By DariaBlackwell - 24 Sep 2014
Has anyone tried out Iridium Go yet? PredictWind has a special package on offer.
The all new Iridium GO! will change the way you communicate offshore. Wirelessly connect up to 5 devices; smartphones, tablets and computers to the satellite unit to make calls, get forecast updates, email and even use social media. Watch the video for a brief overview:
Unlimited Data!
With Iridium 's Unlimited plan for only US$125/month you can forget about counting data and spend more time using it!
WiFi Connectivity
Connect up to 5 tablets, computers and smartphones using WiFi.
SOS Emergency Alert
Set an emergency phone number that can be contacted even without a device connected.
Integrates with the PredictWind Offshore App
• Certified by Iridium
• Download and View GRIB files
• Run PredictWind Weather Routing
• Receive GMDSS forecasts
• View Satellite Imagery
Purchase the Iridium GO! Marine Package from PredictWind today and save 22% off the retail price. Included in the package is a wall mount, passive antenna, antenna adaptor and cable. This is unbeatable value for coastal and offshore sailors.
http://www.predictwind.com/iridium-go/
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By David.Tyler - 1 Oct 2014
What 's not to like? Only the $,$$$ as far as I can see. Since my Yellowbrick went caput last year, I 've been sporadically looking for a replacement, and this would appear to be the one to choose.
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By simoncurrin - 1 Oct 2014
David,
Beware it was the Predict Wind forecasts I was sending you last year! Despite this we plan to buy one for our forthcoming Himalayan trip so will keep you posted.
Simon
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By David.Tyler - 8 Dec 2014
I 've succumbed. I 've ordered the Iridium Go! marine package, and it should reach me on Friday. I haven 't bought any airtime yet, as it will take me a while to install it. I 'm just getting ready for next summer.
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By DariaBlackwell - 8 Dec 2014
Please let us know how it goes for you. Installation, etc.
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By simoncurrin - 9 Dec 2014
David expensive airtime if you have to sign up to a 12 month contract! Do let us know when you have found the best airtime deal. It 's a shame the Yellowbrick died. I think I remember you having troubles with it early on?
Simon
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By David.Tyler - 13 Dec 2014
Simon,
There aren 't any deals to be had on the airtime; the rates seem to be fixed, across the various suppliers of the Iridium Go. However, it 's a monthly contract, so I 'll start at a low rate, while I 'm getting used to the thing, and perhaps upgrade later when it should, I hope, be my only means of (very basic) communication offshore and away from Wifi and 3G/4G.
Daria,
I received delivery yesterday. First impressions are:
[ol]
[li]It 's a well-made piece of kit.[/li]
[li]It needs to be mounted on a horizontal surface, under a window, to get a good GPS signal, so the instructions say. The external antenna only supplies the Iridium component of the signal, not the GPS. I can manage this, having windows at a shallow slope at the forward end of my pilot house, over the chart table. When I first switched on with the Go on the chart table, it acquired a GPS position almost instantaneously.[/li]
[li]The cable to the external antenna is extremely thick and stiff. I can 't immediately see why it needs to be so, as it 's only coax. It 's going to be difficult for me to route it, either from the horizontal bar across the davits, where my other antennae are, or from the deck just forward of the hatch, another option. The Go is not acquiring an Iridium signal from inside the boat, so the external antenna is essential.[/li]
[/ol]
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By David.Tyler - 15 Dec 2014
Update:
With the GO on the chart table, I 'm getting a good enough GPS and Iridium signal for SMS and tracking (which transmits as a SMS), with a short boot-up time. Not good enough for surfing mobile websites or voice calls though, which is where the external antenna is needed. I 've been trying the antenna temporarily fixed to the top of the davits, and I 'm getting a good, constant signal ,so I 'll just have to wrestle the thick cable into place for this position. I had a message back from Support saying that the thick cable is necessary, to reduce losses.
I 've sent and received test SMS - they come and go very quickly, just like an email over the internet. I 've also got an initial position onto my tracker map:
http://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/Tystie
but don 't expect that to move, until after Christmas!
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By David.Tyler - 19 Dec 2014
To pass from the davits, around the cockpit, through the engine box, down to the bilge and up to the chart table, the 30ft cable was just long enough, with an inch to spare. Larger boats will need the optional longer cables. The installation is now complete and fit for sea.
Unlike the Yellowbrick tracker map, the PredictWind tracker map does not allow me to attach a comment to each position marker. There are two ways around this. I could make a group of contacts, to send an SMS/email to; but this would require me to add manually any new contacts who request to be updated on my whereabouts and doings. Or, the Iridium iOS app facilitates direct postings to Facebook and Twitter. I can 't abide Facebook, so I 've set up a Twitter account for the time being, and anyone with the link https://twitter.com/tystie34 can now find and follow my postings, should they wish.
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By simoncurrin - 26 Dec 2014
David,
We have taken the plunge and ordered one for our Nepal trip this Spring. On your advice we have ordered the marine aerial too for later use on board.
Simon
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By David.Tyler - 27 Dec 2014
My first little passage is now showing on the tracker map.
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By DariaBlackwell - 27 Dec 2014
Thanks for sharing that. It 's interesting that it doesn 't show the exact route, only way points along the way. So it can 't be used for sharing tracks.
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By David.Tyler - 27 Dec 2014
[quote="DariaBlackwell" post=1712]Thanks for sharing that. It 's interesting that it doesn 't show the exact route, only way points along the way. So it can 't be used for sharing tracks.[/quote]
I 'd set the reporting interval to one hour, which is PredictWind 's recommendation, so as not to overload the map (and so as not to cost me too much money, since I 'm not yet on one of the "unlimited" plans). In fact, the interval can be set to anything from five minutes to a week. If I were on a short offshore passage, I might well choose four hours, and for an ocean passage, I might well choose twenty four hours, at the noon position; but I agree, if I were wanting to pass on info on a tricky passage cluttered with obstacles, I could use five or ten minutes. But this isn 't a track that can be exported, so is of limited use to others.
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By Ley - 12 Apr 2015
Daria,
We purchased an IridumGo Marine package from PredictWind with the $125 unlimited data package.
It does all that is says in the blurb. Yes it is easy to install, well not so easy on a steel boat as we had numorous holes to drill, but it all went smoothly. The unit itself has to be able to "see" the sky as it has the GPS built in it. So we mounted this under our steel dodger right near a glass window. It works fine there, though it does require a bit of shade as it overheats in the intense sunshine here in the Indian Ocean. The external antenna is mounted on the Davits.
We use it for weather, with PredictWind and also for Sailmail weather, though it is much slower pulling down grib files than via Sailmail . Email and short message via the Go is free, it works fine, but the replies are short as the allowed 160 characters include the reply email or phone number for the short messages.
The hourly tracking reporting is great, it is displayed at the top of our blog www.svcrystalblues.blogspot.com
The unlimited data is necessary as it is a very slow link. You must have a lot of patience and learn how to use Opera Mini, the web browser for the Go. It helps to have a lot of time to play with the go and passage making allows that. So far I have been able to
Send a FB message and image
Upload text and image to our blog
Browse FaceBook and make comments
Open gmail and read emails and reply
Read BBC, the Age and other news sites
It comes with 5 minutes of airtime, which we forgot to use in our first month.
For us it is the perfect com tool for crossing oceans with.
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By Allanr529 - 7 May 2015
Hi Daria,
The DeLorme inReach might be worth considering as a lower-cost tracking and text message comms option, suited to taking into the liferaft, in case the on-board HF/SSB radio is not functioning (eg: problem with power supply) and for adventures ashore. Flexible subscription plans.
Anyone checked this already? See:
http://www.inreachdelorme.com/product-info/inreach-explorer.php
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By simoncurrin - 7 May 2015
We used a combination of Delorme and Iridium Go on a recent land based expedition but,strangely, texts between to two devices were rather unreliable. The Delorme has two way messaging built in. So why Delorme wouldn 't talk to GO is unclear.
We had no problems recieving or sending email / sms via GO and of course it is free to send web based SMS from the Iridium web site which is a huge bonus.
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By Allanr529 - 7 May 2015
Thanks Simon, Very useful comparison.
Did you contact DeLorne or Iridium about the problem and did they provide any solutions?
Did you send any messages to other people with the inReach and was that successful getting messages back and forth?
Have you tried the tracking feature of the inReach?
I have been considering one of these as a supplement to my own DSC HF/SSB radio setup, for trips ashore and as a backup.
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By David.Tyler - 10 May 2015
I 'm having problems with the Iridium GO software. The mail and web part of it has taken to crashing when I download and open some, but not all, emails. I 've got tystie34@gmail.com set to forward to tystie@myiridium.net and I think, but am not sure, that this is where the problem lies. Also, the text editor misbehaves when I write a long email, in reply to another long email; it can 't cope after I 've filled a page. And I haven 't yet had the patience to wait long enough to open a web page! I 'm not impressed. I think this is a poorly-written and incompletely tested piece of software. When I 'm away from terrestrial internet, it 's better than nothing, but not as good as it ought to be.
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By David.Tyler - 12 May 2015
Once more I 've had to complain to PredictWind about this woefully defective Iridium GO software. This time, it’s the tracking. Over the past week or so, I’ve been making my way along the channels inside Vancouver Island, and now I’ve reached Port McNeill. I have terrestrial internet for a day, and can look at my tracker map. It’s showing some crazy back-trackings that I didn’t do. You can see what I mean at http://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/Tystie. I’ve been coming to anchor for the night, and setting the tracker to ‘no update’, then setting it to a suitable time interval when I got under way again. What seems to be happening is that when I start the tracker again, the first position report it sends is one that should have been sent during the last period I was under way and tracking, but wasn’t.
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By David.Tyler - 12 May 2015
This is the reply I received from PredictWind Support:
The Iridium GO! uses an internal GPS (no option for external antenna), and we have noticed GPS spikes (inaccuracies) in the data. In addition the GPS reports sometimes get delivered out of order. In order to fix this issue we apply a filter on the data to help eliminate the GPS spikes on the tracking page. However the GPS tracking reports do not have a date/time stamp so getting a filter to work 100% of the time is challenging. We have alerted Iridium of this issue and look forward to fixes in future firmware upgrades. In the meantime it would help if you leave the GPS tracking on continuously, so the filter we have developed has a better chance of success. You can delete your previous track if you want, by logging into your account and going to the GPS tracking, and selecting "delete all data".
When I had the YellowBrick, the position reports did have a date/time/course/speed stamp, so I have to conclude that the Iridium GO is not as advanced a piece of hardware/firmware as the YellowBrick.
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By simoncurrin - 12 May 2015
Thanks David that 's really helpful.
Simon
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By Allanr529 - 14 May 2015
Here is a comment I received today from my contact in Hong Kong who is involved with RHKYC 's decision to require DSC capable HF/SSB radios on all of their events (racing and cruising) beyond coastal VHF range:
"The Delorme InReach and the Iridium Go and similar devices I have heard are of passable interest only in practice
The devices, being all in one with no external antennas, are really designed for land use. The Go for example we sold one of and the guy returned it after a month as it NEVER got a connection between HK and the Philippines
The only data and voice satellite systems we recommend are
Sat C- slow, external, unidirectional antenna
Inmarsat Fleet One, 100kbit, around USD6 per 1MB download
Inmarsat Fleetbroadband 150, around USD10 per 1MB download
Then, to call Mum, an Inmarsat Isatphone 2. But this we always say should never ever be regarded as an emergency communications device as you have to first create a link and then communicate over it which is difficult with a handheld device at the best of times!"
And this from my friend Terry Sparks ( www.Made-Simplefor-Cruisers.com )in the USA:
"Another example is the Baja Ha Ha boat that the whale hit and sunk. They had a poor EPIRB without GPS and the Coast Guard had trouble locating them in the raft. They had a VHF marine hand held and called the plane as it flew past. That was the only reason they found them according to the boat skipper. While it would be nice to have a Sat phone in the raft (you could get your email and leave some voice mails to family) it is important to have a hand held VHF to help coordinate your rescue. If the Coast Guard has a Sat Phone, you will not know the number."
Hope that helps.
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By simoncurrin - 14 May 2015
Just one comment. The Iridium Go does have an external aerial connection.
Simon
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By Allanr529 - 29 May 2015
Hi Simon, I got back to my Hong Kong friend and he said the people who returned their Iridium GO did not try use an external antenna. But apparently they believed that was not the only issue with the unit.
Looking at costs, US$125 a month for Iridium GO, adds to US$250 for 2 months, which is the same cost as a 12 month subscription to the not-for-profit SailMail Association email service. Members get 12 minutes connection time a day (averaged over a week) for 365 days, which is less than US$0.70 per day.
Using the same on-board HF/SSB radio used for voice communications, and a Pactor controller, there are no additional connection time/data charges to send and receive emails via the 20 plus SailMail stations around the world. SailMail membership also includes access request/download (free) GRIB charts, request/download (free) METAREA forecasts, request/download (free) coastal forecasts, and send (free) YOTREPS position reports.
SailMail 's (free) ShadowMail option can monitor one or more shore email accounts and send a summary of waiting email headers. Select Download to bring to the boat, Delete to remove or Ignore to leave in the shore email box. So only relevant emails are transferred to the boat. The others can be checked when shore internet access is available. This also protects the yacht 's SailMail email address from SPAM.
The yacht 's SailMail account can also be operated via any shore internet service, to send and receive emails, weather info etc.
The Pactor controller can also be used as a NAVTEX and WEATHERFAX receiver.
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By simoncurrin - 29 May 2015
Allan,
Thanks for that. It 's really useful to know about SailMail 's email flexibility which I wasn 't aware of.
There are other price plans for the Iridium data time though. The $125/month is for unlimited data including web browsing. I have a rather more affordable pre-paid 6 month package which gives, I think, either 400 minutes of data or 200 minutes of voice or any mix of the two.
I guess the other consideration for someone starting from scratch is the installation cost of SSB is substantial if you include the cost of the set, the insulated back stay and ground plates. Installation cost of the GO are limited to the cost of the device which will work both on board and on shore. Indeed our use of it to date has been limited to use in the mountains.
The GO gives you a couple of options for email too. You can either use the Iridium compression email software or you can browse any webmail (such as Gmail) and just download the emails you want.
In summary the Iridium GO and SSB / Pactor are very different animals. Probably Iridium has the edge for data versatility but the huge advantage of the SSB is the ability to take part in radio nets and general ship to ship use.
Simon
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By David.Tyler - 29 May 2015
I 've just sent this blast off directly to Iridium:
"I bought an Iridium GO through PredictWind and Satphonestore at the end of last year. I 'm getting adequate support from Jon Bilger at PredictWind, but he, poor man, is having to try to support a sub-standard product. I wanted to let you know directly how disappointed I am with the performance of this unit. My complaints are all software-related, as the hardware seems to be OK. I 've upgrade to firmware 1.4.1 but the problems are still there.
1. The tracking performance is not good, and is below the standard of the competition such as Yellowbrick. Frequently, the position reports are sent in the wrong order, resulting in crazy zig-zags on the tracker map. Jon Bilger tells me that this is because the SMS position report does not contain a date/time stamp.
2. The Iridium GO app for the iPad works reasonably well, but the mail portion of the Iridium Mail and Web app is truly bad, and requires a lot more work. It is below the standard of all other iPad apps in its planning and execution.
2a. It is unable to operate in landscape mode, and I have to be careful not to lock the iPad in landscape and then go to the Iridium Go apps, because they will not display correctly. All other apps, even those written by amateurs, will automatically rotate as the iPad is rotated.
2b. The inbox adds the latest mail at the bottom, and with a lengthening list of incoming emails, I have to scroll right down to the bottom, every time I go to the inbox. Clearly, the latest mails should be at the top. That applies to the other folders as well.
2c. The 'sent ' folder does not have the facility to make folders, so adding the latest mail at the bottom makes things difficult to keep track of.
2d. When writing a reply to a long incoming email, the editor works very badly, truncating the display of the incoming email, so that one cannot see what one is replying to. One has to go back to the original email in the inbox, to check what was written,and then come back to the outgoing draft to continue writing. This does not happen with other iPad apps, such as the native mail app. The editor does not have the usual select/select all/copy/paste etc options that other iPad apps have. Once one has filled a page with writing, it is impossible to continue because the cursor disappears below the keyboard, and the scrolling is no longer stable ' ie, one cannot scroll down to reveal the later text.
2e. One cannot receive jpg attachments, though one can send them. It would be nice to be able to receive and send other small attachments, such as text files and dxf drawing files, which are only a few kb, and it shouldn 't take much effort to add this feature into the app.
2f. I don 't bother with the web portion of the app, because it 's too slow to be of any practical use. I 'll wait patiently for the new, faster Iridium satellites - whenever they will get launched."
Looking at the reviews in the Apple app store, others thinks the same - nice hardware, shame about the apps.
At least I can send and receive emails while offshore, and receive gribs, but oh!, it 's hard work, and a lot more frustrating than it ought to be.
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By Allanr529 - 30 May 2015
Hi David and Simon,
Looks like quite a few problems with the regular Iridium GO software.
If you go to the SailMail website - www.sailmail.com - you will see that the same software used for SailMail is now also approved for use with Iridium GO. That might work better. It has been optimized for Iridium, INMARSAT, Thuraya etc for many years, and I know from people that it works. In all cases the smart message handling and compression strategy developed to make emails via SailMail 's network of HF/SSB radio stations very efficient, also makes a difference to the speed - and cost - of using these cheaper-to-buy satellite systems.
SailMail does this so sailors can have an on-board backup - albeit more expensive for connection time - to their regular, economical, HF/SSB radio based email capability. It assumes crews might decide to have a satphone on-board to make occasional (expensive) phone calls for communication tasks which email can 't do, for trips ashore in isolated locations, and for the liferaft grab bag. Or perhaps they have it because MRCC Falmouth does not have a HF/SSB radio and can only suggest a satphone for contact with them when beyond VHF range but still within RNLI lifeboat range.
The people who established and continue to operate SailMail are sailors. Therefore they look at what can help sailors. They do not sell satphones or radios, but provide systems and software to make these work well for the data, weather info, email and yacht management needs of sailors. Their approach is useful for long distance, active sailors, and especially those who like to explore isolated areas, less developed areas/countries and those who cross oceans.
SailMail has software designed to optimize data throughput via its network of 20 HF/SSB stations around the world, because fast and efficient data transfer equals more members able to happily use the same equipment, which keeps equipment requirements and related work to a minimum; and therefore membership fees can stay lower. SailMail does not have monthly bills or other data throughput related fees. Just a simple annual membership fee (US$250) which gives up to 12 minutes connection time per day - averaged over a week - every day of the year, via the 20 HF/SSB radio bases. Members get more data throughput each day by choosing the right frequency at the right time. Everything in the way SailMail works via HF/SSB radio favours and rewards efficiency.
Satellite services have a financial interest in inefficient systems. The more time you spend transferring the same data and the more dropouts/resends experienced, the more money they make. The unit is sold cheap but the money is made from the connection time. You can see by the amount of paid advertising from the satellite service providers compared to paid advertising by SailMail, HF/SSB radio and Pactor manufacturers, who makes the most money from you.
The SailMail software helps to address some of the data handling and compression inefficiencies in these satellite based systems, so they are not so painful on your pocket at the end of the month.
Yachting Australia 's latest Special Regulations (for racing and cruising in regions without effective coastal VHF networks and professional, immediate response S&R services) REQUIRES a HF/SSB radio (with DSC) and RECOMMENDS a satphone for Category 1 and 2 events. The important distinction is the satphone is not required and it cannot substitute for the HF/SSB radio.
This is probably the right approach to use for most cruising and racing where, as the MAID report on Chiki Rafiki describes, yachts need to be more self sufficient and not expect prompt outside help from shore based rescue services. The HF/SSB radio with DSC - switched on 24/7 - creates a quiet and convenient communications net via which mutual support, advice and assistance from nearby yachts - known and unknown - and any SOLAS vessel - known and unknown - can be obtained. You do not need to know who is nearby or their satphone number to contact any other vessel with a similar HF/SSB radio on 24/7 watch; just press the DSC call button. Calls to get advice, waypoints, some diesel, a pump, tow or rescue are free via the HF/SSB (and VHF) marine radios.
With a HF/SSB radio installed as an essential part of on-board equipment for cruising and racing where coastal VHF marine radio systems and RNLI lifeboats do not exist (ie: probably 99% of the world), the extra cost of a Pactor controller to have email - along with NAVTEX, WEATHERFAX, GRIB charts, METAREA and coastal forecasts at no extra service or data transfer cost - via the same HF/SSB radio, is minor and easily recouped compared to satellite data costs.
With a SailMail membership, email backup via regular satphone or Iridium GO using SailMail 's more efficient on-board software will also make these services considerably less expensive to operate; if needed.
I hope this is useful and also elicits more thinking and comments on this topic.
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By simoncurrin - 30 May 2015
Thanks David & Allan for two authoritative and comprehensive contributions to this thread.
Simon
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By Hasbun - 31 May 2015
We crossed the Atlantic with modest expectations regarding Iridium and our hardware/software package was as follows:
1. Iridium GO!
2. SSB Icom 710
3. Pactor 4 modem
4. Sailmail account accessible via Parallels on OS X
5. Unlimited GO! package provided by Global Telesat Communications for a monthly fee of $132.50, including "free" activation of SIM and several unactivated SIM cards. This way we can activate service for as little as 30 days or keep it for as long as needed.
6. PredictWind Professional service, signed up for 3 months
7. PredictWind Offshore on OS X
9. Weather4D on iOS, used mostly as a GRIB animator/viewer
10. The "free" iOS Iridium apps
The GO! enabled us to:
a. Download unlimited routings from PredictWind quickly via Sailmail or not as quickly directly from PredictWInd Offshore.
b. Download unlimited GRIB files from PredictWind and from Saildocs (limited to compressed 40K file size by Sailmail)
c. Extremely quick, reliable, unlimited Sailmail e-mail that we used for priority/vital communications
d. Throwaway free Iridium e-mail addresses, about 3 times slower than Sailmail, that we forwarded our shore e-mail accounts to. This worked very well. You can easily have as many of these throwaway my iridium.net e-mails as iOS devices you have (up to 5).
The "free" Iridium iOS apps are more or less a toy or entertainment, in our opinion, and, seen as such, it was a great way to keep checking our shore-based e-mail. Anyone considering Iridium GO! for vital e-mail should consider signing up for e-mail service from Sailmail, X-Gate from GMN, or OCENS.
We are very satisfied with Iridium GO! and plan on signing up for service for every passage longer than about a week.
For short passages, we might either have one of those Iridium GO! prepaid cards that last one year, or just rely on the SSB.
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By Allanr529 - 3 Jun 2015
Hi Hasbun,
This is really great information for other people to see. Especially the comparative speed information.
Something that might interest you is the free ShadowMail service that comes with a SailMail subscription. Setup shore accounts for SailMail to monitor using the options in AirMail - the on-board software for SailMail. ShadowMail will check these accounts at the desired frequency and send a summary list of headers to choose to be Downloaded to the boat, Ignored to check when ashore, or Deleted. When you send emails from on-board, you can give the message the from identity of a shore email account, so replies go to that shore email account monitored by ShadowMail, not your important SailMail email address. Great for protecting your SailMail address from SPAM and enthusiastic marketing people at your sailmaker etc.
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By simoncurrin - 5 Jun 2015
POST by email from David Tyler
Hi Simon,
I 'm on passage from Tofino to Hilo, now, and can 't get onto the OCC forum. Please could you mention for me that PredictWind support advised me that upgrading the GO firmware to version 1.4.1 would possibly solve my problem with the Mail app crashing when some (but not all) emails were being forwarded from my Gmail account. I did this before leaving, and touch wood, the problem has gone away. It 's worthwhile for anyone who has a GO to check that they have the latest firmware installed. My GO was an early model, and Iridium have only just got around to making this upgrade publicly available, though in fact it 's been available behind the scenes in beta since January!
Written while romping along at 6 knots in the right direction in good weather, so all 's well here.
Thanks,
David.
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By simoncurrin - 10 Jul 2016
Neil McCubbin
There is a long thread on the forum about the Iridium GO, which seems to have been dormant for a year now. There is only one reply on my topic "iridium 2016" (Which was useful)
We are looking into buying a GO soon, so would appreciate recent opinions, probably best on the OCC site, but email to Neil@McCubbin.ca also appreciated. One specific question. Is the separate antenna worth the losses in its long cable and the major (for our boat) hassle of installing it,
Max Shaw
We installed a Go a few months ago in preparation for NZ to Fiji and then in a few months heading up to the Marshalls. It is a huge step up from the SSB/Pactor which we have kept as a backup. To answer your question, the antenna and that nasty cable are a good idea. The data rate is very dependent on signal. Having used an Iridum handheld with only the provided little antenna or just the handheld I can attest that you will be driven nuts without the proper antenna. I hope to write a blog post on the Go at some point but rather behind on blogging at the moment. Cheers, Max SV Fluenta
Peter Mills
External aerial essential but remember to get a GPS position the on set aerial has to be able to see the sky as the receiver is in here!
Emerald Sea Aroundoceans
Neil we have been using the GO for over a year now, two ocean crossings. It does everything it claims quite well but the internet access is s l o w. The external antenna does improve and maintain connectivity - we installed this some 3 months later and saw the benefits. We have a combined plan with PredictWind/Atlantic Radio.
Simon Currin
I agree about the external aerial for data. Although the common wisdom says that the internal gps aerial needs to see the sky we find it works fine below decks in our GRP saloon. Another plus is the GEOS search and rescue cover that comes with it.
Alan Leslie
We too are interested in the GO ...when you say the internet access is s l o w, how slow is it, do you have some numbers?..Like downloading a predict wind grib file...how long?...but with the $125/mth unlimited data plan, does it matter?..I don 't know...
Max Shaw
Slow compared to land based internet but faster and more consistent than the SSB/Pactor. GRIBS and text based emails on Sailmail work fine. We don 't bother with trying to download web pages. Being able to download bigger and/or more detailed GRIBS is very nice.
Emerald Sea
Aroundoceans Alan, downloading a PW compressed Wx file is via GO mail and is typically 1-4min; it will consist of 2-4 separate emails pending what wx criteria you selected. We 've waited anywhere from 15-45 minutes to get a bbc news page to show up on the Opera (bro...See more
Emerald Sea Aroundoceans
Neil, if I recall correctly, Iridium 's specified and longest available antenna coax (LMR400) is 10m. When you place an order you can select a cable length but 10m is the longest and its terminated. I doubt you will see any significant losses if you remain with this. I have a 10m run in our boat and, as mentioned above, we have improved connection time with the ext antenna.
David Heath
The cable need not be long as the antenna is designed to sit on the pushpit. There is no necessity to put it on top of the mast. The cable is very stiff. Maximum connection speed is 2k.
Please PM if you do not get it. Many thanks. I found a good deal on LMR400 near Washington, DC. They also make a kind that is flooded with silicone grease, but it is not reliable to solder, and you must use crimp connectors, which can be good quality or not so good, so do your homework.
Also, many people do not understand how to waterproof the joint at the antenna. So far, my favorite is 3M™ #23 self amalgamating tape and then paint it with 3M™ Scotchkote™ Electrical Coating FD.
It dries so fast that it needs to be not windy.
The 3M™ Scotchkote™ will waterproof it without the tape, but you will never be able to get it apart. If you use the tape, which, if used correctly is totally waterproof except where it begins and ends, then you just split the tape wrapping with a razor knife and it comes off clean. The tape only sticks to itself and there is actually welds itself into one mass.
"Coax-seal" is also good, but the above method works on underwater cables.
Maria Del Pilar Geiger-Estrada
I have been using Iridium Go for almost 2 years. It 's great! You can download your grib files from Weather4D and do your routing with predict wind. We have an external antenna on the boat and it works all the time! We use it in the Mediterranean and also when crossing the Atlantic, in USA and Caribbean islands. In Cuba was a great help! Also for weather, chat and Mail it 's perfect!
Mike Reynolds We used an Iridium GO! while cruising from Australia to the UK over the last year. It just works. We even transferred 1MB photos on a handful of occasions - very slow but it worked! The external antenna is definitely worthwhile but note it is only for the Iridium signal. The GPS antenna is in the unit itself so care must be taken in siting the unit.
Simon Currin
Another significant advantage is the ability to access GMAIL via the excellent One Mail App allowing narrowband access to home email and choosing what you want to compress & download.
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By DariaBlackwell - 13 Sep 2017
Simon,
Somewhere I recently read that the majority of boats now crossing oceans are doing so without SSB or SAT phones, using only Spot or Iridium Go for brief communications. In this world of twitter, that's considered staying in touch. Sadly, the SSB conundrum is being compounded by the US government which has forced discontinuation of sales of some of the reasonably priced SSBs on a technicality. We, as well as many SSCA members, provided input to the USCG and FCC about this issue. My feeling is that having access to wider communications improves the safety of our ocean cruising community.
Frankly, I am waiting for the convergence of SAT and mobile. I hope it happens in my lifetime. Until then, I love my ICOM SSB. Simon, please let us know how it goes with the Iridium GO.
Daria
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By simoncurrin - 15 Sep 2017
Daria,
For the first time in more than a decade we tried to use our SSB this summer as we were cruising part of the time with Alchemy. Sadly it didn't work so I'm going to have to ask for help on fixing it. Please drop me a line if there are any Icom experts out there!
We had a huge amount of use out of our IridiumGo this summer and made full use of the unlimited data package. It was a tough year for ice so we were regularly receiving satellite images, ice charts and lots of PredictWind data. We also used it extensively for updating the blog.
We did, however, have some issues.
The Iridium Web and Mail app worked fine last year but an iOS upgrade had rendered it useless for bringing in attachments this year. On iPhone and iPAD we had no problem downloading attachments but the app stubbornly refused to display them. When we did find internet access in Greenland we discovered this has been a known problem for some time which has still to be resolved but Iridium. Very annoying. I posted them some feedback on the Appstore!
So all of our image attachments had to come in via One Mail which isn't ideal. One Mail doesn't cache the download so if the signal falls off during the download then you have to start from scratch again. Next year we are going to experiment with different software and just bite the bullet on the subscription.
One Mail remains a great way of staying in touch with terrestrial email. I set up my regular email to forward to a GMAIL account and then can choose which emails I want to download from One Mail. All very slick.
PredictWind's Offshore App was absolutely brilliant when run on a MACBOOK PRO. We were really impressed by it's accuracy and it helped us avoid a lot of weather and headwinds.
Interesting that you report a trend towards relying on SPOT, Delorme and Yellow Brick. We took a Delorme (now Garmin) with us to use as a communicator when ashore and away from the ship's Iridium. It's a great device and fine for SMS type communication and position reporting but hopeless for GRIBS and email. It has a built in weather forecasting module using OCENS but that's not the same as being able to bring in GRIBS. Having text based weather reports being sent from a shore based weather advisor could overcome some of this limitation.
Personally though I am now addicted to being able to source a wide range of weather and other information and to import it to the boat for us to make our own decisions rather than relying on shore advice. So, for now, IridiumGo is perfect for us. However if our SSB can be resurrected then we will be using that for all of the added value stuff when we get into waters where nets exist.
Simon
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By Neil Langford - 28 Sep 2017
Hello Simon, did you use the tracking option that Preduct Wind offer ? It had been unreliable in the past, and I'm wondering if that has been rectified.
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By simoncurrin - 28 Sep 2017
Neil yes the tracking worked well. My only criticism is that if you dip in and out of the Iridium subscription then the track disappears every time you change SIM card. No problem for live aboards but an issue for part timers. Here is our track: https://voyagesofshimshal.blogspot.co.uk/p/blog-page.html?m=1
Simon
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By Neil Langford - 30 Sep 2017
Thanks Simon, I had previously abandoned the Predict Wind tracking as it was quite unreliable - locations appeared out of order etc. I'm glad that they have it fixed. I'm guessing that Iridium finally added time and date stamps to the outgoing messages, or they improved the central mailbox handling and relay process. Now with the tracking, it used to stop at 12 months - everything older than 12 months disappeared - is that still the case ? I'Maybe you hadn't noticed that if you were updating Sim Cards or accounts more often. On request they will extend the tracking display period, but it was all a bit limited. If you're now going to continue with the one sim card / account for a period, you may want to request an extension to the tracking period - Jon Bilger can authorise that.
Neil
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By simoncurrin - 30 Sep 2017
Neil,
I think you are right they do delete the track over time regardless of SIM. It’s not a lot of data so it’s a bit mean of them. My main reason for using PredictWind is their weather and departure planning services and software so I have always regarded the tracking as ‘nice to have but not essential’. To send track points with the same frequency with inReach would be quite expensive but the weather capability of inReach is not in the same league as the PredictWind/ IridiumGo combination.
Simon
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By Gianluca - 3 Oct 2017
Hi Simon,
I was looking at buying the Iridium Go since my Iridium Access point and Iridium 9555 are not talking to each other reliably. But, I found that there is another option, the Glow Iridium WiFi terminal. The beauty is that everything is contained on the antena so you don't have any more cables and equipment to charge. The ugly is that is another $1000 more expensive. Here is a link that compare it to other options.
glow-iridium-wifi-terminal
Any experience to share...
Gian Luca
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By simoncurrin - 3 Oct 2017
Thanks GianLuca I had never heard of the Glow before. I see it’s the same dataspeed as other Iridium products which is, I guess, driven by their satellites. Interesting that the say it will be VOIP capable at those speeds. The downside for me would be the fixed installation so it would not be possible to take it on shore expeditions or, heaven forbid, into a life raft. Very interesting to hear about it though.
Simon
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By DariaBlackwell - 10 Oct 2017
Yesterday, Space X successfully deployed an Iridum Next generation payload of 10 satellites. https://www.iridiumnext.com/ It will support a whole new technology called Iridium Certus enabling global mobile broadband. I wonder how much it will cost.
"Iridium Certus will integrate with internet, cellular, Land Mobile Radio System, and location-based applications to keep you connected anywhere on the planet."
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By simoncurrin - 10 Oct 2017
Daria,
Thanks for that. Let’s hope it’s affordable
Simon
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By sfoot - 17 Aug 2018
I am looking for some advice on Satellite comms packages. We have an SSB radio and an Iridium 9555 system installed. The SIM and air time on the phone is long expired and we are about to set off across Atlantic and Pacific to New Zealand. Last time we used MailaSail and i dont want to use them again - for all the reasons that get posted here.
It seems that lots of people recommend Iridium Go!, but I dont think I can use it without starting again. So i was considering SailMail and an Airtime package. Our usage should be reasonably light - consisting mostly of weather downloads and e mails.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to what i should look at?
Many thanks
Stephen Foot
Water Music
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By Gianluca - 20 Aug 2018
I might suggest to take a look at the Iridium Go. It's very easy to set up and the additional cost is negligible once you trade in your Iridium 9555. With the PredictWind package of a $125/month, you get unlimited messaging, emails, tracking (I used iboattrack) and you can download the weather as many times you want. I just finish a loop New England, Caribbean and back to New England and I was very satisfied how well it works. I used the same external antena from my Iridium 9555 which I sold on eBay for around $700. For emails, I continued to use XGATE from Global Marine Network but, you can just use the Iridium tools.
Gian Luca Fiori
Vivaldi
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