You are more likely to have adopted the Iridium GO! for its easy way to request GRIB files, directly from Weather4D and some other applications. But some also want to transfer these files to PC to import them into Windows software (as you know, nobody is perfect !). An easy solution is available : the messaging app Air Share, compatible iOS/iPadOS (¹). [Update 30 March 2022] Warning : the app has changed its ID code on the AppStore. Read more …
Category : Communication
Iridium Certus 100, a step towards yachting ?
Since the operational commissioning of the constellation Iridium NEXT (¹), the Iridium company has started to offer its new range of services called " Certus®". These services are based on the considerably increased technological capabilities of the new satellites., which allowed, among others, Iridium to be approved as a second satellite communications provider for the GMDSS maritime security service (²), whose competitor Inmarsat had held a monopoly for 1979.
Certus®, in addition to demonstrating that American businessmen are also literate. (³), is a range available in six bandwith levels starting from 22 Kb/s up to 704 Kb/s, and up to 1408 Kb/s in the near future.
Urgent ! Iridium GO!® firmware update and app GO!®
A new version of firmware 2.1.22 is now available for the’Iridium GO!®. This release includes an update to fix an incorrect time and date issue for the device Iridium GO!® and the application GO!®. This problem does not affect the functionality of the device/application. The calls, data, SMS, SOS and tracking are still working normally. Only cases where a message (Quick GPS, tracking, SOS) contains a date / time, this one will be incorrect. The order of messages in the Iridium GO application!® may not be observed, as well as missed voice calls. Upgrading the device to the new firmware version 2.1.22 will solve this problem.Simultaneous Wi-Fi and cellular connection [Update]
In coastal navigation, so often within range of a cellular network, we can download GRIB files, weather maps, or simply communicate with friends. But what if our smartphone or tablet is already connected via Wi-Fi to a multiplexer?, or an NMEA gateway, without cutting the data that feeds our favorite navigation application ?
This is the summer trick…
[Update 25/09/2020] The trick in question depends on the iOS version used. Details in the article.
Iridium GO! app changes look [brief]
The app Iridium GO!®, used on our smartphones (iOS/Android) to connect to the Iridium network using the same name device, just undergone an happy facelift. Nothing really fundamental, if only the user interface, but a stylish graphics help for first-time users. Read more …
Iridium GO! A positive feedback [Update]
Iridium GO! cruising
Since it was introduced to the market in September 2014 (Eh, yes, 5 years ago !) this device, with its indisputable ergonomics and excellent quality/price ratio, has become a must-have for offshore sailors. Easy to implement, without the need for an external antenna (except metal build) it can be used inside the boat.
A test run of several weeks, conducted in October and November 2016 during a transatlantic delivery, had already demonstrated its ability to download GRIB weather files and weather maps despite the low rate (about 10 KB / mn). With the new Iridium NEXT constellation (¹) we notice since 2019 a real improvement in the global coverage without satellite disconnection.
The new Iridium NEXT constellation is completed
With a few months late, Iridium has completed its Iridium NEXT satellite launch campaign (¹).With its 75 new satellites by SpaceX successfully deployed over the past two years, Iridium has managed the feat to fully replace its first constellation in record time. The last ten satellites, successfully orbited this January, 11 with a Falcon rocket 9 during the eighth and last launch, definitely complement the new constellation.
iWatchSat predicts passage of Iridium satellites
Disappeared when updating Weather4D Pro to Weather4D Routing (¹), Iridium satellite passage prediction returns as a small stand-alone application : iWatchSat.
Presented with the same interface as Weather4D apps, it optimizes the connection for downloading GRIB files.
Iridium NEXT maintains its schedule [Update-3]
June 2012, I wrote a post about the future constellation of communications satellites Iridium NEXT. While intended for operational use in 2017, the calendar was shifted a few months. Indeed, the launch of the first ten satellites by the private company SpaceX, originally planned on 12 September 2016, was postponed for a few months by the explosion on September 1, a Falcon rocket 9 rocket explosion during the fuel filling on its launch pad before a shot of engine test.
Iridium Mail & Web : GRIB weather files on iPhone and iPad in open sea [Update-2]
[Update 15 February 2019] The recent update of the application Iridium Mail & Web gives me the opportunity to refresh the ticket originally written in December 2011.
The Wi - Fi gateway Optimizer RedPort the company enables owners of a mobile satellite phone to query and receive GRIB weather files from an iPad or iPhone on the high seas, into the wild, anywhere on the world.
Having implemented and tested this solution on a long journey, it has proven perfectly operational. However, it is limited to receiving only predictions GFS weather model global, and model WW3 waves, obtained by the autoresponder US server Saildocs.