Calling on Cellular Phones for Emergencies : Technology: Sales of the portable instruments are up following the Northridge quake. Many of the buyers are women.

Aretha Franklin’s name doesn’t buy her much luck with automobiles. Twice in the past year, this 25-year-old single mom from Lake Forest--no relation to the famous rhythm and blues singer--has found herself by the side of the road, broken down, alone.

Then came the Northridge earthquake, and Franklin decided it was time to buy a cellular phone.

“I saw those cars stranded, and I thought, ‘They should have a phone in the car,’ ” said Franklin, who is a marketing representative for the credit union at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. “I’ve shown my 7-year-old son how to use it.”

Cellular phones are growing in popularity as emergency lifelines, according to electronics dealers. Regular telephone service was knocked out for more than 12 hours in parts of Los Angeles County following the Jan. 17 quake.

Ken Swain, a manager for West Coast Auto Sound in Tustin, said that 50% of his cellular phone sales are for emergency use now, compared with about 20% at this time last year. Most of the others are used in business.

Subscribers can order either emergency or business phone service--emergency service requires a lower monthly payment, but higher per-minute charges than phones used for business.

Usually, emergency service carries a $25-per-month charge and costs 90 cents per minute for daytime use. There is no charge for calls to 911 on the PacTel Cellular system. One of the company’s most popular plans for business users is based on a $70-per-month basic payment, which entitles the user to 80 free minutes; beyond that, the cost is 41 cents per minute in the daytime. The phones themselves run from about $100 to more than $500.

Sales of cellular phones are up by 35% since the Northridge quake, said Ray Khorramian, owner of Converse Connections in Lake Forest.

While beepers are popular among less affluent customers seeking to stay in touch--basic models are $20 to $120--they don’t provide the flexibility of a cellular phone. The beepers have not proven as popular, Khorramian said, because a person cannot use them to dial immediately for a call.

“Most people want to be able to reach emergency services,” he said.

He said many customers are women, or men who say they are buying them for the women in their lives.

Steven L. Schandler, professor of psychology at Chapman University in Orange, observed that people don’t want to be out of touch.

“What we have now is a tremendous swelling of insecurity,” he said. “Being in a period of constant crisis is not normal for Californians.”

PacTel Cellular, which serves the greater Los Angeles area from its Irvine office, has awakened to the use of cellular phones as emergency tools.

“It used to be a tool for improving (business) productivity,” spokeswoman Melissa May said.

She said her company has organized a system of cells on wheels. These can be brought into a disaster area when the regular cells, which are like broadcast towers that relay signals, are damaged.

Just a (Cellular) Phone Call Away

Consumers have discovered that cellular phones are good for more than wheeling and dealing. Families are buying them for the ability to reach loved ones in an emergency, regardless of location. Here is a short course in cellular basics:

THE PHONE

Equipment is sold at small retail shops specializing in cellular equipment and at large consumer electronics stores. Most stores are also authorized agents of PacTel Cellular or L.A. Cellular and will activate, program and repair the phones.

-- Makers: Top manufacturers include Motorola, Nokia, AudioVox, Oki, Fujitsu, Panasonic and Mitsubishi.

-- Price: $100-$700

-- Activation: Before a cellular phone can be activated and assigned a number, the buyer must get approval from PacTel Cellular or L.A. Cellular. A $200-$1,000 deposit may be required, depending on credit history. There is also a onetime activation fee of about $50 per phone, but some stores include this in the purchase price.

MONTHLY SERVICE

A variety of plans are available. Here are some PacTel examples:

Monthly access Peak period* Plan charge rate per minute Personal Communications $25 90 cents (Emergency) Plan Basic Plan $45 45 cents Premium Plan *** $239 45 cents

Off-peak period** Plan rate per minute Personal Communications 20 cents (Emergency) Plan Basic Plan 27 cents Premium Plan *** 27 cents

Discount Plans

A variety of plans are available for high-volume users, but most require a 12-month subscription agreement. A cancellation fee of $100 or more is charged if service is deactivated during the 12-month period.

* 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays

** 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., plus weekends and holidays

*** Monthly fee that includes custom-calling charges, such as call-waiting and about nine hours of peak or off-peak air time; per minute charges apply to additional time only.

Source: Individual stores, PacTel Cellular; Researched by JANICE L. JONES / Los Angeles Times