Decoding the multitude of sat phone threads.

[GMN]

The GO! might be a good fit for you although note that the free Iridium compression services (Iridium Mail & Web, which is what you would likely be using to download your GRIB files) will not work on Windows. They only support iOS and Android.

Some third party compression services (OCENS, XGate, etc) might work on your Windows tablet, but it depends on whether your tablet is running Windows or Windows Phone. If it has a desktop, then it is Windows and XGate would work.

In order to make voice calls you must have an iOS or Android device with a microphone. (IE: you could use an iPad if you don't have a smartphone, but many of the older models do not have microphones and therefore do not support voice calls).

We always strongly recommend an external antenna if you plan on using your satphone (or satellite WiFi device) belowdecks. All satellite phones need a clear view of the sky and while some can get away with a good view out of the pilothouse, most do not.

(Also: data calls over the satellite network require more signal than voice calls, so you may be able to make voice calls with a satphone in your nav station, but it's likely that data calls (email, GRIB downloads, etc) will not go through).

We (Global Marine Networks) specialize in data transmission over satellite phones, so feel free to give us a shout if you'd like to discuss further. Best of luck with everything and fair winds!

[DefinitelyMe]

OK....... so i would still need to subscribe to a compression service with a 'go', since i don't have an ipad. Or i fork out more money and buy an ipad......... ha ha ha! I'm about to give up and just build a smoke signal machine or something. This stuff is infuriatingly complicated! So as i understand it, these are the options:

1) Buy a 9555. Then buy a data kit from somewhere, then subscribe to a data compression service, then figure out a payment plan.

2) Buy a 'go', then subscribe to a data compression service (or buy an ipad), then figure out a payment plan. And also figure out how to get my tablet to talk to the 'go' and only download the stuff i want.

Is that about right?...........

[monte]

Yes DM, sorry it is a bit more complicated if not using an iPad. Iridium is continually updating software but I'm not sure which devices are currently compatible. iPad + Go = very simple.

[DefinitelyMe]

Yet another complexity:

Inmarsat launches third Global Xpress satellite | Technology content from ATWOnline

[DefinitelyMe]

Originally Posted by monte

Yes DM, sorry it is a bit more complicated if not using an iPad. Iridium is continually updating software but I'm not sure which devices are currently compatible. iPad + Go = very simple.

Ha ha ha ha ha! I just looked up 'ipad' on amazon it turns out there are a multitude of those to choose from as well! They all look the same to me; I will find someone younger than me and corner them to explain this one.

[Paul Elliott]

The newer Iridium 9575 "Extreme" phone doesn't need the data kit hardware, since the data connection uses a provided USB connector. The phone can also charge via USB, so it's a pretty clean setup.

I use GMN Xgate for compression (which is actually a lot more than compression). Sailmail is also pretty good for a "compression" service, and there are probably others.

The "Iridium Go" system sounds pretty good, but it appears that I can't connect it directly to my Windows laptop. That's a deal-breaker for me, since I want to use that for email, including getting GRIBs seamlessly to my nav programs. I have no desire to use a cellphone or a tablet as an intermediate device, unless it's automatic and transparent.

[wrwakefield]

Originally Posted by DefinitelyMe

There are loads of threads on this topic. LOADS! There's too much information! I've just spent the last 2 hours reading these threads and my mind is about to melt - it's just loads of people saying 'this is what i have and i like it'. My question is very straight-forward. I'm in the market for a sat phone. I want to know the most cost-effective way to get a satellite communications system that will do voice calls, sms and most importantly, grib data worldwide within 50N and 50S. That's it. Nothing else. No broadband data, no fancy gadgetry that talks to everything else on the boat, no in-built GPS so that everyone and their dog can track exactly where i am in the world. Is it possible?........

The people at inmarsat tried to be helpful but failed. First they asked me to contact my local dealer (there isn't one) and then they sent me links to services that i don't want or need. Every website i look at is crammed full of marketing touting every product as being 'the best' and listing loads of services that i don't want or need. I just want basic data (for grib files), voice and sms. Help! (please!)

This is a confusing topic given the plethora of choices available, and the different requirements we all have...

We currently use an Iridium Extreme [9575] with a passive external antenna in latitudes 55-65°N with great success. [We purchased the 9575 before the Iridium Go was released...]

We use the 9575 with a subscription to UUplus [email and data for the bandwidth deprived...] for all our sat phone email and wx [gribs, navtex, wx reports, wxFAX, etc.] The UUplus cost is recaptured twice or more each month with the savings in sat phone minutes UUplus provides through its various efficiencies [compression, only download most recent report, etc.]

We like having a sat phone phone for emergency [it fits in the ditch bag] and land based activities as well.

However, as Monte and others have suggested, we won't hesitate to buy an IridiumGo once our data needs exceed our current sat phone plan [Northern Lights plan- Alaska and Canada only- at a discounted $1US/minute in 20 second increments. For $200US we get 200 mins every 6 months, and the minutes roll forward if you keep renewing...) This is still adequate for our current needs @ $400US/year.

If I were going to buy sat communication for the first time [and if I were ready today to enhance our current sat com capabilities- and we are already have iPads, iPhones, and Macintosh computers...] I would scrutinize the package offered by Predict Wind [who separately provides for fee wx services optimized for IridiumGo... This is the best priced IridiumGo turn-key bundle I can find in the US- for now...]

Good luck. Like all technology, it will only get better and cheaper after we make the purchase...

Cheers!

Bill

[leftbrainstuff]

Originally Posted by DefinitelyMe

Thanks, but Spot has abysmal coverage of the Pacific in particular, and I'm not looking for a SSB radio and all that that entails.

Coverage is the issue with spot.

Iridium Go, as others have mentioned, would be my first choice for the pacific.

Sent from my SM-N900T using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[barnakiel]

I think you want either an Inmarsat or an Iridium (unit).

Not sure why you had to dig thru so many threads. All Inmarsat and Iridium info is available from their homesites and from some distributors.

Choose the hardware that fits your job and that's that.

b.

[hamburking]

Originally Posted by estarzinger

This is simple. . . . you want an Iridium 9555 satellite phone (I personally would get an Iridium Extreme handset but it has more features than you are asking for). you will need the data kit to get gribs. And then you need either a pre-paid (cheaper) or post paid (most convenient) sim card.

Thats a simple easy to use system with no coverage holes

Agreed. I used one of these across the atlantic. Good phone. I did a daily SMS of our position to a list of email addresses...worked well, reasonable price.

My wife would send me an sms daily of the weather I could expect. She would check the gribs and just tell me what I needed to know. SMS was good because you avoid the issues due to time difference, plus it forces you to keep it short. Plus its cheap.

When I got in line for customs at the Canaries, every skipper had that same phone.

I would suggest an external antenna (rail mount is good) just so you can have the handset below, out of the wind, where its quiet enough to speak. We often had to go on deck to get good reception, and the noise due to wind, waves, sails, etc made it hard to hear. Plus no privacy.

[ka4wja]

DM,
I trust you realize that we are all trying to help...
And, I realize this can be a bit overwhelming to the non-tech folks....
So, bear with us, and we'll get you straightened-out!


1) But, first we need to find out exactly what you wish to do, where you wish to do it, why you wish to do it, etc....cause what you write now is different than what you wrote just a day earlier...

{BTW, if your primary need is for weather info when offshore / away from internet and cellular connectivity, then you should understand that that info is available for FREE without any sat phone nor "SSB transceiver" at all!!!
You do not need an iPad, sat phone, etc...
Have a look here for some info, and we can get you more if you desire...
Offshore / Hi-Seas Weather data / forecasts
If this offshore / hi-seas weather info and forecasts are your primary application, please let us know!!

And, you may also find this Youtube playlist to be helpful...especially videos #3 and #4...
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...zdjTJjHlChruyY }


Your questions / comments (and especially your needs/applications) now are different that what you originally posted, just 24 hours before...

You originally posted and asked:

Originally Posted by DefinitelyMe

My question is very straight-forward. I'm in the market for a sat phone. I want to know the most cost-effective way to get a satellite communications system that will do voice calls, sms and most importantly, grib data worldwide within 50N and 50S. That's it. Nothing else. No broadband data, no fancy gadgetry that talks to everything else on the boat, no in-built GPS so that everyone and their dog can track exactly where i am in the world. Is it possible?.....

And, you got some accurate, helpful, and direct answers, from Evans, myself, and donradcliffe, all within the first couple hours!!
And, then the next morning a very detailed and professional response from Global Marine Networks (GMN), backing up what us experienced users / sailors had written...

--- The answer in one word was: Iridium
---- And, the complete answer was: Iridium 9555, with a data kit and external antenna system...



2) But, now it seems you have desires / requirements that are not met by what you originally asked about??

Originally Posted by DefinitelyMe

OK....... so i would still need to subscribe to a compression service with a 'go', since i don't have an ipad. Or i fork out more money and buy an ipad......... ha ha ha! I'm about to give up and just build a smoke signal machine or something. This stuff is infuriatingly complicated!

Originally Posted by DefinitelyMe

Yet another complexity:

Originally Posted by DefinitelyMe

Ha ha ha ha ha! I just looked up 'ipad' on amazon it turns out there are a multitude of those to choose from as well! They all look the same to me; I will find someone younger than me and corner them to explain this one.

So, if you could please tell us exactly what your plans are, where you will be sailing, what your perceived needs for the sat phone are, etc., we can certainly help you!!


If your desire is exactly what you posted originally, then the answers are still the same:
--- The answer in one word: Iridium
--- And, the complete answer: Iridium 9555, with a data kit and external antenna system...
(FYI, there are only 2 worldwide providers of handheld/portable satellite phone and data services: Iridium and INMARSAT....for most sailors/cruisers, Iridium is by far the more versatile, user-friendly, effective, less expensive in the long-haul...)


(if your desires are what you originally asked, then you do not want an IridiumGO....that is not what you want....so you can forget about it, forget about an iPad, forget about all the "complications"....)



3) But, if you tell us what your plans are, where you will be sailing, what your perceived needs for the sat phone are, etc., then we can certainly help you!

Heck, you may not even need a sat phone at all!!!



I hope this helps...

Fair winds...

John

[DefinitelyMe]

Thanks John. I'm very grateful indeed for all of the excellent responses. My needs haven't changed at all from my original post. My primary requirement is indeed for weather information, worldwide along the usual circumnavigation route (so, excluding the poles). I presume that the free weather info you mentioned would be via a SSB receiver with a piece of software that converts signals from the audio jack on the receiver into charts like you'd get from a weatherfax machine? What has happened is this:
I am about to set sail on a 3-ish year circumnavigation in November and had been planning on going the SSB receiver route for my weather info. However, an overly-concerned family member (read: my mother) has decided that she wants me to have 2-way communications. So, satellite communications it is, and she is planning on paying for it but has even less of an idea about these things than I do. I've used sat phones many times, but never had my own and hance have never had to wade through the multitude of options in my search for the simplest one! Does that answer the question about usage?

The iridium go was suggested by some forum members as an alternative to what i had originally asked for. I had not previously been aware of small-yacht-appropriate satellite communication devices other than phones, so i think this option is worth looking into. My original question is still absolutely relevant however, and was answered in the second post by estarzinger succinctly and perfectly, saving me more hours of trying to figure it out on my own and a considerable amount more brain ache than i have already suffered, since you will have no-doubt by now deduced that my ignorance of gadgetry is sadly appalling.

I will probably buy an Iridium 9555 since it does everything i need it to do. I will however investigate the Iridium Go a little more since it is a novel concept that i had not been familiar with. What i wanted to avoid by posting the initial question as i did was a long discussion of the merits of each individual poster's nav setup. The most recent posts relating to the Go, the Iridium extreme, my link to the new Inmarsat satellite and all that jazz are not, indeed related to my original question - that has been answered, for which i am supremely grateful - rather I think it is an extension of the topic of simple satellite communication systems; simple being the operative word in the sentence!

Many thanks once again

[smac999]

aother option if you want simple 2 way msgs wth your mom is a delorme inreach. you can send emails and text messages. it can also be set off in an emergency. and she can track where you are.


won't help you with weather though.

[barnakiel]

Free weather information obtained via ssb receivers (e.g. plus a deocoder like a PC or mobile phone, etc.) must be treated with some caution though: if one's aim were to sail the easy rtw route then some patches of our globe get better coverage than others. This is not only a limitation by our ssb installation but also by which agency/source the data (e.g. radiofax) comes from. Coverage and quality vary from outstanding to nil.

And do remember that even without decoding graphical content, you can always listen to voice forecast. I found US voice broadcasts most useful during our W to E N Atlantic passages.

Because the conditions at sea can be most uncomfortable and the timing of ssb based wx products is fixed, it makes all sense to find a way to record voice and or radiofax data for processing at another time of the day (often=night). So, in fewer words, one may want a receiver with audio out and a sound recorder with a timer.

And then, off course, on top of whatever one has and one prefers, a sat phone with an external fixed antenna is great for gribs and other files that one may want to use underway. And you can call in your wx router too, should this be what you prefer.

Truly not all that much to ponder. Get the gear that will do the job, understand its limits and learn its knobs and dials by heart, and that's that.

b.

[hamburking]

There is a simple solution that no one seems to have mentioned.
Use any sat phone with voice capability and call a friend ashore.
Your friend can give you weather updates from the internet.
If you don't have a knowledgeable friend, you can hire one such as:

Weather Routing for Yachts Globally, Ocean-Pro

I spent an hour showing my wife various weather sites like Sailing Weather - Marine Weather Forecasts for Sailors and Adventurers - PassageWeather
She would SMS our basic irridium sat phone each day. Sometimes I called her on the sat phone and she just told me the forecast.

I agree, there are all sorts of cool-tech solutions. But KISS is good too.