Onstar

[Dudesky]

Sitting in my new Chevy Colorado trying the 90 day Onstar package that has Wifi, up at my cabin. Seems to work pretty good.

Anyone know if you can get a portable sat link with wifi?

I know you can link through a wireless setup. But that's iffy up here.

[tbomachines]

Do you mean receive the same data via a GPS signal? I think it only goes through cell signal. BTW those new Colorados seem great (albeit big).

Also one bit of advice -- if you decide to cancel onstar or satellite radio do not provide a real phone number. Between the two I was getting 3-4 calls A DAY, siriusXM was worse but they were both on the verge of harassment.

[elchivito]

They're watching you, you know.....

[spdrun]

If I ever got a car with On*Star spyware, first thing I'd do is take a pair of hedge clippers to the antenna cable. Spyware in my car that can't be turned off and that can turn my car off or unlock it remotely? No fawking thanks.

To answer your question, On*Star only uses satellites for GPS signal. It gets its internet/WiFi connection through the cellular network. If you exceed 90 days, you'll be paying to essentially duplicate the functions that your cell phone can do. (Interestingly, most phones these days have accelerometers, so they could even be set up to call 911 in case of a car crash.)

So if the WiFi works in your vehicle at your cabin, you should be able to find a phone or hotspot that talks to the cell network and provides the same level of service. The cost and latency of satellite shouldn't be needed. New On*Star vehicles apparently use AT&T, so I'd try to find a modern hotspot that uses their network and experiment at the cabin.

[spdrun]

Originally Posted by tbomachines

Also one bit of advice -- if you decide to cancel onstar or satellite radio do not provide a real phone number. Between the two I was getting 3-4 calls A DAY, siriusXM was worse but they were both on the verge of harassment.

"I cancelled service for a reason. Do not ever call again. Further calls will be reported to FTC as criminal harassment." *click*

Cathartic. But yeah, Google Voice rocks. Bonus points if you record the following message. "Dear telemarketer -- you've reached this number because I've given it to the company that's paying you, since I do not actually want you to reach me. Whichever service you're pushing, you'll only end up reaching this recording and will never get a human. Please direct all further inquiries to the Federal Trade Commission's hotline at ... ... ..... Thank you and buh bye."

[P.C.]

Originally Posted by elchivito

They're watching you, you know.....

I can't believe that he's wearing the same shirt two days in a row!

[tbomachines]

Originally Posted by spdrun

"I cancelled service for a reason. Do not ever call again. Further calls will be reported to FTC as criminal harassment." *click*

Cathartic. But yeah, Google Voice rocks. Bonus points if you record the following message. "Dear telemarketer -- you've reached this number because I've given it to the company that's paying you, since I do not actually want you to reach me. Whichever service you're pushing, you'll only end up reaching this recording and will never get a human. Please direct all further inquiries to the Federal Trade Commission's hotline at ... ... ..... Thank you and buh bye."

I actually reported them twice as no call list violations. I don't know how those are handled but I did report them. After I finally got siriusxm to stop calling the first time they started again about a month and a half later from a different (local) number.


Sent from an abacus

[spdrun]

Originally Posted by tbomachines

I actually reported them twice as no call list violations. I don't know how those are handled but I did report them. After I finally got siriusxm to stop calling the first time they started again about a month and a half later from a different (local) number.

It's possible that they switched telemarketers and the new ones didn't get the memo.

[Skid Row Joe]

Congratulations on your new truck, Dudesky!

Satellite Internet and WiFi equipped no-less!

[catmandoo62]

Originally Posted by spdrun

If I ever got a car with On*Star spyware, first thing I'd do is take a pair of hedge clippers to the antenna cable. Spyware in my car that can't be turned off and that can turn my car off or unlock it remotely? No fawking thanks.

ditto that.i also wish i could disable the key fob at will short of taking the fuse out.now that the crooks have gone hi tech and can just walk by your car where ever it might be and use their little frequency scanners to unlock the doors.

[SwampYankee]

Originally Posted by Dudesky

Sitting in my new Chevy Colorado trying the 90 day Onstar package that has Wifi, up at my cabin. Seems to work pretty good.

Anyone know if you can get a portable sat link with wifi?

I know you can link through a wireless setup. But that's iffy up here.

Dude, it's a cabin. Why on earth would you want to be connected there???

I was actually bummed when I saw that I had 4 bars of signal at our ME camp.

Fortunately there's an off switch and a drawer to put it in, although I do check it for messages and my email before dinner.

[spdrun]

Originally Posted by catmandoo62

ditto that.i also wish i could disable the key fob at will short of taking the fuse out.now that the crooks have gone hi tech and can just walk by your car where ever it might be and use their little frequency scanners to unlock the doors.

Somewhere, there's an antenna that can be unplugged or isolated.

[MTI]

Originally Posted by spdrun

Somewhere, there's an antenna that can be unplugged or isolated.

Says the member that posts on an open internet forum, from a non scrambled or encrypted device, through an ISP. . .

[spdrun]

Originally Posted by MTI

Says the member that posts on an open internet forum . . .

I'm not posting my exact location every minute to Generic Morons' servers, last I checked.

BTW - I was responding to a post about key fobs, which aren't a privacy issue (like On*Star) as much as a security one, since there are devices that allow unlocking of a vehicle without the proper key fob.

[MTI]

When are starting construction of that Faraday cage?