Simple/affordale position reporting system

[ThanksLori]

I'm looking ahead to a transatlantic adventure on a small (31-foot) relatively low-tech sailboat. We'll have Iridium Go (not Exec), an android tablet, and GPS receiver; and modest AGM battery capacity (270 Ah). Do you have recommendations for a low-cost automatic system/set-up to inform loved ones ashore of boats' position? Constant real-time pos is not required; updates every 12 or 24 hours would be fine, but automatic is highly desired, with users able to see a "track" and time/position info on the blip for each report. I'm looking into PredictWind but haven't committed to it yet. Many thanks!

[fxykty]

https://www.predictwind.com/iridium-go

With the Iridium GO you need to buy a SIM (USD12) and a data plan - GO Basic plan activation USD49.95 plus per month USD69.95. Note that the months are from the first to the last day, so first month is prorated based on start date. The Basic plan will provide you with enough SMS for even hourly texts with your GPS position. But that is manual and doesn’t create a tracking map.

If you want a tracking page (map) then you’ll need a SIM, a data plan (will need more data minutes than the basic so GO Plus for USD119.95 per month) and a Standard PredictWind subscription for a tracking page USD99 per three months. But that tracking page will only be live as long as you maintain a Standard subscription. Note that the GO Plus data plan plus Standard subscription will also provide you with enough data to get twice daily weather updates and daily weather routing.

Alternatively, if you’ve got someone onshore who will do some work for you, send SMS positions to that person and have them manually upload to Google Map or No Foreign Land or some other map application. Then you can stick with the Basic plan only. But you won’t have weather updates.

The cheapest satellite option, though you have to buy the device, is a Garmin Inreach Mini. Subscriptions start from USD14.95 per month. It gives you automated position tracking on an Garmin map that people can view and text weather. You’d still need someone to put the GPS positions onto a map.