The following post was converted to a permanent and maintained page in our
Stuff we have and use... sidebar on 6-Apr-2016.
This post now automatically redirects to the maintained permanent page.
Please go to that permanent page for current information. It was last updated July-2017.
The out-of-date original post follows: [27-Nov-2015] The text is aged parchment color to remind you this is the old version...
________________________________________________________________
Original Post:
We occasionally participate in various boating forums. [See our Some Forums We Read sidebar for links...]
Some of those topics may be relevant here, so once in a while we will repost on our blog for reference.
The following may be one of those cases. To accommodate our non-boating blog readers, sometimes we add some {additional information and links} to the original forum post. (below)
It is worth noting since we are discussing electronic and emergency devices, this post will likely have a relatively short shelf-life... [1-3 years?]
Link to original forum post [27-Nov-2015]
Re: Best Sat phone for wx offshore?
Quote:
Originally Posted by malyea 
Buying either a Iridium 9555 or 9575 or Iridium GO primarily for weather forecasts and updates while offshore?
Leaning towards the 9555...
Thoughts, opinions, experience ?
Thanks
|
Malyea,
We bought an Iridium Extreme [9575] and passive external antenna before the Iridium GO! was released, so that is what we have experience with so far...
We use it with UUplus [Personal version] for extraordinary email and file transmission performance. [UUplus still pays for itself- oftimes more than twice- in sat phone time saved each month. A technical overview describing why is included below...]
We chose Iridium because of their proven and dependable coverage at higher latitudes.
We chose the 9575 over the 9555 for multiple reasons [e.g., the slightly higher cost was worth it to us...]:
- Ruggedized
- Water and dust resistant [IP65]
- GPS built-in
- SOS [via GEOS- like Spot and DeLorme Inreach]
- Direct USB connection to laptop computer [i.e., no intermediary black box required]
I suspect a sat hot-spot device [e.g., an IP device like the Iridium GO!] is in our future. However, we aren't there yet because based upon our current usage and sat phone plan [US$1/minute] the Iridium GO! unlimited data plan [US$120/month] would cost us almost twice what we now pay- including the UUplus subscription.
What is our current daily usage? Email, twice daily wx files including text forecasts, gribs, wefax charts, etc. All using UUplus. [Our sat phone alerts us- for free- when a new email is received so we only check then, or when we have something to send, or wait until the next wx file session- all of which we choose to initiate manually...]
With that said, once we start using more than 200 minutes per 6 months the Sat Phone starts costing about the same as an Iridium GO!- but without unlimited data. That will add to our tipping point for that decision.
For example, our current sat phone plan [Northern Lights Plan- Alaska and Canada only- shop carefully...] requires a minimum of 200 mins every 6 months for data to roll-over, and can only be bumped in 200 min increments... [Here is a blog post with a bit more detail about our sat phone plan if you are interested..]
If/when we obtain an Iridium GO!, it will connect to the same external antenna we use now, and the 9575 will be kept active for land and emergency use, and as a back-up to the GO! for email, etc.
Another factor that would make an Iridium GO! even more enticing [with an unlimited data plan] is once Iridium activates their [yet to be launched...] new satellites and offers some usable bandwidth using these devices. [Especially if unlimited data is still offered...]
More about UUplus: [With technical details provided by UUplus from their recent testing using an Iridium Go on their office rooftop- i.e., without an external antenna...]
How does UUplus more than pay for itself for us? UUplus can communicate directly with the modem in Iridium [and perhaps other] sat phones. This allow it to bypass the usual internet protocols [e.g., Unreliable PPP for connections, and overhead intensive TCP] in favor of a hybrid protocol [a variant of UUCP] optimizing throughput over slow and relatively high latency sat phone connections.
Note: the throughput optimization gained with a sat phone using UUplus will be diminished with an Iridium Go because a Go is [currently] dependent upon Internet Protocols [PPP and TCP] since it allows smart phones to use [specific] apps online. However one could argue those losses [i.e., more dropped connections and slower performance] are partially mitigated by an unlimited data plan... Time will tell...
Position statement: It is worth reiterating that regardless of whether we ever acquire a sat hot-spot device like the Iridium GO!, we will always keep an active sat phone onboard because it is the least complicated communications device in an emergency. [The Iridium GO! is dependent upon smart phones, so that is 2+ devices that need to be grabbed {and have fully charged batteries} adding more complication in an emergency situation...]
Update: 29-Mar-2016: I have recently learned that the SIM card for an Iridium GO! is compatible with our Iridium Extreme (9575) sat phone (and the 9555 model as well...) Therefore our future strategy may be to use the GO! with its unlimited data day-to-day and in the event of an emergency, transfer the SIM to the sat phone. [Note: The unlimited data does NOT transfer to the Sat phone; you would be using voice minutes for voice and data...]
I hope this helps explain our thinking and decisions to date, and is useful to you as you ponder yours.
Cheers!
Bill
__________________
Additional Resources:
