Sat Phone

[Moody Mike]

Hi all ,
We are about to head off again & need to buy a sat phone. I have never bothered to really try Find out about these things but we want to be able to call the kids & get weather etc. I just did a land trip in West Australia on the Canning Stock Route great fun & the ying to my yachting yang . One of my freinds brought along an Iridium Go. I used the app & being abel to use my 4 g mobile (cell) phone was great. Prevuiosly i had Predict Wind with my last sat phone on red sky but never used it. Im on the Gold Coast Qld & looking for a provider that can supply & educate me on how to use these things. Now i also want internet when cruising coastal i have heard there is a booster aerial that can get me 4g 120 ks off the coast. If anyone knows about either of these system please comment below.
Mike

[GMN]

Hello,

There is much to say in response to your questions and I recommend a free no obligation satellite communication consultation with one of the tech support folks at Global Marine Networks. Satellite Communications Consultations.

In the mean time here is some info about the Iridium Go! to get you started.

The Iridium GO! is a great little device that allows you to use your cellphone to make satellite phone calls, do compression email, and do small bits of data like downloading weather GRIB files. The unit itself costs $799.

There are two types of airtime for the Iridium GO!: prepaid and postpaid (subscription).

Iridium GO! Prepaid Airtime
The prepaid options for the GO! are as follows:
$518 - 200 Minutes with 6 Month validity
$720 - 500 Minutes with 12 Month validity

Right now, Iridium is running "double data minutes" for prepaid GO! cards. This means that if you used a 500 Minute card exclusively for data, you would have 1000 minutes for data.

Iridium GO! Postpaid Airtime
The postpaid options for the GO! all require 12 month subscriptions. Prices here are monthly.
$50.50 - GO! 5 (includes 5 minutes of data, no voice).
$81.50 - GO! 75 (includes 75 minutes of data, no voice).
$90.00 - GO! 150 (includes 150 minutes of data and unlimited SMS, no voice).
$135.00 - GO! Unlimited (includes unlimited data minutes and SMS, no voice).

If you're planning on using the GO! on a boat, we would recommend hooking up an external antenna. For this installation you would need:
$250 - External fixed mast antenna
$149 - $299 - Antenna cable (available in 10 meters, 15 meters, and 20 meters)
$46 - Iridium GO! external antenna adapter

Please note that the free email and web-compression apps that come with the Iridium GO! are only compatible with tablets and smartphones. If you would like to use a laptop or other computer with the GO! you will need to purchase a subscription to XGate satellite email service (which works with laptops, computers, smartphones, and tablets).

If you are looking for a more marinized solution you may want to consider the Aurora: Aurora Iridium WiFi Terminal | Global Marine Networks

FYI XGate satellite data services also comes with a free subscription to PredictWind. XGate Satellite Phone Email| Iridium 9555, Inmarsat, Globalstar via XGate | GMN

For Coastal Cruising you also might want to consider the Halo Long Range WiFi Extender Halo Long Range WiFi Extender | Global Marine Networks and the cell booster GMN Recommended Marine Cell Booster Here is a blog that may interest you about the cell booster: How a Cell Phone Booster Kit Enhances Coastal Cruising

The GMN website: Satellite Phones & Airtime | Satellite Email & Internet | Global Marine Networks has an extensive Learning Section with numerous white papers as well as a comprehensive blog about equipment.

Fair Winds,
Kim

[MarkJ]

Hi Mike,

The trick is to work out how you use airtime. Obviously its hugely expensive.

For the last few years i do my big passages twice per year, so i only need 2 months per year connection. They wont both fit in the same 6 months.

Sat phone companies hate that because they want to drill you for 6 months or 12 months.

Mine charges be $190 for 75 minutes for a month, no contract.
So my 2 months per year are $380. Thats a lot cheaper than any 12 month option.

Take time to do your research. It can be a very expensive mistake.

[a64pilot]

When I was ferrying aircraft, I used to rent them. For occasional use I think renting makes sense.
As in your only doing one, maybe two passages a year when you might have use for one.


Sent from my iPad Pro using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[SV.Maverick]

A lot of people like their DeLome InReach start at like 300 and on a 12 mo plan unlimited texts for $50 per mo.

[Moody Mike]

Originally Posted by GMN

Hello,

There is much to say in response to your questions and I recommend a free no obligation satellite communication consultation with one of the tech support folks at Global Marine Networks. Satellite Communications Consultations.

In the mean time here is some info about the Iridium Go! to get you started.

The Iridium GO! is a great little device that allows you to use your cellphone to make satellite phone calls, do compression email, and do small bits of data like downloading weather GRIB files. The unit itself costs $799.

There are two types of airtime for the Iridium GO!: prepaid and postpaid (subscription).

Iridium GO! Prepaid Airtime
The prepaid options for the GO! are as follows:
$518 - 200 Minutes with 6 Month validity
$720 - 500 Minutes with 12 Month validity

Right now, Iridium is running "double data minutes" for prepaid GO! cards. This means that if you used a 500 Minute card exclusively for data, you would have 1000 minutes for data.

Iridium GO! Postpaid Airtime
The postpaid options for the GO! all require 12 month subscriptions. Prices here are monthly.
$50.50 - GO! 5 (includes 5 minutes of data, no voice).
$81.50 - GO! 75 (includes 75 minutes of data, no voice).
$90.00 - GO! 150 (includes 150 minutes of data and unlimited SMS, no voice).
$135.00 - GO! Unlimited (includes unlimited data minutes and SMS, no voice).

If you're planning on using the GO! on a boat, we would recommend hooking up an external antenna. For this installation you would need:
$250 - External fixed mast antenna
$149 - $299 - Antenna cable (available in 10 meters, 15 meters, and 20 meters)
$46 - Iridium GO! external antenna adapter

Please note that the free email and web-compression apps that come with the Iridium GO! are only compatible with tablets and smartphones. If you would like to use a laptop or other computer with the GO! you will need to purchase a subscription to XGate satellite email service (which works with laptops, computers, smartphones, and tablets).

If you are looking for a more marinized solution you may want to consider the Aurora: Aurora Iridium WiFi Terminal | Global Marine Networks

FYI XGate satellite data services also comes with a free subscription to PredictWind. XGate Satellite Phone Email| Iridium 9555, Inmarsat, Globalstar via XGate | GMN

For Coastal Cruising you also might want to consider the Halo Long Range WiFi Extender Halo Long Range WiFi Extender | Global Marine Networks and the cell booster GMN Recommended Marine Cell Booster Here is a blog that may interest you about the cell booster: How a Cell Phone Booster Kit Enhances Coastal Cruising

The GMN website: Satellite Phones & Airtime | Satellite Email & Internet | Global Marine Networks has an extensive Learning Section with numerous white papers as well as a comprehensive blog about equipment.

Fair Winds,
Kim

Thanks Kim
Soory to take a while to get back to you. Been out of range! Will research all the links you supplied & get back to you. Many thanks.
Mike