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Satellite Phones
(Click Here
to Enter the Sat-Phone Store at anytime) Inmarsat Mini-M Our first choice in satellite communications is Inmarsat Mini-M. At an airtime rate of $1.49 - $1.89 per minute with no long distance or monthly cost, it is less expensive and more reliable than was the SSB marine operator. For e-mail, with a data rate of 2400 baud, this works out to about $.021 per kilobit. Plus, it is just about as easy to use as your present telephone for e-mail service. Fax capability is also standard with Mini-M. Our choice in Mini-M phones is the Thrane & Thrane Capsat TT-3064M, it has the small and light-weight TT-3064A antenna, and T&T is one of the biggest names in reliable satellite equipment. The system uses a stabilized antenna that is a domed cylinder shape about 8.5" in diameter and 10" high, and weighs under 6 pounds. The antenna is typically mounted on a pole on the stern, just above head height. Connected to the antenna by a single coaxial cable is a 8.5" by 10.5" by 1" thin transceiver unit. The telephone handset rest in a hang up cup that also contains the jacks for interfacing to a computer serial port for e-mail, and either a fax machine or a fax capable modem in your computer for sending and receiving facsimiles (same principal, but different process, than weather fax - weather faxes are graphic images, and therefore fairly large files to download over a telephone link. Technically, it is possible, but costly). The system sells for under $5000 and is easy to install. We can provide a 1/4" diameter coaxial cable 60 feet in length that has the connector installed on the antenna end. Simply route that cable to the transceiver and install the provided connector following the provided instruction sheet. Hook up ships power - 12 or 24 volts DC - and you're done. For use in a quiet anchorage, at the dock, on land, or even underway in moderate conditions, the Nera Worldphone Portable is our choice. A totally self contained package about 10 1/2" square and 3" thick, the case cover opens up to become the antenna and provide access to the phone. Finding a satellite is a snap with the on screen and audible signal strength indicators. Typical time from turn on to being ready to place calls is less than three minutes. Pricing is under $2500. If you have a Worldphone Portable, a stabilized antenna and other required components are available for conversion to reliable maritime operation, but it is costly, as much as a new TT-3064M. Inmarsat - C Inmarsat-C is another data only satellite system that has been around for a number of years. H.F. Radio On Board sells the Thrane & Thrane TT-3022D. It offers simple reliable operation, and valuable safety features. The transceiver is compact and the TT-3005M antenna is about the size of a medium soft-drink cup. As part of the new GMDSS requirements for commercial vessels, Inmarsat-C is here to stay for some time to come. With it you receive Notices to Mariners and other safety related information at no charge. Receipt of a message to the terminal can be acknowledged with a report of the vessels position obtained from the built in GPS receiver. Messaging is under $.01 per character though Inmarsat service providers such as Stratos Network. Hardware cost is under $3000 and installation is the same as with the T&T Capsat Mini-M. Inmarsat Dual-Mode Want the best of both worlds - Thrane & Thrane has set the maritime satellite world on fire with it's new dual-mode system - combining Inmarsat Mini-M and C model TT-3000CM in one integrated package for about $7000. For about $1500 additional, it is available with the optional TT-3606E message terminal for the Inmarsat-C system, or can be used with a laptop computer. It can be programmed to dial the appropriate authorities for direct telephone contact should the need arise to activate the distress function of the Inmarsat-C, and the cost is about $1000 less than separate Mini-M and C systems AMSC/Skycell If you don't require world wide coverage, then another option is services from American Mobile Satellite/Skycell. Coverage is from the Aleutian Islands, coastal Canadian, US and Central American waters down to the Panama Canal. The Caribbean and east coast of the US and Canada, up as far as Nova Scotia, and Hawaii are covered as well. When you combine the 4800 baud data rate with airtime as low as $1.19 per minute, e-mail is even more economical. Monthly service is $45.00 per month, and an additional $15 per month for data. Additional charges and optional hardware apply for fax. Calls to the US and Canada are toll free, and additional long distance charges apply for calls outside US and Canada. The most popular hardware for this service is the Westinghouse WaveTalk. The antenna is about the size and shape of a bicycle helmet, and weighs under 3 pounds. Mounting is similar to the Mini-M. Below decks there is an antenna electronics unit, a transceiver unit. and a handset that is similar to the handset on a cellular phone. Pricing is under $3000. Iridium Iridium came back on line earlier this year after receiving a government contract for service, so it looks like it should be around for the foreseeable future. The new 9505A handheldphones is priced at $1495. Data services is available speeds of 2400 baud for a dial-up connection. Effective speed is increased using compression when connected to the Iridium data server. A data adapter (modem) is required for data operation. The adapter is priced at $75. They also sell a data kit for $175, which consists of a holder for the phone and the Iridium and the Iridium data CD, but we have found that CD to be troublesome to get set up. We have other methods of connection configuration that appear to be more reliable that we furnish our customers. Activation is $49 and basic service is $30 per month and airtime is $1.50/minute - 1 minute minimum then 20 second increments after that. There are also pre-paid plans that basically eliminate the monthly cost, and include additional services, like voice mail ($10 per month on the monthly plan), at no extra charge and no activation fee. Also included is SMS - Short Message Service provides the ability to send 120 alphanumeric characters, in a single message, to an Iridium voice subscriber registered on the satellite network from the internet, at no charge. Hint - the senders e-mail address ISN'T included - so be sure to include who it is from. See Send A Satellite Message on the Iridium website. Current phones can also send short text messages - but it is not free. There is also a fixed mount phone - Eurocom - priced at $3395. It is furnished with an external antenna and requires a special low loss coaxial cable. As with the cable for the 9505A antenna, we furnish it with the proper connecter pre-installed on one end, and the connector with installation instructions (small hand tools and a low wattage soldering iron required for installation) for the other end so the cable can be cut to length. We have tested the "new" service and found that it works MUCH better than before. It was prone to dropped calls and usually required two, sometimes three attempts to complete a call. These problems seem to be gone. The phone registers with the network quickly and reliably, and the calls have usually gone through on the first try. Bravo! Frankly - we find the system very robust and frankly - amazing!!! Most people don't realize how difficult this is to do - yes - this IS rocket science!!! Globalstar Globalstar is the other service available with a handheld phone. We have used one and it seems to works better than Iridium - better voice quality more reliable connections. We have had very good reports from the units we have sold. But we have two concerns. One is the financial viability of the service. Like Iridium, it is badly under-subscribed. We suspect that at some point, the system will go off-line for a period of time, and then resurface after financial re-organization. We hope this doesn't happen, but our gut feeling isn't positive. The other - Globalstar is what is called "bent-pipe" technology. The signal goes from the phone, up to the satellites and down to a ground station. The reason satellite is plural is that the system is sort of like cellular telephone except that the cellular radio sites are moving (real fast) and you are relatively stationary. If multiple satellites are in view, the one that has the best reception handles the call. Unlike Iridium, if the satellite is out of view of a ground station, it doesn't relay the signal to another satellite that is in view, then down. It simply doesn't work. This means that what Globalstar calls world wide coverage doesn't necessarily mean mid-ocean coverage, and it will never have mid-ocean coverage. For some customers, this is not a problem. This is why we sell a variety of products. We don't feel, like some vendors, that one size fits all. For some customers, an HF SSB radio based system might be the right choice. For others - Iridium or Inmarsat is the solution, and Globalstar for others. Data services were finally available early in 2001, and the data speed is 9600 baud - plenty fast for e-mail and downloading some weather information from specialized sites. Once again, cruisers everywhere are finding that e-mail is the best way to communicate, no matter how it is done. In short - satellite technology IS rocket science. It is very complex and technically very difficult. The question seems to be not if it is going to happen, but how and when it is going to happen.
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HF Radio On Board, 2005. All rights reserved. |
