Satellite communications

In space, in an area called LEO (Low Earth Orbit) located at a distance of approximately 200 to 1.000 km above our heads, several hundred, or even thousands, satellites are already flying. They are mainly dedicated to communications and observations Read more …

We have been hearing about it very discreetly since last summer, the new satellite communication device of the operator Iridium has finally been officially announced : Iridium GO! Exec™ (What a funny name !) should be available in late February or early March. Read more …

On this opening day of the Paris Nautic show, and as Christmas approaches, I can't resist the urge to provide a small gift to users of the Iridium Mail satellite messaging app & Web app. A trick that Read more …

Inflation does not spare satellite telephony services, to believe that the price of radio waves increases with the cost of transport ! Does this mean that the cost of the round trip of a radio wave toward Iridium satellites (about Read more …

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 for Read more …

 Since the operational commissioning of the Iridium NEXT constellation (¹), the company Iridium 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., this Read more …

A new firmware version 2.1.22 is now available for Iridium GO!®. This release includes an update to correct an incorrect time and date issue for the Iridium GO device.!® et l’application GO!®. This problem does not affect Read more …

The Iridium GO application!®, 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 assistance stylish graphics Read more …

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 Read more …

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 achieved the feat Read more …

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 Read more …

June 2012, I wrote a post on the future constellation of communications satellites Iridium NEXT. While intended for operational use in 2017, the calendar was shifted a few months. Indeed, launching Read more …

[Update 15 February 2019] The recent update of the Iridium Mail app & Web gives me the opportunity to refresh the ticket originally written in December 2011. RedPort's Wi-Fi Optimizer gateway allows owners Read more …

Iridium has just published an update of its Iridium GO device firmware! to correct a number of dysfunctions, including the slowness of data transfers (Messaging, GRIB files, aso.) but also recurring communication problems Read more …

If satellite telephony tariffs, mainly Iridium and Inmarsat, have not evolved in the U.S.A., this is not the case in France. After storage removal of products remained on the shelves, new supplies distributors underwent Read more …

Iridium announced in its distribution network shutdown late February router WiFi AxcessPoint (¹) which allows an iPad or an iPhone to connect to an Iridium phone to access a messaging service. No worries Read more …

Since release Apple iOS 8 early October 2014 Iridium Mail application & Web app (which replaced AxcessPoint Mail & Web app) was no longer able to export an attachment in another application by the function "open in".… Read more …

Since the release of Iridium GO! (¹) There were two different pages of subscription (for free) to messaging service, and two applications (iOS/Android) to connect to the Iridium devices. Now there is only one application : Iridium Mail Read more …

Since its announcement in February, the GO! is expected to come from dealers at the beginning of this month. The company E - SAT in gave me one to conduct some tests. Although too late to perform Read more …

The war is open between the two leading operators worldwide satellite phone. After the announcement of GO! by Iridium (¹), Here IsatPhone 2 by Inmarsat. Inmarsat will deliver its new mobile satellite phone on March 24 next. IsatPhone 2 target the top Read more …

After the announcement with great pomp of GO! Iridium a few months ago, but not yet available, INMARSAT has IsatHub at the CommunicAsia fair which has just closed its doors in Singapore. Competition is severe between Read more …

We talk about it in the press The global satellite company targets the consumer market with Iridium GO!™ : pack it for camping or world travel (¹). In all public places where you can connect without Read more …

As promised in my post on 15 July, here are the results of the comparative test conducted aboard "Prince d'Oc" for our trip from Port Leucate to Dubrovnik. Thanks to the loan of a full IsatPhone Pro, with station Read more …

The use of Iridium takes a growing place among offshore sailors. Safety at sea to join his family at all times, or be able to contact a medical emergency, are arguments often cited by Read more …

I just read, in the latest issue of Sails and Sailing dated May 2012, a comparative Inmarsat Iridium-which leaves me dissatisfied. Quite interesting on the form, it has many approximations on the bottom, and allows Read more …

After Jean Debèze, avid supporter of Navigation Mac, made me the pleasure of a detailed tutorial about installing a multiplexer aboard his sailboat, here's a ticket by Jacques Vermeulen, reflecting very didactic way to experience Read more …

MailaSail informs us : you can now update your Tweets directly from your Iridium phone (*). Start by sending an SMS from your Iridium with words START or SIGNUP to short code 40404…

Avec Weather4D PRO et AxcessPoint, associated with an Iridium satellite phone, we now have a complete solution, reliable and low cost to receive, display and manage GRIB files in open seas with iPad. iNavX and Navionics Read more …

I dont like to advertise products or features before they are available, but in this case the subject can guide choices or postponements of purchase among potential users. Iridium announced on last 7 last September the Read more …

British company Mailasail, I am now agent in France for Mac users, provides tools to connect directly an Iridium to Mac OS X. A driver designed by them allows Read more …