emergency calls on mobile?

Thinking about carrying a mobile phone whist out on the water but don't want to carry my new phone in case i wreck it. If I use my old phone with no SIM card, can you still make 000 emergency calls? I haven't been game to test it as they get enough prank calls already.

if you're worried about being stranded better off to buy an EPIRB, at least its water proof, will give your location, and is much easier to operate than a phone if it hits the fan.
are you doing open water crossings or something? if not then don't you think more clutter only takes enjoyment away and hampers manouverability? my advice is don't go out further than you are comfortable swimming.

Any mobile locked, unlocked, sim or no sim can make emergency phone calls. I was told this when doing a first aid course.
The number is not 000.
Its 112

Another idea www.findmespot.net.au/

Wouldn't have a clue but maybe harder for kids to dial 000 playing with the phone ?

Maybe international emergency codes are that way so as things can be

differentiated between country. America has had 999 much longer than our

000 in Australia. Other country's have different numbers.

I did like the story today of the 80odd year old digger in hospital in Lismore

who awoke during the night soaked to the skin. Being bed ridden he didn't

know if it were blood or sweat, so he rang for the night nursing staff. They

didn't arrive, so he dialed 000 on his mobile and asked to get someone to

attend to him [ he deserves that ]. They came and fixed him up then

disabled his mobile. Someones head should roll there, our diggers deserve

a better life and death than that. Lest We Forget. Good On You Digger

That's the one Bob.
In fact just tapping the handset cradle sends out a single pulse, same as dialing 1.
If you tapped the handset 3 times slowly, it was the same as dialing 111.

Prior to the new fangled rotary dial telephones, you used to phone up by just picking up the handset, cranking the magneto generator next to the phone and waiting for the operator to say "Number please?"
And you would say "Gimme Claremont 123 please."
And she would plug in and out a few cables on her patch panel and say "Putting you through nooooowwwwww,.."
And then she would proceed to eavesdrop. (True.)

Phone numbers were just 3 digits back then, and I used to tie an onion to my belt, which was the style back then,.. No wait. That last bit's not true. The 3 digit phone numbers is true but.
Anyways, they were sometimes a bit slow responding so you would tap the handset cradle a few times to wake them up. Each tap would flash a light and ring a bell in the exchange where the operator girls were.
Sometimes they would get stroppy with this and it would make them take twice as long. (That bit's true too.)

Sometime in about the mid '50s I think, when they changed to the rotary dial, it was thought that if this habit of tapping the cradle a few times persisted, they would get dozens of emergency calls each day, so 999 was a better option.
Almost no one tapped the handset 27 times in three groups of 9's.

It was also decided that since the 9 was right next to the dial stop tag it would be easier to find in the dark or in smoke if your house was burning down around your ears.
Just put your finger in the first hole next to the tag and dial.
There was quit a bit of discussion about it at the time because lots of people didn't want to sit there dialing 999 while their house burnt down around them.
But hey, that was back in the days when Telstra / Telecom / (Postmaster Generals Dept, as it then was), was a government monopoly and their motto was,
"The customer is ALWAYS wrong."

So we got 999 for emergencies.
(For all ex PMG / exchange operator girls, Red thumbs is the one on the left.
Ahhh just pithing mythelf here. )

{EDIT} AN error has been made.
Sheesh! I must ease up on the after dinner drinks.
Of course we never dialed 999. It was always 000
All the rest looks ok. Logic is the same.
How come nobody pulled me up on this?
Doesn't anybody read my posts?
I'm going to have to say something controversial again.
(Can't think of anything right now. Sorry.)