[Cirruscloud]

I'm going to make a little cost comparison between SSB and Iridium for offshore weather/email and communications. Maybe someone will be able to add something to my list or correct any of my prices...

Iridium 9555 satphone w/ data kit $1495.00 US
One time activation fee $49.94 US
500 prepaid minutes (1yr exp) $725.00
x-gate software download $59.00 US
x-gate 1yr email subscription $240.00 US

Advantages:
No propagation issues (solar flares)
No install/quick install on boat
Easy to call home/other phones

Disadvantages:
Per use charges
Can't talk to yachtie friends for free
Will need to add all band receiver and multimode software
to read weatherfax. Receiver $150 US, Multimode $89 US

Grand total: $2807.94 USD

ICOM M-802 $1800.00 US (approx)
AT-140 Tuner $490.00 US
Tuner control cable $69.99 US or make your own for less
Coax from transceiver to tuner Approx $40.00 US (diy)
GTO-15 wire $30.00 US
Insulated backstay or long HF antenna $150.00 US
Copper ground plane 50' $69.00 US
Pactor 3 Modem $1400 US
VMware Fusion to run Airmail on mac $79.99 US
Sailmail Annual membership $250.00 US
Multimode software for reading weatherfax $89 US

Advantages:
No per use charges
Free communications with yachtie friends
Free communications with weather routers

Disadvantages:
Propagation issues
Installation time/expense
Have to use Windoze to run Pactor/sailmail

Grand total: $4467.98 USD

This is the first time I've ever compared the two systems. I'm sure the SSB/ham route could be made cheaper by buying some used/older equipment. Or using winlink, but in that case you would have to get a HAM licence to use the service. No commercial/business based emails are allowed on winlink to my knowledge. I haven't included the licence fee for the SSB, because I don't know what it is.

Hope others can add to this comparison.

Brennan

[Jim Innes]

Small point, weatherfax is part of airmail. Using XP on Fusion is really not a problem. So based on your numbers... after less than 5 years the SSB installation is a better deal.

[jagasail]

Major point - without ssb you can't participate, or even listen in on, the various cruising nets, which can be invaluable when planning and, more important, making a major passage. This is not just communicating with 'yachtie friends'

Scot

[lsoltero]

Things you can do on the 9555 which you can't do with SSB.

1. take it with you in an abandone ship situation.
2. call 911 to talk directly with emergency personel in an emergency.
3. triangulate your position and have it sent to you via SMS if all other electronic navigation fails. (we actually did this one for a customer that lost his rudder and flooded the batteries. the boat eventually sank and if it were not for his iridium phone he would not be around to tell the story)
4. receive e-mail with attachments. html, attachments, not limit to text length, etc... with sailmail you are limited to 5kb of text per mesg and only small grib files for attachments.
5. can download all kinds of weather information using a number of different services. We recommend weathernet from ocens.
6. call home for special occasion.
7. receive voice calls on special occasions. You have a phone number that people can dial to talk to you.
8. receive free SMS text up to 160 characters. i.e. receive a mesg which sais... call home now.
9. browse the internet if you have to.
10. the unit consumes 400 mA at 12 volts when transmitting. So.. think about all that fuel you will save when recharging batteries after heavy SSB use.
11. no perpetual installation tuning like you have to do with the SSB.
12. no long waits to get to a station to connect. You can connect pretty much any time you want. One button e-mail and weather operation.




--luis

--
Luis Soltero, Ph.D., MCS
Director of Software Development, CTO
Global Marine Networks, LLC
StarPilot, LLC
Tel: 865-379-8723
Fax: 865-681-5017
E-Mail: lsoltero@globalmarinenet.net
Web: http://www.globalmarinenet.net Web: http://www.starpilotllc.com

[lsoltero]

Things to know about using the 9555 with a mac natively...

http://www.panbo.com/archives/2009/05/ir..._news.html

make sure you read the part about needing the latest firmware for the 9555 (to be released Feb 15, 2010) or a beam docking station.

--luis

[Cirruscloud]

This is good information. The SSB would be economical in the long run. I wonder how quickly the satphone would eat through the prepaid minutes? Of course you could always listen to the cruising nets with the all band receiver but not participate. I actually bought an 802 and AT-140 for my boat, but wanted to compare the prices. I am now faced with buying a Pactor modem and the costs are adding up. My boat came with an insulated backstay, so that was the only thing I could cross off the list.

[Jim Innes]

I agree Jag...

Offshore... part of our boats equipment includes a SSB (DSC) pactor modem combination, EPIRB, VHF DSC, handheld VHF with GPS, emergency SSB antenna and a Sat phone rental/purchase as backup. A subscription to Sailmail. You can use Sailmail with your Sat phone as well.

[GPSNavX]

Another plus with the XGate/Iridium combination is I can continue using the same email client I always use (i.e. Mac OS X Mail). I am not forced to maintain different address books and inboxes and learn another application. XGate continues to work with a WiFi connection also. And of course no need to run Windows as XGate is native to Mac OS X.

[fish2live]

You all seem to be missing a very basic concept. Before you spend thousands on the latest communication gear, or hours discussing it, why not stop for a moment and consider what you actually need? Better yet, consider what you don't need! If you need all that communication ability, then the one thing you don't need is a BOAT! Why not just go back to the office and be happy?

As a commercial fisherman, I have a genuine business need for marine communication at times. What I need above all else is a weather forecast. I can get that from a SSB, and I can get a SSB used for a few hundred bucks. They haven't changed in decades. An old one works the same as a new one. For a few hundred bucks more, I could get a professional to work out every odd interference issue (and there are plenty on most boats). If I need the weather and I miss the voice forecast, then I can leave the SSB hooked to the computer and eventually the fax charts will get loaded.

Many fishing boats are loaded with electronics that are truly mind boggling. Many of those boats find that the electronics are a distraction, so they are turned off. I never cease to be amazed that a boat can have two SSBs, sat phone, etc., yet be out of contact most of the time.

Like a novice traveler who packs too much unnecessary gear, far too many boat owners fill the wheelhouse with frivolous electronics. Yes, there are good reasons to be able to communicate. You should stop and think about how much you really need to communicate. Aside from weather and a few other coordinating messages, it turns out that there is far less need to communicate than the novice realizes.

I've come to a certain perspective after years being in the middle of nowhere. Suppose something terrible happens onshore to a loved one. What can I do with that terrible news way out on the open ocean? Whatever the news from shore, what can I do about it? I should have taken care of it before I left, because there is nothing I can do now. The SSB already does everything else I need to do.

I guess the bottom line is that I'm not going to get an Iridium phone. If I need to get a triangulation on my sat phone to figure out where I am, well, I have problems on so many levels that it's time for me to get an office job. An EPIRB is cheaper than a sat phone and its signal can also be used to triangulate my position. I've seen people driven nuts by text messages coming in on an Iridium phone. Remember, there's nothing you can do... you're in the middle of nowhere!

[outbound_sailor]

If you are really going cruising, not just to Catalina or up and down the coast, you need an SSB. It doesn't have to be the $1900 Icom 802, but you need an SSB. I have an Icom IC-735 from the late 80's, it works just fine and you can get one on eBay for about $300. If you think Iridium is better for data, then forget the Pactor modem and get an Iridium setup. The true value of the SSB is that information can be conveyed to many end users at once. This is essential for weather routing, getting information on upcoming ports or harbors, or even in an emergency situation. The SSB is your lifeline at sea, I wouldn't consider venturing far without one. Without the Pactor and buying used equipment, I bet you could get a strong setup for between $750 and $1000.

[lsoltero]

Most cruisers get away with one 500 minute prepaid card per year. The amount of time used depends on how many calls you make. Voice is in particular eats up the air time.

A 3 day wind grib file consisting of 12 forecasts (0-72 hours) the size of the Caribbean Sea takes about 1 minute to download.

It takes about 1 minute of airtime to send/receive 10 text e-mails 2-10Kb in size.

So... if you limit your self to 1 grib file per day and 1 e-mail session per day your 500 SIM card will last about 250 days.

However, most people only use their Iridium phone while at sea and use wifi when at port. So... the actual number of days at sea during a year is considerably less than 250 for most users.

--luis

[lsoltero]

I beg to differ with you... SSB weather is pretty limited. It takes about 2 hours to receive 6 forecast products. The quality of the reception can be very poor during these times of low atmospheric ionization. The wind and wave charts are also of very poor resolution providing you with 1 wind arrow over 60,000 square miles of ocean. Also, you get wind forecasts for very few time periods.

Finally, you have to turn on your rig at exactly the correct time to receive that forecast. With WeFax there is no such thing as getting a forecast right now.


A grib file over iridium however can provide you info for a large region at varying resolution. Typically you receive 1 degree grib files (one arrow every degree) over a number of forecast periods. 3days of wind every 72 hours or 12 forecasts for example.

So... besides getting picture perfect data at higher resolution you can get it any time you want. You can also download from NOAA and other sources the same data you get over your SSB plus much more. You can, for example, get animated satellite imagery.

As a fisherman you know how important sea surface temperature, currents, and plankton concentration are for finding fish. Sea Surface heights, salinity, and subsurface density layers are also very important. All this information can be gotten with a push of a button any time you want with an Iridium phone. This information is not available over SSB. Even if you had a pactor modem the performance of the system would be so slow that it would not be practical to acquire the data. And... there are currently no HF networks that could provide you this info since much of it is from comercial sources.

Sailboat users will appreciate the low power consumption of Iridium. An SSB receiving a WeFax requires 2 hours of operation with a 5Amp draw. It also requires an additional 2-5Amps for the computer system. So... 5-20 Amp hours can be drawn from the batteries to acquire 6 weather products. This power cost money in fuel, wear and tear on the engine and battery system, and on the crew having to listen to a noisy engine.

As far as emergencies go... The problem with EPIRBs is that
1. you don't know they are working since you get no ACKS from the emergency services folks
2. There are many false alarms with EPIRBS. So the emergency folks don't know right a way if you are in a critical situation.
3. There is no way to communicate the nature of the emergency to the emergency services personell.
4. The triangulation of the EPIRB signal is not very accurate.

With Iridium, on the otherhand, you can dial 911 and talk to the emergency folks. You can explain the nature of the emergency to them. They can get a Dr. on the line if the emergency is medical in nature. You can provide them with your exact location. YOU KNOW THAT SOMEONE RECEIVED YOU DISTRESS SIGNAL!

Finally, as the rescue ship approaches you can discuss rescue strategy.

You may think that an SSB and an epirb is suffient for you needs. I, however, would much rather an Iridium phone that could supply me with all of my weather requirements easily and any time I wanted it. Its also nice to know that such a device could effectively be used for safety should it be required.

-luis

[jagasail]

I beg to differ with you... SSB weather is pretty limited. It takes about 2 hours to receive 6 forecast products.

Luis,
Can't believe you said that. The weather products available ON DEMAND via Sailmail are extensive, and generally take a few minutes to receive. I know, I've done it.

I agree with most of what you otherwise say, and I'd love to have an iridium onboard, but I can't depart in good conscience without a SSB (which I already have), and the incremental cost of the iridium is prohibitive for many of us. It all boils down to $$$$ and priorities.

Scot

PS - agree with your comments on eprib. After seeing the lack of response to several recent remote emergencies I won't have one - money better spent on an iridium... if I had it. See recent epirb discussions on ssca board.

[hooligan6a]

Outbound Sailor, You don't NEED a SSB, I sailed over 50,000 miles without one. Joshua Slocom didn't have a SSB.

[outbound_sailor]

You don't NEED a GPS,EPIRB, a head, refrigeration, or even an engine. Circumnavigations have been performed without any of this stuff. But would you seriously go to sea without most of that today?

[hooligan6a]

In a New York minute!!

[larryr]

Winlink is great for wx products on request and email. (after training friends to keep it brief, not forward cute junk, and reply without quoting).

Weather and social SSB and Ham nets are great for finding friends and info on locales.

In an emergency where time is at a premium, I would not want to have to fight poor propagation and the potential for no one listening while you are declaring a mayday.

I am guilty of not having an EPIRB or a sat phone to let anyone know that I might be stepping up into my (not a liferaft) inflatable!