www.callingcards.com

You can get ~1000 minutes for 20 bucks.

Someone mentioned Wireless in the BRA...is it wide open or Gay NIPR crap?

....the number I use with my AT&T calling card is DSN 809-463-3376, you then get a dial tone and then dial your AT&T 1800 number....it basically charges your card as if the call was originating in Virginia....works like a champ

Used that one too.

The tanker guys have a few phones scattered about. I had one last time, but it was a Class C or whatever they call it when you can only call Ops or Ops can call you on base.

Not dumbness; but Deid related and didn't think I needed to create a whole new topic.

Getting ready to do the first gig there soon and wondering what the phone situation is. The wife is not going to be back around home station, so calling DSN back to the base for a local call does me no good. If you have an international calling card, do you just punch that info in and go?

If anyone has something that worked well for them, I'd appreciate the insight. Thanks guys.

If you don't happen to have a DSN line in your room, make sure you get signed up for the "Hearts Apart" morale calls. Then when you want to talk to the wife, spend that fifty cents, send her a text, then she can call your home-station base operator with her nationwide cell phone plan and have it patched straight to your room.

Edited for double-posting due to shitty wireless at some other place than the 'deid.

Edited August 4, 200817 yr by The_Ginger

Any chance you can use a webcam with the wireless at the Deid?

Any chance you can use a webcam with the wireless at the Deid?

Yes

How far does the signal go? Is it only in the Bra? Is it just NIPR or you able to access social websites?

It is supposed to cover the bra and BPC mall. You can get a signal in the surrounding buildings (like the DEL).

It's not on the NIPR and open except for stuff the host country censors - no suprise there. Just for knowledge if you got your computer reimaged by comm to work on the NIPR in your room you won't be allowed to reconnect it if you use the wireless.

Not sure what the computer situation is there but you could try Skype or one of the other VoIP programs. Then it's free if it's computer to computer call and only 2 cents a minute if it's computer to land line. You will need a microphone/headset on each end. You can even do video conferencing for almost as cheap if you both get web cams.

Try magicJack, $40 for the first year. It's some what similar to Vonage only cheaper. It plugs into your USB port and works with a headset and mike; a phone is not required at your end. You can choose your area code and city from a list of larger cities. If you get a number in a city close to your family, all their calls to you are local calls. The telephone network doesn't care where you are, only what your phone number tells the system. I work a lot from my house which is in the country and I use majicJack as a business line with a phone number for downtown Dallas. https://www.magicjack.com/areacodes/

Only problems I've heard about involve "slow"/low computing power computers. While using magicJack with them, don't use the computer for anything else, it garbles the transmission.

If you have AT&T cell phone- just call them before you go over and activate international roaming- that part is free. You can pay an extra $5 a month for better rates in some counries (Qatar isn't one of them - it's 2.99 a minute regardless). 50 cent outgoing/20 cent incoming texts are a huge bonus. If you have a phone capable of international use with Sprint (like the international blackberry) it's 2.99 a minute but there is no text messaging capability and the service is pretty crappy when trying to connect to the person over there from stateside.

You can't skype or AIM or other VOIP from your room....the hubby and I have chatted on webcam from the morale computer place a few times (I hear the lines can be really long at peak times though). I guess this is less of an issue with wifi working now. If you want to chat online from your room use msn- it's the only thing we've found that works aside from that AF portal friends & family chat. obviously i only know what is going on from the spouse perspective, so take that fwiw.

Just to clarify from reading the Deid topics:

1) If you use the wifi you don't need you're laptop wiped by the comm nazis, but the wifi is not available in the dorms.

2) In order to use your laptop in your dorm you have to have your laptop wiped by comm, but then you can't use your laptop on the wifi. There is also a desktop computer located in each room with Internet so you don't have to have your laptop wiped anyway.

Is this correct? Anybody using a Mac over there and ran into any issues? I'd assume not, but thought I'd ask.

Just to clarify from reading the Deid topics:

1) If you use the wifi you don't need you're laptop wiped by the comm nazis, but the wifi is not available in the dorms.

2) In order to use your laptop in your dorm you have to have your laptop wiped by comm, but then you can't use your laptop on the wifi. There is also a desktop computer located in each room with Internet so you don't have to have your laptop wiped anyway.

Is this correct? Anybody using a Mac over there and ran into any issues? I'd assume not, but thought I'd ask.

1. This is a true statement. No comm wipe necessary, and WiFi is currently only available in the area surrounding the Bra and the BPC mall (works much better at the BPC, well worth the bus ride)

2. I'm not sure if comm is even still offering this service, but it will be neccessary if you want to use your personal computer on the internet in the dorms. I don't know if this makes you unable to use the WiFi or not. As far as computers in rooms, some have them (the only ones I know of are some C-130 guys) but most do not. Our squadron's rooms do not have computers.

Not every room has a computer - many don't, but it depends on your sq I guess.

Comm no longer wipes computers. You will not be able to use your personnal comptuer on the NIPRNET.

Pools at Dhafra and the Deid are closed in Winter; they reopen around March

Pool at Dhafra was open earlier this week. Only closed on Mondays... dunno what the significance of that is.

Pool at Dhafra was open earlier this week. Only closed on Mondays... dunno what the significance of that is.

Geez! The lifeguards need a day off from their taxing jobs as well!

Lifeguard??

Oh, you mean the fully-clothed TCN dipping buckets of poolwater out to wash-down the pool "deck" area.

Sarcasm, BTW...

Any chance we can work on the host nation banning World of Warcraft from the servers out at the BRA and the BPC? I just love how both areas have been taken over by 25-30 year olds that have yet to have had sex a first time, and feel the need to bog down all the WI-FI by sitting around playing World of Warcraft with the other three people at their table.

I hate to b!tch, but I'm just trying to say hello to my wife and kids, and it's been getting worse every day when it comes to the number of morons taking up space at the BPC and BRA wasting their lives away with this dumbass game.

Rant off.

Mod, thanks for the Move. Missed this thread. Obviously my search skills are a Q3 right now.

Edited February 14, 200916 yr by capt4fans

Just be happy it's still free. They set it up at JBB, allowed it to be free for sometime, then started charging $60/mo for their shitty "sometimes works, but mostly doesn't" 256k (yeah right) service.

Does anyone have first hand experience on whether or not your global blackberry will get data in the Deid if you have the Worldwide data plan. I was just in Manas and I only got voice capability which led me to this question. I searched the coverage map but that was contradicting saying that voice works, but data may be avalible in some spots in the country. Just want to get confirmation from someone incase you can't cancel it once you are OCONUS.

Any chance we can work on the host nation banning World of Warcraft from the servers out at the BRA and the BPC? I just love how both areas have been taken over by 25-30 year olds that have yet to have had sex a first time, and feel the need to bog down all the WI-FI by sitting around playing World of Warcraft with the other three people at their table.

I hate to b!tch, but I'm just trying to say hello to my wife and kids, and it's been getting worse every day when it comes to the number of morons taking up space at the BPC and BRA wasting their lives away with this dumbass game.

Rant off.

Mod, thanks for the Move. Missed this thread. Obviously my search skills are a Q3 right now.

Amen! I hate it when I am trying to get around the porn filters and these Tards are slowing it down!

Also, it is heatting up out here, 111 two days ago!

Anyone have any updated WiFi info from the Deid? I have heard rumors that they are going to strengthen the bandwidth and/or spread it out to the dorms around the CC. Any truth to that? I'll believe it when I see it. Has Skype video calling been working decently enough? How about the number of outlets avalible to plug in the computers...any increase in those around the BPC BRA and Del?

Anyone have any updated WiFi info from the Deid? I have heard rumors that they are going to strengthen the bandwidth and/or spread it out to the dorms around the CC. Any truth to that? I'll believe it when I see it. Has Skype video calling been working decently enough? How about the number of outlets avalible to plug in the computers...any increase in those around the BPC BRA and Del?

It is true that they are increasing the bandwidth all over base. As for signal strength, I don't have any direct information about the BRA area, other than people seem to get internet at least 50 yards away from it, perhaps farther. The wing king has said he will not put WiFi in the dorms, but he changes out in a couple of months. There will be changes in a couple of months that might make access as bad as it was before, but I'm not going to talk about it here.

Most of my friends use Skype. I just use MSN Live Messenger, and it works fine.

Most of the people I've seen at the BPC BX were emailing or doing cam, not playing WoW. Every time I've gone to the common area at the BX, every plug was being used. If you plug in a power strip, the nazis will kill you.

I'm getting 26 Mbps in my BPC dorm as I type this post. At peak periods, it can slow down, but it isn't as bad as it was a couple of weeks ago when they first put WiFi in the dorms. Since then, we have had squatters in our day rooms doing the WoW thing, and when they were there, it kicked us off webcam on a consistent basis.

Here's an idea. Why don't they ban that stupid WOW game so people can talk to their g-damn families on Skype?

My guess is the com nazis are WOW freaks.

Found out recently that I'm CAOC bound, just wanted to see if I could get the latest on accomodations (or what to expect by Late Summer early Fall), and any other points of interest. If the answers don't belong on here, PM me and we can discuss via .mil if need be. I'm mainly interested in what's happening with the WiFi situation, any suggestions on what to bring with me that's Deid specific, if I can expect to be in the dorms or not etc...

Found out recently that I'm CAOC bound, just wanted to see if I could get the latest on accomodations (or what to expect by Late Summer early Fall), and any other points of interest. If the answers don't belong on here, PM me and we can discuss via .mil if need be. I'm mainly interested in what's happening with the WiFi situation, any suggestions on what to bring with me that's Deid specific, if I can expect to be in the dorms or not etc...

Id like to second this request especially the part about the WIFI. My two main goals are to talk to the wife and kids via webcam and then complete my online masters course. Or am I out of luck on this? I will not be permant party but will be assigned for 120 days as staff and later aircrew so im not sure what type of accomodations/internet area that puts me in but maybe someone can give me an educated guess.

Thanks

Edited June 13, 200916 yr by guard/reserve hopeful