Satellite phone and data

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    • 28/01/2017 at 7:32 pm #2117
      Lazy Bones
      Participant

        Hello fellow Kimberley cruisers, having recently joined the club and also recently purchasing a 53′ Boat with the intentions of cruising the Kimberley s this year from Darwin where we have purchased a Cat berth at Bayview Marina (16 x 7.5) so firstly we just wanted to let members know as of late April through till late September this berth will be available for rent if anyone is interested.

        Secondly we are in the process of working out the best satellite system and are looking for any recommendations, we are currently looking at the Iridum GO or the Inmarsat fleet 1 phone,data satellite system.
        we would appreciate anybody’s feed back if you have experienced using one of these or other products.
        Hope you are all well and we look forward to meeting you on the Kimberley coast soon

        Cheers Bob and Lucy Rowe

      • 04/02/2017 at 10:41 am #2120
        Seachange
        Participant

          Hi Lazy Bones, I am a fellow Kimberley cruiser (once) and Bayview Marina occupant! Although my experience in the Kimberley is limited to a few weeks at the eastern end I also deliberated regarding what satellite Comms to use. I ended up with two options, both being Iridium based, one was a standard handset and one was the GO paired with an iPhone and Ocens OneMail and GRIB Weather. The results were disappointing (or perhaps my expectations were too high) and I ended up turning off the GO out of frustration. That said, the Ocens GRIB Weather was really good!

          If you would like to catch up for a chat send me a phone number and I will give you a call.

          Greg

           

        • 07/02/2017 at 3:42 pm #2124
          Lazy Bones
          Participant

            Hi Greg,

            thank you for that information, we will be arriving in Darwin on the 24th Feb and will be down at the Marina most days working on the boat would love to catch up for a chat Bobs mobile is 0413969956

             

          • 08/02/2017 at 7:36 am #2125
            Merlin
            Participant

              Hi Lazy Bones,

              I purchased the Iridium Go with an external antenna, sat phone works a treat paired to iphone,  though when it comes to downloading weather as Greg commented, can be frustrating. I liked the capability of being able to unplug from quick release mounting and take in tender/land explorations.

              Cheers Peter

               

               

               

            • 12/02/2017 at 12:36 pm #2126
              Ross
              Keymaster

                Hi guys,

                I dont know much about either the GO or Inmarsat systems. I have a KVH V3, which is excellent for both phone and data. It was the best to suit my needs at the time I bought it.  But it has one downfall – that is it cant be taken ashore, or off exploring in my tender. I also have a standard Iridium handset with the cheapest plan I can get, purely so I can chuck it in my backpack when I go ashore in the Kimberley in case something goes wrong and I need to call for help.

                Ross

                • 13/02/2017 at 3:32 am #2140
                  Lazy Bones
                  Participant

                    Thank you Ross we will look into that system we also have the basic Iridium handset which we can use for the same purpose. we will look into it thanks again

                    Lucy

                • 13/02/2017 at 6:39 am #2141
                  Seachange
                  Participant

                    Hi all,

                    The VSAT system that Ross has suggested is certainly a viable solution to the problem of internet access at sea. Being a global (well almost) system it will be suitable for the travel that most of us would ever want to do. KVH not only have the V3, but also V7 and recently released V11. V11 will download at 4Gig and Upload at 1Gig and would be heaven but for one major issue (for most of us)…..cost! The initial purchase price of a V11 system is approx US$75,000 plus installation and realistic usage subscription cost would be $1000 per month.

                    A much more experienced boater than I has posted his thoughts on various Comms methods here that are definitely worth reading http://mvdirona.com/2015/08/communications-at-sea/

                    Being an optimistic kind of guy I am hoping that NBN can step into this void for us coastal cruisers, I have been in contact with them and received a very blunt “NO” at this stage, but maybe they will change their mind in the future, after all, I only want to give them money!

                    Access to NBN satellites would allow us the same speed as V11, but at a similar cost to V3 (at a guess $20K) with a monthly running cost of $100.00. Now that would be enough to have full telephone access via VoIP, get every weather forecast, have Pandora provide constant music, watch AFL Live via the app and, heaven forbid, get some work done between Barra strikes!

                    Let’s hope they see the light soon.

                    Greg

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