Satellite Comms

[davil]

thank you very much,will take time to look at these new offerings,certinly another option
take care
David

[UFGator]

Originally Posted by Sea-TechSystems

The Sat-Fi2 might work for you actually.
https://www.sea-tech.com/product/glo...-wifi-hotspot/

$499 for the unit, and starts at $480 per year, which includes 480 minutes of voice, 60MB of data, and 300 SMS messages.

It's much faster than the Go! (70kbps vs 2.4kbps)

There's really nothing else that competes in the same price point. The price and performance beats both.

Interesting info.

I'm assuming the 480 minutes is for 12 months (i.e. 40 minutes per month). Is there an option with unlimited data?

[svmobert]

Originally Posted by UFGator

Interesting info.

I'm assuming the 480 minutes is for 12 months (i.e. 40 minutes per month). Is there an option with unlimited data?

There is not currently an unlimited option no.. If you look at the plans though, there are two types..

The monthly plans are 12 month contracts, but they break up the included airtime by month, so 40 minutes per month, for example..

But the annual plans, they give you all the airtime up front and you can use it anytime in the 12 month period. So you could use 480 minutes in one day if you needed to.. The annual plans are more like a prepaid plan, but you can go over the included and just pay the extra, rather than buying a whole new prepaid voucher again..

The second thing to note is that you get Voice + Text + Data.. So for the Enterprise 480 plan, which is annual, you get 480 minutes of calls PLUS 60MB of data PLUS 300 SMS. You can use all of that in one month, or you can use a little bit each time you need it through the 12 month period. If you have no usage for 3 months, you don't lose anything because that airtime is available still to use later.

If you burn through all your included data, as an example, then you just pay the $5/MB overage (which is lower than competing satellite data rates) as you use it.

The monthly (Advantage) plans and the annual (Enterprise) plans are really the same cost with the only difference being the airtime is either chopped up by month or not.

Looking at costs, if you had the Iridium Go! unlimited plan for 6 months, it would cost you over $800. That's more than the Enterprise 780 plan which has 780 minutes of voice, 180MB of data, and 900 SMS messages.

Iridium Go! unlimited plan for 12 months is over $1600. $400 more than the Enterprise 1200 plan. Includes 360MB of data and overage is $3.50/MB so you could burn another 110MB of data before you break even with the Go! Unlimited plan. Using a device that is actually fast enough to browse a web page and use Windy.

What is a MB? well it's about 1 HOUR of download time on an Iridium Go!. So if you are doing 5-10 Minutes of email/GRIB downloads per day on an Iridium Go!, which seems to be about average for many cruisers, that's about 100KB of data per day. 1MB would be about 10 days at that usage pattern. The smallest SatFi2 plan is 60MB per year, about 5MB per month.

Just some thoughts. Hope that helps.

You still have to be careful, because as soon as you go to webpages, Windy, etc the burn rate is higher than email and predictwind. But at least you have the option.

[belizesailor]

Just got my InReach bill and thought I would post here as a point of reference for those evaluating costs. This invoice includes the annual fee of $24.95. The normal monthly fee for the basic "Freedom Plan" is $14.95. I sent 11 messages total, 5 of which were "preset" messages. You can send an unlimited number of these at no additional cost. You define preset messages online. The message definition includes both the message text and the distribution list. This also makes it easy to send a preset message you just pick it from a list and punch send. I use them for routine status messages ("OK", "Anchoring here", etc...).

IMHO its a hell of a good deal for world wide 2-way comms. Ive used mine everywhere from cruising the Carib, to hiking/kayaking in Panama, to Everest Base Camp, to Caravanning Down Under...

Link to invoice (redacted to remove account info).


https://www.dropbox.com/s/mczp4co8sm...acted.pdf?dl=0

[Bill O]

Thanks for posting. Still torn between the Iridium and Garmin plans

Quick question about your plan. Looking at the Garmin site for plans/fees, we would probably be interested in the Safety or Recreation plan. A bit different fee structure than what you showed:
Safety $11.95/mo (annual) + $14.95/mo (freedom) = $26.90 + taxes, etc.

Recreation $24.95/mo (annual) + $34.95/mo (freedom)= $59.90 + taxes, etc.

So which plan do you have? Also do you have any review/thoughts of their premium marine weather add on?


Bill O.

[belizesailor]

I have the Freedom Safety plan ($14.95/mo). Thats the only monthly fee I pay. There is also an annual fee of $24.95.

I think you may be mixing up the annual vs freedom plan billing. You pay one or the other, not both.

The weather is a good feature to have, but its pretty limited. Its just a spot forecast which gives you basic data for a given location. Basic forecast is for 3 days, Premium 7 days, Marine adds some basic data like wave height.

Link to Garmin site info on these options:

https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?fa...rt8cg21ARUw0N8

[RobMinton]

Originally Posted by billknny

We use have been using Iridium Go! for email, weather, and text messages for 5 years. Our weather vender has been PredictWind, and we have been very happy with them. The whole system works great. The key is shopping around until you find a reseller who has a connection plan that matches your needs. Some have annual only plans, some have plans you can start and stop as needed.

Do you use the Iridium Go App for voice, data, email? If so, what do think of it? The reviews on the App Store for IOS say the App is underdeveloped and lacking in basic functions. Also, it doesn't allow for laptop connectivity, which doesn't make any sense. The two apps for Iridium Go are only available for phones and tablets.

From the side of PredictWind, everything looks good for receiving WX. If only PredictWind included a voice, data, email package as part of their App. Would appreciate any input as we also prepare for an Atlantic Crossing.

[svmobert]

Originally Posted by RobMinton

Do you use the Iridium Go App for voice, data, email? If so, what do think of it? The reviews on the App Store for IOS say the App is underdeveloped and lacking in basic functions. Also, it doesn't allow for laptop connectivity, which doesn't make any sense. The two apps for Iridium Go are only available for phones and tablets.

From the side of PredictWind, everything looks good for receiving WX. If only PredictWind included a voice, data, email package as part of their App. Would appreciate any input as we also prepare for an Atlantic Crossing.

The Iridium Go Mail and Web app is a limited version of the Xgate email app. If you add Xgate service you can do email on Mac, PC, Android, and iOS, plus access the email through any internet connection (Go!, WiFi, Cellular, etc) and a webmail page. I always ask my customers if they would like to do email on a computer or if smartphone/tablet is okay when they are buying an Iridium Go! for this very reason. Xgate is a subscription service you can add on to any satellite service.

Also, Xgate gives you a free version of the PredictWind basic (normally $30/year) plan.. Normally you need to pay for Standard or Pro versions of PW to use satelllite or SSB with it, but you can use the free Xgate PW Basic with an Iridium Go!.

Xgate also includes free access to the Sailblogs Premium Basic plan.

In any case, there are options for those that want more advanced email access.

What's more, if you cancel or suspend your Iridium Go! airtime, you can keep your Xgate email alive and use it over other Internet connections, or suspend it for $5/month for up to 6 months at a time.

If you would like more info feel free to ask, or check out more information here: https://www.sea-tech.com/product/xga...ice-12-months/

[Capt.Don]

I have the Freedom Recreation Plan, $35/month+ $1.86 fees/taxes. This gives 40 text messages and unlimited tracking points. Lots of friends and family are tracking our adventure!