How Come

[nailit]

That 50 yrs ago, we could have a (clear) conversation with someone almost a quarter of a million miles away on the moon with no problem and yet in this day and age with advanced technology, (mobile phones etc), we cant get a signal from a few miles away if we are in a certain spot?
How can we communicate through vast distances, space, the Van Hellen Belt etc but cant get a signal for a phone if we are in the country side? We havnt mastered communication around the globe yet so how come we mastered communication to the moon 50 yrs ago when we didnt even have mobiles????
Don't get it.

[Old_Geezer]

You want to pay for a dedicated line I suspect you can talk to whomever you wish. Mobile companies have to watch the profits and can't justify perfect reception everywhere so those in remote spots take their chances. Although they may be better with a satellite phone.

[Peter Pedant]

well you have got the correctly named Van Hellen belt because when it doesnt work - you go "oh hell !"

see the sam mcneill film - quite fun - where they lose the moonshot - and only a two horse dorp in Oz can re establish contact

[Peter Pedant]

well Trumpo can phone the Prince of Whales without any problem

[nailit]

//You want to pay for a dedicated line I suspect you can talk to whomever you wish//

Hello. Is that EE? I wish to talk to a man on the moon...
''click''
Hello? Hello?

[steg]

Naw even 50 years ago I still struggled to have conversation with people on the moon

[bednobs]

Did they really have conversations?

[nailit]

One small step for man??

[Tilly2]

a man.

[woofgang]

PP the film is called The Dish and is one of my all time favourites

[bednobs]

That's not a convo that's a broadcast

[Old_Geezer]

I think there needs to be a man on the moon first, and then you need to pay a company willing to set up interplanetary communications links. Try NASA.

[Mamyalynne]

Communication with spacecraft uses different technology to our mobile phones.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_segment

[beso]

Communications from the Moon used a directional antenna pointed directly at the Earth being received by an antenna pointed directly at the Moon.

Voyager space craft have the same arrangements and are still communicating from tens of billions of kilometres away. The signal arrives here with a power of one-tenth of a billion-trillionth of a Watt. A fly fart would be more powerful.

[ToraToraTora]

you're not comparing like with like. Most mobile phones rely on the positioning of masts for access to the network. In effect a mobile phone is local communication device. Masts are in most places but there are still places where they are not. Earth communication to things like mars probes etc are via powerful x band microwave transmission. Back in 1969 they would have used VHF direct transmitters/receives aimed correctly.

[nailit]

Thanks for replies,
I'd actually forgotten about this thread but 3'T's reply seems to make sense, thanks.
And thanks for all other replies.

[Ryzen]

I bet if you walk on the moon BT would be able to contact you to offer a better service deal!!

[nailit]

LOL Ryzan, ;-)

[JimF]

Mr Charles Darwin had the gall to ask.