Larry, many many thanks; astonishingly complete detail in an era
when most folks leave more than half what needs saying unsaid :-) .
With luck there'll be no more I need to ask, but if not, I'll know
where to turn.

Cheers, -- tlvp
--
Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP

On Fri, 08 Oct 2010 02:52:07 -0400, Steve Sobol <[email protected]> wrote:

> In article <[email protected]>, [email protected]
> says...
>>
>> tlvp <[email protected]> wrote in
>> news[email protected]:
>>
>> > BTW: the digital Sprint PCS service is 1900 MHz; the analog is 800 MHz.
>> >
>>
>> I don't think that will work. Most Verizon is on the old 850 Mhz band in
>> CDMA, no analog left. So, I don't recommend getting any Sprint phones
>> because lots of them are only the PCS bands that I've seen, to save
>> sprint money and prevent churning, of course.
>
>
> Larry, as usual, every time you open your mouth about Sprint, you expose
> your ignorance.

Steve, don't harpoon Larry here, harpoon me, but be aware ...

> Sprint has never has anything besides 1900 MHz digital coverage on their
> network. By the time they got into the game, most if not all of the
> 800/850 MHz spectrum was licensed by other carriers.

.... you're just confirming what I described: a Sprint PCS cellular handset,
with a "dual" logo on the faceplate, described as capable of using the
1.9 GHz Sprint PCS CDMA network as well as roaming on other carriers' 800
MHz analog networks. What "ignorance" can Larry expose when *I* write that?

> I don't even think the old (and tiny) Sprint Spectrum GSM network had
> analog coverage or 850 MHz coverage.

No one claimed any analog or 850 MHz coverage for Sprint, nor GSM.
But the handset I described has analog 800 MHz roaming capability.
So quit bullying Larry for claims neither he nor I made, OK? Thanks.

And remember: the handset I was describing is Sprint's old TouchPoint
TP2200, vintage A.D. 2000, a 10-year-old dual-mode/dual-band antique.

Cheers, -- tlvp
--
Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP

On Fri, 08 Oct 2010 08:06:34 -0400, Todd Allcock <[email protected]> wrote:

>
> I recently found (and subsequently tossed) the analog adapter module for
> my ancient Voicestream (now T-Mobile) Nokia 5190. It snapped on in-
> between the phone and battery and allowed the 1900 GSM-only phone to roam
> on 800 analog.

Unbelievable! My very first US-bought cellular handset -- and third cellular
handset at all -- was exactly a Voicestream Nokia 5190. First handset was a
Moto TimePort P7389, a 3-band unit, bought unlocked and unsubsidized in Belgium
for use, back home, on OmniPoint, or so I thought -- except that OmniPoint
wouldn't sell me a SIM on the grounds that it was an "unsupported" handset.

So why a third handset? And what was the second? And wha'hopp'm to the first?

The day Voicestream (VS) took over from OmniPoint, VS was overjoyed to sell
me a SIM for that P7389. A year later, returning from Europe with a second
P7389, I tried to get VS to sell me a SIM for that as well, but they refused,
indicating that I'd be better off to start my new line of service with a free
Nokia 5190 with free SIM, and just swap the free SIM into the new P7389.

-- Couldn't they just send along the SIM and keep the 5190?
-- Yes, they could, but they'd have to charge me for it, while
including it for free with the free handset it'd be free.

Why should I argue?

So much for how I happen to *have* a Nokia 5190.

Now, my regret -- that you actually *tossed* that Nokia analog adapter module :-{ .
I'd never been able to get my hands on one through VS, but had always wanted to.
By the time VS became T-Mobile (T-Mo), though, they were no longer on offer.
Of course, by today there may no longer be an T-Mo roaming agreements active
with any analog carriers in the rural hinterlands where analog still survives.
But still, to have such an adapter and just *toss* it ... I'd have taken it :-) .
(Sigh!)

Cheers, -- tlvp
--
Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP

On Fri, 08 Oct 2010 01:18:00 -0400, Todd Allcock <[email protected]> wrote:

> At 07 Oct 2010 18:46:23 -0400 tlvp wrote:
>>Question: Old Sprint PCS Touchpoint TP-2200 "dual" handset
>> (options for analog only, Sprint PCS only, or auto-switch),
>> not currently in service, but still raising a Sprint signal --
>>
>> any hope to enlist the services of Page Plus for that handset?
>>
>> How to find out, for sure, *before* dropping the first Page Plus
>> service fee payment?
>
>
> Page Plus includes a few free minutes with new activations for testing
> the service.

Aha! Thanks for that tid-bit, Todd, one of the few (self-evident?) items
that Larry omitted.

> Sprint handsets tend to be problematic, however, because they can't be
> programmed OTA by Page Plus (Verizon,) not can they download a verizon PRL,
> usually, which might force the phone to roam where it shouldn't. Unless
> you can program it manually via the keypad, you're probably SOL.

What with your remarks, on the one hand, and the frequency disparity
(1900 for the TP-2200, vs. 800/850 for the VZW CDMA network), on the other,
I guess I should swap that TP-2200 for an equivalent-or-better VZW handset first.

Cheers, -- tlvp
--
Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP

SMS <[email protected]> wrote:

>> I will have to use Virgin Mobile Unlimited broadband
>> service I guess
>
>That's a great deal if you have good native Sprint coverage in your area.

yes I do....... so will give it a go I guess

On 10/8/10 12:12 PM, Larry wrote:
> SMS<[email protected]> wrote in news:4caf246a$0$1582
> [email protected]:
>
>> I remember seeing those, but you're the first person I ever knew to have
>> one!
>>
>
> Some guys on this newsgroup are real old.....(c;]


Larry was on the other end of the line when Alexander Graham Bell made
that first call... :>)


--
Republicans are the Party of No:
No Leaders / No Ideas / No Morals

Secular Humouresque <[email protected]> wrote in news:8h9rd1F3spU1
@mid.individual.net:

> Larry was on the other end of the line when Alexander Graham Bell made
> that first call... :>)
>
>

"Can you hear me, now?!"

In article <[email protected]>, Todd Allcock
<[email protected]> wrote:

> Sorry! By the time VS became T-Mo, all of the analog roaming agreements
> were long dead. I suppose I could've used it for ARM (The "American Roaming
> Network" that allows you to make outgoing calls only with any unactivated
> CDMA or analog cellphone)

wow, i remember that, along with all the convoluted follow-me roaming
*codes you had to do each time you went to a new city.

Steve Sobol <[email protected]> wrote in news:MPG.27190943ae7f3cd7989a58
@news.justthe.net:

> Now, I'm not saying you contribute nothing. I'm saying that when you
> post about stuff that you are not familiar with, it's generally
> speculation, and completely inaccurate. That's obnoxious, and when you
> post completely inaccurate stuff, I'm *going to call you on it.*
>

Unlike Steve Sobol, who knows everything, I post my personal opinions,
experiences and observations.

Normal people on Usenet are posting what they believe to be true, from
their personal experiences.

EVERYTHING posted to Usenet is OPINION, including mine!

Many of us are NOT omnipotent. The rest just think they are.

[email protected] wrote in news:[email protected]:

> Larry <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>Well, I'm good. No sellphone bills until 2011!....hee hee.
>
>
> I like PagePlus too!
>
> Problem is they don't cover my hometown at all in 63401
> zip code.... so have to do the double dialing thing
> when up there
>

That would make it too expensive very quickly paying roaming charges.

[email protected] wrote in news:[email protected]:

> you use CardlePoint mobile router yes?
>

A Cradlepoint CTR-350 running off four "C" Ni-Mh 5AH cells in series
giving me "about" 5VDC, yes. The little battery pack charges off 12VDC
in series with a pilot light bulb that gives me about 1/2 amp of constant
charge current. The light also lets me know it's charging and is quite
bright as it's a 6V bulb with over 6V applied.

A 5AH NiMh should be charged at 1C for 14 hours for best charge with no
danger of overheating, which is 10% of its ampere-hour rating. When the
cells start to feel warm to the touch, they're charged and ready to go.
If you overcharge at 1C, oxygen absorbing chemicals inside the cells
recombine oxygen molecules back into the electrolyte as fast as they
form. Over 2C, 20% of AH rating, NiMh cells overheat and oxygen
recombination cannot keep up with the overcharge and the cells are
slowly, but surely, destroyed as their electrolye is converted into
Oxygen gas.

Buy your router from the 3G Store here:

http://3gstore.com/index.php?main_pa...roducts_id=610

On sale for $75. Great price, fantastic service and support, extra free
software on a CD included when I got mine. 3G also has lots of great
information about firmware upgrades and specifically what
aircards/services are supported. The 2.5.2 firmware included and a
Cricket A600 aircard are a no brainer to use. Just plug it in after
activating the aircard and it works. As you are configuring the wireless
router EEPROM webpages, be sure to switch the wifi power level, one of
the extensive controls on this really nice little router, to its lowest
power position, 10 milliwatts. The batteries last longer on a charge and
the router is visible only for about 100 feet, reducing the number of
hackers trying to break in and get free wifi off your aircard to a 100 ft
circle around you, easily visible at that distance.

Works great. Cricket doesn't support Linux or other odd operating
systems. Using the router to run the aircards, connecting over
standardized wifi, you can use the aircard with any operating system that
supports standard wifi, not just Win and OSX. My Nokia N800 Maemo Linux
tablets work first class on this router using WPA2 security, even driving
down the road anywhere Cricket has service. With a 12V to 5V car cord
that will handle about 1A of current, the car's a hotspot wherever it's
parked.