Iridium Go Antenna Alternatives?

[Tim Good]

I have an Iridim go but the external antenna is about £300. As usual in this sort of thing there is an unbranded but perfectly good alternative. Does anyone know what sort of frequencies they run on so I can search for lower cost alternatives?

Thanks!

 

[prv]

Via google, this place says "The subscriber links are in L-band between 1616 MHz and 1626.5 MHz."

Pete

 

[Martin_J]

And at Iridium frequencies you also need a very good low loss cable... The higher the frequency the greater the loss in co-ax cable... More than a few metres and you could lose half the signal.

 

[Tim Good]

Has anyone compared the reception before and after using the external antenna?

I currently just put it out in the cockpit and it works but assume in poor weather or with a rolly sea, then it might not work quite as well.

 

[prv]

I currently just put it out in the cockpit and it works but assume in poor weather or with a rolly sea, then it might not work quite as well.

These aren’t steerable dish antennas like the big satdomes, so I assume they’re omnidirectional and don’t care about the angle to the satellite. In which case I can’t see why rolling would make any difference.

Lots of water in the air sounds like a more plausible reason for reduced performance; I don’t know how serious the effect is.

Possibly the external antenna is more about being able to mount the transmitter semi-permanently in a secure dry location and still have good signal, rather than getting better signal than the built-in?

Pete

 

[r_h]

Has anyone compared the reception before and after using the external antenna?

Yes - it's hugely better with the external antenna and never drops the signal what ever the conditions - and you don't have to worry about the unit getting wet (I know it has some water proofing, but I wouldn't want to expose it to proper spray).