Communications on board

[Trueskale]

Hello!

I have been searching around the forum and site but I have not yet found my specific answer. Please forgive my ignorance, I am very new to this.


I am about to embark a journey on a boat for 1-2 months.

I have certain people in my life that I need to have a constant communication with and I am worried that it will be a challenge to do that on a boat.



Anyone knows how can I communicate with the external world?

The captain will be responsible for boat-to-boat communications and emergency calls/weather reports, etc! and I really don't want to interfere.

If I am not able to communicate, is there a way to send the coordinates of my location on a daily basis via satellite ? Maybe there's a GPS that does that or a android programme ?

I know for a fact that GOOGLE LATITUDE does that but that requires an internet connection (which there's no such thing in the sea)


My options are...

- Satellite phone; but is that used for day-to-day small talk? i dont think so

- Get a for iphone/android programme that sends the location via satellite (which DOES have sea coverage specifically )

- Use the boat technology to send coordinates/communicate with the outside world (but it must not interfere with the captain's operations)

- Cell Phone. I have looked around the forums and also checked out http://www.cruising.sailingcourse.com/communications.htm , which interestingly addresses the use of a cell phone. This is good news but I do not have much confidence regarding the strength of the reception (will travel in Singapore/Phuket/Thailand waters)


- Any other suggestions?

I anticipate that one will wonder why I did not ask the captain directly and get a straight answer from a professional...... well... this is because the captain position is not determined yet

I realise this is very specialised question but any response will be greatly appreciated.

BOAT INFO
========

-Radar, VHF,GPS, Satellite Phone and Chart Plotter.
-Will travel near Singapore/Phuket/Thailand waters

P.S; basically in a few words, I just want to let the people I love know that I am fine on a daily basis.. providing location would be a plus, without interfering wit the captain's operations.

 

[lenseman]

The only kit which will suit your requirements is a YellowBrick. It costs about £350 and uses the Iridium satellites and not the slowly degrading GlobalStar system as used by SPOT Messenger 2.

I have both onboard and Yellow Brick is the best. Position reports can be set by the user, anything from every 10 minutes to once every 24 hours and you can text to and from the unit at a cost but it is far cheaper that an Iridium phone cost. I also have Iridium Satellite phone but never need to use it.

ps: I forgot to say, welcome to the YBW forums.

 

[All The Gear No Idea]

The only kit which will suit your requirements is a YellowBrick. It costs about £350 and uses the Iridium satellites and not the slowly degrading GlobalStar system as used by SPOT Messenger 2.

I have both onboard and Yellow Brick is the best. Position reports can be set by the user, anything from every 10 minutes to once every 24 hours and you can text to and from the unit at a cost but it is far cheaper that an Iridium phone cost. I also have Iridium Satellite phone but never need to use it.

ps: I forgot to say, welcome to the YBW forums.

And a mobile phone outside a signal coverage area will be completely useless for reporting your position.

I heard that you can get a small battery operated unit that transmits your position via satellite, but I don't think it has any other capability.

Iridium phones can send and receive a certain amount of SMS/email for very little cost. MailASail.com is a good place to look to get clued up. You may be able to rent an Iridium phone for the duration and pay the monthly subscription for the service. Please post your findings for all to see. I'd be keen to know how cheaply this can be done.

 

[lenseman]

. . . . . . Iridium phones can send and receive a certain amount of SMS/email for very little cost. MailASail.com is a good place to look to get clued up. You may be able to rent an Iridium phone for the duration and pay the monthly subscription for the service. Please post your findings for all to see. I'd be keen to know how cheaply this can be done.

The trouble with Iridium is the time in use just saying bland things like how you getting on and "Ooooh" and "Aaaaaah" and the story about Aunt Nellies corns and how she was rushed to hospital . . . .etc! It racks up the time on line at a cost.

Text messages 'to' an Iridium are free (140 chars max, or it could be 160 chars max, I can't remember but I used it to send daily Met forecasts to a Trans Atlantic yacht recently?).

YellowBrick has user programmable messages and is the similar size to an Iridium phone but far far cheaper (£8 pcm satellite line rental and about 10p per message either way or costs close to these amounts).

SPOT can be very flaky and often does not send a message due to not being able to communicate with the GlobalStar satellite system which is quite elderly and no where near the amount or Iridium satellites. I don't think SPOT can receive incoming messages like YellowBrick or an Iridium Satellite phone. I never use mine it is just a backup system in the Grab Bag.

 

[prv]

The only kit which will suit your requirements is a YellowBrick. It costs about £350 and uses the Iridium satellites and not the slowly degrading GlobalStar system as used by SPOT Messenger 2.

And a mobile phone outside a signal coverage area will be completely useless for reporting your position.

What a bizarre reply. David's suggestion was for a two-way short-message and position-reporting device that uses the Iridium network. Looks spot-on, and nothing to do with mobile phones whatsoever.

I heard that you can get a small battery operated unit that transmits your position via satellite, but I don't think it has any other capability.

Um, yes, this would be the Yellowbrick that David was suggesting. It can send brief messages (in both directions) at about 10p per 50 characters. Seems ideal for letting someone know you're ok without spending too much on chit-chat.

Pete

 

[All The Gear No Idea]

What a bizarre reply. David's suggestion was for a two-way short-message and position-reporting device that uses the Iridium network. Looks spot-on, and nothing to do with mobile phones whatsoever.



Um, yes, this would be the Yellowbrick that David was suggesting. It can send brief messages (in both directions) at about 10p per 50 characters. Seems ideal for letting someone know you're ok without spending too much on chit-chat.

Pete

"If I am not able to communicate, is there a way to send the coordinates of my location on a daily basis via satellite ? Maybe there's a GPS that does that or a android programme ?"

I wasn't aware that Iridium phones ran Android apps, hence my reference to mobile phones.

 

[KellysEye]

Since the boat has a satellite phone and a GPS you have all you need. Ask the skipper if you can use the phone but you will probabaly have to pay for the airtime.