We have been using UGrib to download GRIB files via SAT phone while underway. To make it economically feasible and a small enough file to download relatively fast, we only get small sections in our vicinity. That compromises our ability to "see" what 's coming. Has anyone else come up with a viable solution that won 't break the bank on an ocean crossing?

Vice Commodore, OCC 

Hi Daria, stop me if I 'm doing the egg sucking thing...

Do you have a Pactor with your old SSB setup? If not there is some newer software around that makes use of sound cards. It wont run quite as fast as the Pactor protocols, so its debatable whether you 'd really want to do more than exchange short emails. Also it 's probably only supported on the ham stations so if you dont have a ham call sign it wont work for you. Keyword to search for is WINMOR.

The other thought is to look at subscribing to one of the limited bandwidth email services. Mailasail is one, Sailmail is another. Both provide an optimised connection service when using either SSB or SatPhone connections. They say that they effectively provide a duplex connection when connecting so minimising your connection time, important if your using a SatPhone service.

My experience of SatPhones, mostly on deliveries, was that getting a good connection with handheld equipment was tricky. I wasted probably half the minutes on poor connections.