hi all
i'm looking to buy 4 Iridium satellite phones for an upcoming experiment based first in the Inyo Mountains of California (near KBIH actually at 7500'), and then moving to 18000 feet in the Atacama desert of Chile. There is no reliable cell service in either location. Ideally we'd need them very sporadically...but when we need them, we will need them -- Atacama is not only 18000' feet above sea level, but near SEVERAL active volcanos...and, if that wasn't enough, the border region with Boliva nearby reportedly has 10's of thousands of landmines!
I've seen some from WESTMARINE for sale for $1600...has anyone used Iridium Motorola Model 9505A Handheld Satellite Phones? Is this a good price? Any other options?
thanks
Brian
SR22 G2 @ KMYF/KCRQ (OurPLANE)
Brian,
Sure, lots of us have those phones. Just did a quick eBay search and saw some new ones at 1395. I think more important than price of the phones is accessories and the real biggie, service contracts. Sometimes they come with a few minutes included so figuring out the real price takes some thinking.
Iridium is a system. They don't sell direct and therefore you buy service from a provider. These providers have all kinds of service plans and you need to figure out what works for you. For example I used to have service with All Road Communications in San Diego. It was 59.95 per month with 30 included minutes. Being California based they has a sales tax on it too - so it was like 67 dollars a month.
Now I use Satcom Direct in FL. They charge 29.95 per month plus 1.45 a minute for any use - but no sales tax. Since I use it infrequently, this is a way better deal - for me. Other programs are less per minute if you buy like 1500 minutes, but they expire so you really do need to use them up (which is fine if you do use it a lot). It sounds like you are going to use these are fair amount. The cool thing is they use sim cards and if you want to change to a different service contract you can reuse the phone with a new provider really easily - but beware some have one year service contracts like a cell phone provider. In all these cases, the only thing that changes is price - because its all the same Iridium service.
Sorry, you asked a simple question. There are no simple answers - you need to do some thinking. Good luck.
Roger Whittier SR22 N706CD S/N 0009 Glendale Arizona KGEU
hi Roger/ALL
Does anyone have experience with
Spot Satellite Messenger with GPS Tracking by SPOT Inc.?
Seems like it would be as useful as a Satellite Phone...just to let the wife know you have landed or are ok at 18000' in the Atacama desert.
Also I wonder if it works well in the air?
Any experience with these Satellite Messengers?
This is not a phone. It is much like a PLB with an annual subscribtion fee. I've sopken with someone that uses it. They like the fact that spouses can track their location at any time.
On the flip side. Some people may not want to be tracked.
Brian Brian: hi Roger/ALL Does anyone have experience with Spot Satellite Messenger with GPS Tracking by SPOT Inc.? Seems like it would be as useful as a Satellite Phone...just to let the wife know you have landed or are ok at 18000' in the Atacama desert. Also I wonder if it works well in the air? Any experience with these Satellite Messengers? thanks Brian
I have one and I posted on it right after I got it, see http://live.cirruspilots.org/forums/p/581/7988.aspx#7988
This is a shot of my return trip from OSH. That is using the Track mode, which is an option.
To answer your questions, it works well in the air although it needs to be velcroed somewhere or it slides around a lot. You do get a web link to your ID that lets people you give the link to click and see real time where your at about every 10 minutes. On another note its kind of cool to go back and look at your flights.
I think a SAT phone is a better safety option, but this has real potential to narrow down a search area real quick if you needed it.
I use these when racing sailplanes in the western states like UTah where you are hundreds of miles from anything. my crew tracks me and it works terrific. the messages work too.
John Weber SR22T/CP;Discus2b;Stemme S-10;Lak;
I flew to Las Vegas today, quick turn up and back within a few hours. A couple of things that I can add to the thread. First, here is a picture of my current mount. It is an old RAM mount that used to hold my PDA for Wx eons ago. I don't really like having that mount there, but have not gotten around to doing anything different - someday I will. From this position it has a clear view of the sky and works very well.
The second thing I can add is my track log. Its not really a track log per se, it updates actual location every 10 minutes and draws straight lines between the points. So, I can fly the precise same path and it can look a bit different based on where ever you are at those 10 minute intervals. This is my spot web location http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0ORK9nh7XWLrQjs5TAKnAr7G0F0NNf9uF Click on it and you will see track legs for the last 7 days.
As you can see, it would be very helpful as a starting point in a search and rescue operation. It has NEVER failed to show up like this, so have it on and give ground based persons your web link and they can get a heck of a headstart on a SAR operation.
For a real time lot at it working visit www.alsworldflight.com. The two pilots are currently half way round the world in a 7-day "Dash" to raise money for research into a cure for Lou Gehrig's disease.
Larry James CFII/MEI/CSIP