Immarsat 2 or Iridium

[carstenb]

john

I have an ICOM 802 and pactor 4 modem mounted on the boat. But we also want a sat phone. I would expect we'll use it mainly for voice.


I expect to download gribs etc via the icom. I do not expect to be able to surf the net - I know you can't.


We're also doing the coconut milk run so we don't need polar coverage. I do want a phone with a DSC emergency button.


So back to my original question




Iridium or Immarsat and why?




How do I get away from minutes expiring? Is postpaid the only way to go?




Thhanks again for all the help

[estarzinger]

Originally Posted by carstenb

I do want a phone with a DSC emergency button.

I could be wrong about this but I don't believe ANY sat phone has a true DSC emergency button. I believe only Inmarsat C or Mini C terminals offer that (along with the much bigger fleet and B systems). I do know for sure that all the iridium based "SOS buttons' go thru a third party company (Geos) and are not GMDSS or DSC.


How do I get away from minutes expiring? Is postpaid the only way to go?
Yes postpaid.


I can tell you that among the cruising fleet . . . the iridium extreme is the standard most common phone and the iridium pilot the standard for those wanting more data speed.

.......

[ka4wja]

carstenb,
1) Yes, I know you get it!
Just wanted anyone else reading this thread to be clear, that these real-world results posted about here are not just typical, but also exactly what the system designs specify...(which is different than how some interpret the marketing/advertising...)
Whether handheld sat phone, or IridiumGo, etc...the speeds are VERY SLOW!!!



2) As to these specific questions....see here, in red...

Originally Posted by carstenb

I do want a phone with a DSC emergency button.
Sorry about not being clear up front!
NONE of these "phones" have any DSC emergency button!

(and Evans is correct, only INMARSAT-C and INMARSAT-Mini-C terminals have "distress" buttons, as standard....as well as the Fleet 77 systems, having this as an option....and rumor is that INMARSAT is in the process of changing their FleetBroadband system specs/criteria, and submitting that for GMDSS certification, and after that, them the FB250 and FB500 should also be available with a "distress" button...)

Sorry, I misunderstood your original question:

I assumed that you just wanted to be able to simply dial-up an RCC via the phone, which any sat phone can be programmed to do...
And, yes....the Iridium Extreme does have such a button (it's called the "SOS" button), that you can program to dial an RCC or other such emergency operations center...or some service providers offer an 'in-house" emergency center...



Here is a short video, showing the Iridium Extreme's "SOS" button..

So back to my original question

Iridium or Immarsat and why?
Iridium 9555 or 9575 Extreme...(with a external antenna...)

Why?
'Cause they work!
(and since you want an handheld sat phone, with worldwide coverage, using it from your sailboat, the Iridium phones are the only ones that will work well for you....see my post above regarding INMARSAT iSatPhone...)


How do I get away from minutes expiring? Is postpaid the only way to go?
As, I wrote earlier....yes, post-paid is the way to go, if you require that you never "leave minutes to expire", but also as I wrote earlier, you may find that one of the pre-paid plans to work for you....
Please have a look at the Iridium site for more details and referrals to Iridium service providers, who may have some "deal" on plans and/or airtime...

3) Bottom line:
The answer is still the same....
Iridium.


I hope this helps..

Fair winds...

John

[chala]

Originally Posted by nhschneider

Yes, purchased new along with a very expensive docking station. If someone's interested, I'll make them a hell of a deal but it doesn't work.

Sad. I definitely would have got my money back from the seller.

Originally Posted by chala

For weather prediction a Sat phone is a great tool to have.