sat phones

[Paul Elliott]

With the pactor modem, many people use the free "Airmail" program. This is text-only, but allows attachments. The SailMail system strips out HTML from any email before it gets sent to you over the radio.

Also free, and by the same author, are the "GetFax" and "ViewFax" programs. GetFax works with the pactor modem to receive wxfax and navtex (and rtty and morse). The Viewfax program lets you view these, as well as gribfiles.

[hellosailor]

Idiens-
Pactor is a communications protocol, not a software application. So no, it doesn't have it's own "mailer". It simply takes whatever you put into the Pactor modem and converts it into a set of "deedle-deedle-dee" audio tones that a matching Pactor-equipped system decodes at the other end.

Skymate is apparently a combination of software applications and a satellite radio--and a pricey plan for actual communications.

Pactor is for HF radios, not satellite. As such it is limited to a much lower speed, about 1/3 of typical satellite data speeds on the best of days. But, using HF radios with Pactor is free after the hardware purchase if you are a ham operator, and a fairly small expense if you are a marine SSB user. There's no "per character" fee, and you can use whatever software you please.

It's unclear if Skymate does any nanny duty on your email, but anyone who has managed to get a boat offshore and be responsible for it, ought to be able to deal with that very easily. Unless they're a confirmed AOL user, that crowd tends to be hopeless at anything technical. I think I'd be afraid to go to sea on a boat where the skipper or sparks was an AOL customer.<G>

[Idiens]

Thanks all, looks like the SSB/Sailmail and Iridium combo is still the best.

[KC7CC]

I saw the Forum to intro , but it has no way
to post !
I then went to one of the other forums and
it said i needed to reregister !!
Bill Gates lives here ?
---------------------------

62 , Sailor , Ham , computer builder ...

There will be a big change soon , in H.F.
It will be unpopular ,
Satilittes will do text messaging , and
people will sub lease , and install clocks
on their Satillite phones and sell time .
You will get a short allotement each month
and it will be very low cost .
You will be able to speak ( like VOIP , on
the WWW web )
But for cost , there will be a delay of 3 seconds.
Should cost about $20/month .
It works anywhere the Sat' can see you ,
so go sailing , where its always line of sight !

The PC has been ruined by Bill Gates and
Intel , so it will not exist in the near future .

I do hardware . I'm working on a small
pocket pc , that has free, tiny, do everything
operating system .
Nintenod makes game box .
My OpSys runs on it .
It will hook to your Sat Phone.
It will hook to all hardware .

Dont confuse my work with Linux .
It will allow you to modify the OpSys , from
the 8KB loader . It is structured , so anyone
will be able to drill down into the OpSys
from the touch scream ( gamebox "DS Lites"
have 2 small LCD's , lower has a TouchScream )
You will be able to see the insides of the OpSys
with a trackball/mouse . No text , no English
nothing , only Icons and images , the only correct
way to program computers ..

Im a builder , creator , EE ...

chat , anyone ?

PLS dont put stuff that looks advert's in email
to me , i must toss all SPAM .
If your email SUBJECT looks SPAM , i may
overlook it . werty swissinfo org .
Paul Jones is not my name , its for spam ..

[GordMay]

SkyMate extends coverage to S. Pacific:

SkyMate has announced that its messaging and data services are now available in the South Pacific region, including Australia, New Zealand and other parts of Asia. Service will be provided through ORBCOMM's newest gateway Earth station in Rutherglen, eastern Australia.
The company says that it plans to extend its coverage to the South Atlantic/Indian Ocean by the end of 2007.

[KC7CC]

Great news , satillites .

Looks like they all need to be on equator

for 24/7 ...

I see breakthrus , soon , we will all be able to

text msg , for peanuts .

But new computers will turn Text Msg'ing

back into voice ! its a trick ..

Many have held back progress , like Bill Gates .

They will soon be retired , forcefully , by new

stuff , you thought was too complicated ....

I make it easy ...

Programming is simple , clear , as long as

you stay away from the University !

In 1970 , wasted $$ at a Land-Grant college .

They told me , they'd charge , but not teach

any E.E. , to me for 2 years .....

I taught myself in a few years ..

I'll be scouting a birth on a Texas cruiser , in

a few days ... I need to sail the Gulf of MX ..

later ....

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by KC7CC

But new computers will turn Text Msg'ing

back into voice ! its a trick ...

Mac computers already do that.........and has for years. Our XW here in the PNW is on a text to voice transmit............................_/)

[hellosailor]

"But new computers will turn Text Msg'ing

back into voice ! its a trick "

Forget about Mac, even WIndows NT5.0 (aka Windows2000) shipped with "talkers" built into the OS. They're part of the "handicapped accessibility features" and MS included them because third-party software for the PC was also readily available back then, they were dealing with complaints and potential suits over handicapped accessibility.

Heck, even my Palm Treo can "speak" written text to me now and do voice regonition back into it, and that's just a low-end low-power commodity CPU these days. (Recognizes things best if you speak "Palm-ish" to it.<G>)

Thomas, how come your messages look like they are coming off an old Commodore running UNIX? Most of the world uses 80 character line widths, without the extra double newlines these days.

[KC7CC]

Are you serious ?!

100's of millions of computer users are
on my side ! WXP , Apple , HP PDA,s
WCE , WXP , W2K ....

Don't work ..crippled , broken
promises ....
--------------------------

yet you advertize Mac do this or WXP do that !
Give it a rest !
You can't sell M$ nor Apple !


Why do you think im workin on ARM !!!
We have $$ , and we want better !

Stay tuned , here , i'll give s/w that will
make a tiny pocket PC , obsolete every
thing ,, you call a computer .

No mo Folders/files,, no more "excuses"
No more DeviceDrivers ,
No more "Booting"
No more English , nor Text

The worlds first G.U.I.



It will be free , tiny ......

Now on to important stuff ..


I create ...
I have spent many hours planning boats
and hulls and nav equip ...

On the water , one $$ piece of hardware
is actually not a good idea ..
You must piece together many things
to be safe , offshore ...
Im doin a low cost BW CDD Camera .
BG Micro sells for $20 , but it still needs
lots mo , low cost pieces ...

It will be digitized , so it can be automatic .
It will warn you . It can identify shapes ..

But you cant use PC , its crippled ..

Thus im working first on ARM mcu's now,

Catch 22 , i cant do Camera , without
the ARM !

ha ha ha ha ,life , aint it confusing !


It will be free , so stay tuned ...


BTW For those here who can't
work , create , get a life ,
produce nor find a job.

pls respond with ....

"Whats he smokin..."

Liberals , in search of self esteem , the "easy"
way ...

[cat man do]

Just got back from a trip to Vanuatu after deliivering a boat from Oz.

Used Iridium Satphone for the trip and it regularly had no coverage, and dropped out mid-call, and had crossed signal's and echo's.

I had the same problem's a few year's when I sailed to New Cal with an Iridium and was less than impressed, but the boat owner on this trip was told by the phone seller that Iridium was as good as landline and better than mobile..............Liar.

Dave

[KC7CC]

Twice now you have glanced off of a political statement.

Just in case you didn't read the RULES carefully.

Here is a section of it that is fairly important.

Especially now in this political season very little

promotion or bashing will be tolerated.

Respectfully, delmarrey
--------------------------------------

KC7CC wrote :
Get an education , Political means to
gain power , by joining a group , whose actions
would not be tolerated , if done individually

This is the way we use "political" , today .


You are political , I am apolitical .

You are selling something , and i dont
want to buy it , nor does anyone here .
Thats the real issue ...

I was thrown off a Mexican foro , for
saying
Gov'ts had to force Insurance on
people ...

Foro owner was an insurance salesman
and lawyer .

He paid .... lost business ...

You will pay also ....

[GordMay]

Political means: “of, pertaining to, or concerned with politics”, whereas Apolitical means: “not involved or interested in politics”.

Accordingly, ”... I was thrown off a Mexican foro , for saying Gov'ts had to force Insurance on people ...” would be a statement of a political nature.

I’m not certain where this is coming from, nor where it’s going - nor why it’s going anywhere. I urge all parties to exercise prudent & civil self-restraint.

[southernman]

Iridium all the way for me. Had no problems at all with it.

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by southernman

Iridium all the way for me. Had no problems at all with it.

Iridium may be OK as backup, but the owner of the boat in Vanuatu we delivered now agree's that a HF is essentual and will only use the Iridium as backup.

I kept thinking if we needed to call in a helicopter for a rescue that we would not get through due to no service,or lose half the call due to it dropping out mid sentance.

There was another Trawler we met up at Santo that was from Oz who had all of the same problem's that we had with his Iridium, and he also was less than impressed considering the cost of the unit and the claim's made by the seller's.

Dave

[Paul Elliott]

Due to the polar orbits of the Iridium satellites, I would expect the coverage and call "up-time" to be worse closer to the equator. I have used my Iridium satphone for voice and data calls in the San Francisco area (38 N lat), between S.F. and the Hawaiian Islands (20 N lat), and in the Marquesas Islands (10 S lat), and the service does seem to be worse in the tropics.

Still, I prefer Iridium to HF for email. If I monitor the signal-strength, I can usually tell if a connection will be a good one, and even during a short connection I can transfer much more data than I could in a much longer Pactor-3 HF session. I also found that using Iridium for voice calls was reasonably satisfactory in the tropics. In the Marquesas, we spent much of the time anchored in small bays surrounded by steep hills, which limited the satphone's view of the sky. Being out in the open worked much better. Depending on the particular location, a satphone system using geosynchronous equatorial-orbit satellites may be more reliable near the equator, but for all-area communications I'm glad to have the Iridium unit.

On the other hand, I also have, and use, marine HF radio. I like having both.