Iridium 9575 - easy solution to get GRIB files ?

[MarcLeQuebecois]

Good day all,
I am looking at having my own complete mobile comm system, so I can jump from one boat to the other...
I already have an Iridium Phone, the 9575... I know everyone is going with the Iridium GO now... but since I already own that one...
Is there an EASY solution to get GRIB files with it ?

We use to use 5-6 years a go, a service called SailAMail or something like that, with the PC, had to use e-mail offline for requests, manage the firewalls and all... and it got to be a nightmare for me who is not too much tech lover...
So is there now something easier ? Don't they have some sort of driver that does it all ? Where can I get infos on that ? People talked about ZyGrib for the grib files, but between that and the connection to get the request ?? Issue was to minimize the connection time while requesting the grib, avoid PC updates, etc..

Anyway, any easy way to still use my phone and normal PC or tablet for Grib file requests ? Many thx for any trail... cheers

[DefinitelyMe]

You can download an app onto an iPhone or android phone called ‘Iridium Mail & Web’. With that you can send an email requesting a GRIB file to ‘saildocs’ (visit their website for details) and view the GRIB file on something like PredictWind Offshore. This is all free. If you want to make it easier you can pay a subscription to PredictWind and it will give you more features, one of which is that it will generate the email itself so that you don’t have to write anything in code (but try the code. I’m not at all techy and I found it a little tricky but not too hard once I got the hang of it).

The key bit would be figuring out a way to connect the sat phone to your mobile phone or tablet (I don’t think the Iridium app works on a laptop yet, but I could be wrong about that). We use an ‘optimiser’ which connects to the sat phone via a USB cable and just need to be plugged into a 12V power supply (maybe a 12V cigarette socket?). The ‘optimiser’ creates a WiFi network for the mobile phone or tablet to connect to and also, I think, does the firewall thingy so you don’t have to worry about updates going on or anything happening in the background.

It may or may not be possible to do this without the ‘optimiser’ if you can figure out a way of connecting the sat phone directly; I don’t know. But, worst-case scenario, what you want to do would be possible if you bought one.

Any use? I’m mainly posting so I can see some answers myself!

[DefinitelyMe]

But, if you’re willing to do that, it might actually be easier, and cheaper, to buy an Iridium Go! and just take it around with you....... the data is cheaper and it already has the WiFi transmitter built in.

[svmobert]

An optimizer is $149 and gives you the wifi and firewall features necessary to do weather gribs and email with the handheld phone. It works very well.

Assuming you just need it periodically and use prepaid SIM cards, it's perfect. I wouldn't replace it with a Go! unless you are using on passage all the time and using lots of minutes.

[svmobert]

And I forgot to mention.. PredictWind Offshore has built in support for the Optimizer.. So you just select what you want in PW, select download, and it will manage the whole process. no emails to send/receive.

If you want email also, then yes, you need Iridium Mail and Web or Xgate or something similar to use with the Optimizer/9575 combo.

I prefer the 9575/Optimizer combo to an Iridium Go! because the handheld phone is useful all by itself, and in an emergency when you are stuck in your liferaft, your working, undamaged, not-wet smartphone is unlikely to have made it along with you.

[barnakiel]

You do not need (I mean - you may not need) the gribs - if all you want is a spot data (derived from grib). Simply get one of new Garmin handhelds - these contain InReach grib data capability.


I did try getting files via Iridium but it was very slow and cumbersome process.



Ceers,
b.

[DefinitelyMe]

Originally Posted by Sea-TechSystems

And I forgot to mention.. PredictWind Offshore has built in support for the Optimizer.. So you just select what you want in PW, select download, and it will manage the whole process. no emails to send/receive.

However, this feature is part of the package that you get with a subscription. So then you need to buy a subscription. If you’re willing to do the emails yourself then you can do everything for free (except for the minutes - there’s no getting around that) through Iridium Mail & Web.

Incidentally, if you just want spot forecasts then Iridium Mail & Web does that too, without the need for PredictWind and without the need to send an email.

I guess it depends on what the OP really wants.

If you want the cheapest option, I think you want the Iridium phone you already have plus an optimiser, plus smartphone or tablet with PredictWind Offshore (or any other grib viewer) and Mail & Web installed. But you have to send the emails.

If you want the simplest option and want to keep your existing sat phone, then the same as above plus a subscription to the paid version of PredictWind Offshore. That will vastly simplify the GRIB retrieval process plus give you other stuff like weather routing as a bonus.