Visit our Popular Forums

Blue Crab · 23-05-2011, 06:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by GordMay

Am I the only one who sees the irony in a BUDGET cruiser with satellite communications?

No sir.

I had to open the thread as the only term in the title that was familiar to me was "budget cruiser". Slocum, Moitessier, Knox-Johnston, Acton and all the others are opening budget caviar and lighting cheap cigars. To be fair, maybe all the great sailors of yore would have had sat phones if available.

I guess Steven Callahan could have used one.

Still, all these modernisims to reduce the risks at sea reduce the adventure quotient as well, IMO.

The use of the term "budget" was unfortunate at best.

imagine2frolic · 23-06-2011, 08:38

In every age of sailing. The best, and latest of equipment was desired. Why would it be any different today? You think the king & queen didn't have Columbus on a budget?........i2f

GeneHammond · 29-06-2011, 11:12

I have a better solution. What would owners pay for broadband satellite coverage during passages and or deliveries? What I'm referring to is leased equipment and basic coverage underway to include applications such as internet IP phones or even video teleconferencing with download speeds up to 2Mb/s.

I am a sailor and communications engineer with an idea......

Thoughts?

Gene Hammond

charlieporter · 02-12-2011, 07:59

Hi Matrix,

on the subject of Inmarsat vs Iridium, theres a real good article about that here. Steve Clough has written it and I know hes got quite a few years experience with Sat phones:

Inmarsat vs Iridium - Which service is best for me?
Inmarsat Vs Iridium By Mobal Satellite Phone Expert Stephen Clough | Reviews | Buyers Guides

See what you think, its got a pretty good round-up at the bottom listing the pros and cons.

VirtualVagabond · 02-12-2011, 15:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by charlieporter

Hi Matrix,

on the subject of Inmarsat vs Iridium, theres a real good article about that here. Steve Clough has written it and I know hes got quite a few years experience with Sat phones:

Inmarsat vs Iridium - Which service is best for me?
Inmarsat Vs Iridium By Mobal Satellite Phone Expert Stephen Clough | Reviews | Buyers Guides

See what you think, its got a pretty good round-up at the bottom listing the pros and cons.

Thanks for that, and welcome to the forum

rebel heart · 03-12-2011, 13:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeneHammond

I have a better solution. What would owners pay for broadband satellite coverage during passages and or deliveries? What I'm referring to is leased equipment and basic coverage underway to include applications such as internet IP phones or even video teleconferencing with download speeds up to 2Mb/s.

I am a sailor and communications engineer with an idea......

Thoughts?

Gene Hammond

There are existing broadband services out there for ships and aircraft to use. They are extremely expensive.

traveller25 · 04-04-2012, 23:59

Hi all,

I am an aussie user of Inmarsat's excellent Isatphone Pro pre-paid voucher terms of sale. Well, they were wonderful, until now. I have been advised by my Australian service provider that Immarsat has decided, as from 1st June 2012, to increase the price of its pre-paid vouchers by some 30%, but that's not the worst of it. As from 1st June 2012 Imarsat will only offer very expensive and very severely-restrcted usage periods on pre-paid vouchers, and, worse again, will not honour existing unactivated vouchers beyond 31 Dec 2012 where not been activated by then!! Inmarsat's major selling points, being their competitive prices, but especially that unactivated pre-paid vouchers need not be activated for 20 years, and once activated last 2 years from the date of activation, has been thrown out the window. This latter change in particular means that Inmarsat has effectively killed off the huge advantage it had over other sat phone service providers, and breached the trust of its sat phone users.

Yes, what Inmarsat offered was just brilliant, suiting Australian users / travellers / retirees etc perfectly, and I never had a problem getting a connection (when in view of the sky, of course). We shall have to see if Inmarsat wakes up to itself and realises the serious damage it has done to its market, as many fellow Isatphone Pro users are outraged at the changes and breach of terms of sale, and not to mention the total loss of trust. If the new price and time usage arrangements apply world wide, as I understand they do, Inmarsat must surely be copping it from all of their sat phone users.

Inmarsat's new pre-paid vouchers vary in usage time according to price (the max-period voucher they now offer is for one year and will cost you just over $600 (more than the price of the phone!!), and the voucher must be used within 12 months! If you don't want to pay that much you get much shorter time usage periods!

If Inmarsat does not restore the current terms of sale for its pre-paid vouchers, well I don't think anyone would touch them with the proverbial barge pole. Who would ever trust them again?

Sadly,

traveller25

idpnd · 05-04-2012, 00:17

Scandalous!!

Katiusha · 05-04-2012, 02:58

This info has been floating around since end of February: http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...oon-78077.html

Pando now suggests a combination of KVH's Mini-VSat and Iridium Global Port for world-wide coverage.

traveller25 · 05-04-2012, 03:04

Many thanks Katiusha.

Katiusha · 05-04-2012, 03:37

No problem. The combination of Mini-VSat V3 and Open Port (not Global, sorry - typo in previous post) costs more than Fleet Broadband 250, but the difference in rates more than makes up for it.

stevensuf · 05-04-2012, 04:53

strange , here in the uk they still offer 2 years on the vouchers

coupdemistral · 15-10-2012, 16:58

I used to use an SSB radio during my ocean crossings but today I wouldn't spend the money to buy another one, frankly (not to mention having to run the engine 1/2 hour each day to keep the batteries charged). Especially considering that nowadays you can send a geo-tagged SMS message for about a buck from any of the major sat phones, have it posted to your Facebook page through a service like Squidd.io, and keep you family and friends up to date (try doing that with a ham net!). Times have changed :-)!

rebel heart · 15-10-2012, 21:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by coupdemistral

I used to use an SSB radio during my ocean crossings but today I wouldn't spend the money to buy another one, frankly (not to mention having to run the engine 1/2 hour each day to keep the batteries charged). Especially considering that nowadays you can send a geo-tagged SMS message for about a buck from any of the major sat phones, have it posted to your Facebook page through a service like Squidd.io, and keep you family and friends up to date (try doing that with a ham net!). Times have changed :-)!

Jesus, I just busted out my Iridium 9555 and tried sending a geo-tagged message. Took about five minutes to type all those damn symbols in there, then I accidentally hit the red button and it wiped my message.