Your marine cell phone and boat cell phone usage.

Although there is no cell phone made specifically for marine use, I refer to cell phones in this page as marine cell phones because of the topic.

Satellite phones are the exception to this!

There is more to learn here in the satellite phone service section and in the marine satellite service section.

Once you are out at sea, your cell phone most likely not work once you are more than 50 miles from land no matter how good your antenna and amplifier package is!

Salt water and sea water can be very corrosive and water in particular can be dangerous around electricity, especially around higher voltages.

Water and electronics can pose an electrocution hazard!

Not only do electronics, such as cell phones, need special considerations around water, especially sea water, but their use does too. Cell towers are not installed out at sea and the choice of antennas and amplifiers here is even more important. For one, there is the curvature of the earth to consider and your boat is pitching and yawing up and down and around.

This makes a Yagi antenna unsuitable for marine cell phone use. Yagi antennas need to stay focused on the target to keep you connected and on the water, this is almost impossible! Your best bet here is an omni-beam antenna designed for use on the water.

An omni-beam will look for signal in all directions and this is why it is best suited for any type of moving vehicle. Your amplifier should have the connection terminals coated with a silicon grease to prevent corrosion if it is to be installed permanently in the watercraft.

Proper installation procedures are critical not only for your safety, but for the longevity of your electronics and your marine cell phone as well. Any electrical shock can be uncomfortable and higher voltages of electricity can be harmful or fatal! Marine type omni-beam antennas included! I can't repeat it enough, be careful around water with electricity!

My advice here is to consult professional help whe installing ANY kind of electronics around water! The safety and lives of you and your passengers will depend on it!

Because performance is so critical when using your cell phone on a boat, I would recommend the installation of an antenna and amplifier that has a directly wired connection to you cell phone. If your phone has an antenna port, great, that's even better.

If not then the velcro attachment to the antenna location is the next best place. You will need to install your marine omni-bean antenna in the highest possible and reasonable location on your boat because of the special considerations associated with trying to get the attention of the cell tower back on land and keeping connected to it!

The best scenario I've heard about yet is staying connected at 75 miles out at sea on calm waters. If any of you have a farther reach back to land than that, congratulations! A cell phone should not be your only form of communication out at sea! The link below is a must read as to why!

I will also include a link to the satellite phone section here too.

Click here to see more about marine satellite phones. For more info on nautical know how and cell phone use click here. This article continues on the next page. Click the link below to advance to it. Click here to go to the next page of marine cell phone.