Iridium AxcessPoint is a Game Changer May 15, 2012
Posted by outfittertech in Iridium Satellite Phone.add a comment
Iridium AxcessPoint WiFi Hotspot Device with Iridium 9555
The Iridium AxcessPoint is a game changer accessory for Iridium 9555 and 9575 EXTREME users with iPhone, iPad, or Blackberry devices as well as Windows computers. Just follow the instructions and setup is amazingly easy. The AxcessPoint Mail and Web software lets one or more users simultaneously access the internet via the Iridium phone — anywhere anytime.
Ann Price, one very pleased AxcessPoint user, recently gave this description of her experience in Nepal: ” I can’t tell how how pleased I have been with using my Iridium Extreme with AxcessPoint and iPad. It’s just so easy and simple! At first, I thought, that can’t be it, it just seems like sending data and pictures across the planet should be more complicated. I have sent over 35 emails to a friend who posts my blogs to my website.”
Are there any downsides to the AxcessPoint? Though the AxcessPoint Email software is an excellent tool for basic email or email-based reception of weather maps or key file transmissions, in the opinion of this writer, the Iridium 2400 bps data rate is simply too slow for browsing the web — even with the powerful compression tools included with the AxcessPoint Web software. So, unless a particular web site is critical for you, Outfitter Satellite suggests you focus on the AxcessPoint Email solution.
Also, if you are an Android user, unfortunately no AxcessPoint Mail and Web ap has been developed yet (as of the writing of this blog). This means that Android users can use the AxcessPoint for accessing the internet but will not have any of the compression benefits of the AxcessPoint Mail and Web software.
You can use the AxcessPoint device without the benefit of the AxcessPoint Mail and Web software but be careful. By default the AxcessPoint device initiates a data call when it is connected to the Iridium phone. If you are using the AxcessPoint Mail and Web software, the software stops the data call immediately until it is needed again. Without the software, this automatic call control is not available — which could easily lead to excessive airtime usage. For this reason, Outfitter Satellite strongly recommends that users use the AxcessPoint Mail and Web software and avoid other types of applications.
Power Issues: The AxcessPoint has an internal battery and comes with an AC wall charger. The Iridium 9555 does not charge through its USB port, but the Iridium 9575 EXTREME does charge itself through the USB cable connection to the AxcessPoint. Obviously, the EXTREME will discharge the internal battery of the AxcessPoint fairly quickly. The AxcessPoint can be connected to external power while in use but does not have to be. Recommendations: We recommend that users that do not have a conventional AC “wall” power source carry a portable battery and an AC inverter.
Globalstar Rising March 2, 2012
Posted by outfittertech in Globalstar Satellite Phone.add a comment
Globalstar GSP-1700
Globalstar announced major technical problems in early 2007. Since then it has been building its second generation satellites and at the current time has successfully launched 18 of the 24 second generation satellites that it built.
Globalstar quality of service is expected (not promised) to be improving by this summer. Outfitter Satellite is currently offering a $39.99 per month Evolution II Airtime plan for Globalstar users that allows unlimited voice calling in the Globalstar USA home zone for a fixed $39.99/month fee (see service contract for complete terms and conditions. Always on data service is not allowed.) Currently we expect Globalstar to end its Evolution II Airtime promotion on March 31, 2012 because of the expected quality of service improvements coming this year.
Outfitter Satellite will be conducting its own independent tests in May 2012 when one of our staff drives from Tennessee to Washington state using a GSP-1700 in a car kit. We’ll let you know how the tests go.
If Globalstar does restore its service to near the quality of service experienced prior to 2006, we expect many Globalstar customers to return to Globalstar. The Globalstar GSP-1700 is an important reason. It is an extremely compact phone — smaller than any satellite phone currently available with coverage in the western hemisphere.
Inmarsat Rate Hike Coming March 2, 2012
Posted by outfittertech in Inmarsat FleetBroadband, Inmarsat GSPS Isatphone PRO, Iridium Satellite Phone.add a comment
IsatPhone PRO
Inmarsat is indicating a significant rate increase for its Inmarsat Global Satellite Phone Services (GSPS) and its Inmarsat FleetBroadband (FBB) service. Some hardware prices are also expected to go up sharply. The rate increase is expected to happen between May and July of 2012. Some blogs have speculated that the price increase is related to the new Inmarsat Global Xpress service expected sometime around 2014.
Though the (expected) large FBB rate increase is surprising to us, the Inmarsat GSPS price increase was expected. Right now, our typical monthly fees to end users are under $15 per month for most plans — which is common in the marketplace. When Inmarsat launched the IsatPhone PRO in mid-2010, it deliberately priced it low to make rapid inroads into the market share of its competitor Iridium. Now with the IsatPhone PRO and other GSPS products proven to be effective, Inmarsat appears to be increasing the pricing to be more comparable to the Iridium service costs.
Inmarsat GSPS hardware is also going up. At the time of this posting, Outfitter Satellite has a remarkable $495 price on a new Inmarsat IsatPhone PRO. After the IsatPhone PRO equipment price goes up, you will probably never see them below $600 again, so if you were thinking about getting the IsatPhone PRO, now would be the best time.
Encryption Used by Some Satellite Phones May have been Broken February 22, 2012
Posted by outfittertech in Thuraya.Tags: Inmarsat, iridium, Isatphone, satellite phone, Thuraya
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Thuraya SO-2510
Up till now, many users have assumed that satellite communications is intrinsically secure. Evidently, German researchers at Ruhr University Bochum assert that they have been able to break the encryption used to protect certain civilian satellite communications. According to the researchers inexpensive computer equipment can be used to decipher a satellite call in around 30 minutes, and more powerful computers could potentially eavesdrop on active satellite phone voice calls.
The encryption algorithms that were allegedly broken are the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) GMR-1 and GMR-2 algorithms which are encryption standards used by various satellite phone providers including Thuraya.
According to a February 8, 2012 article in NetworkWorld, the researchers studied the Thuraya SO-2510. For more information on this story, see the Feb 3, 2012 article in The Telegraph or the
Feb 8, 2012 article in NetworkWorld.
SOLUTION: Extremely secure voice communications over Thuraya satellite phones is available. Outfitter Satellite provides small handheld encryption systems such as the CopyTele DCS-1400. This lightweight easy-to-use encryption system weighs only 3 oz and can be configured with powerful encryption algorithms such as Harris CITADELTM CCX, Triple DES or the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES).
Iridium 9575 EXTREME Charging Problems December 8, 2011
Posted by outfittertech in Iridium Satellite Phone.6 comments
Iridium 9575 Extreme
The new Iridium 9575 EXTREME phone model was launched in late 2011. Outfitter Satellite initial experience with getting the battery seated was disappointing. In many cases, we could not get the battery that came with the phone to seat at all. Apparently in order to achieve the IP65 rating, rubberized material was used to surround the seat where the battery is inserted. It is a very tight fit so small variations in the battery can make a specific battery hard to seat in a specific phone. In several cases, even though the battery connected well enough to power up the phone, we found that simply touching the phone at certain places and cause the phone to turn off temporarily. The main symptom of the battery problem is that battery willl not fully install and the phone will not power up without being held in place with external pressure. Some customers first notice this as an issue charging the phone.
Iridium placed battery installation instructions with the phone and a sticker on the battery that recommends that you push the battery in with your thumbs. Eventually, Iridium determined that the problem was due to misalignment of the battery casing during ultrasonic welding. The good news is that Iridium is working with the battery manufacturer to correct the problem in the future and is treating existing battery problems as a warranty issue.
OUR SOLUTION: Our solution was to try different batteries. We found that swapping the batteries between phones eventually allowed us to find a working battery for every phone. Outfitter Satellite tests all the phones in this way before shipping them to our clients. If a customer experiences the battery problem, we recommend returning the battery for warranty replacement (during the first 12 month warrant period).
BENEFITS OF THE IRIDIUM 9575 EXTREME: We don’t just want to mention the battery seating problem that we believe will be resolved. The Iridium 9575 EXTREME does have some very good points too. It has GPS features that let you see your position and easily share it with friends via text. It also has a shielded “emergency button” feature that lets you initiate a GPS-enhanced text to one or more recipients to signal them that you are in trouble. The Iridium 9575 EXTREME was designed to survive in very bad weather — it can even stand up to jets of water sprayed at it (that is, it is IP65 rated).
What does the IP Rating of a Satellite Phone Really Mean? May 5, 2011
Posted by outfittertech in Inmarsat BGAN.1 comment so far
The IP Code often called Ingress Protection Rating (but correctly the International Protection Rating) of a product is a classification that indicates how well the product resists intrusion of solids (such as dust) and liquids (such as water).
The first digit is the rating for Solids:
- LEVEL 0 – No protection against ingress of objects, even large objects such as fingers.
- LEVEL 1 – Objects larger than 50 mm cannot intrude.
- LEVEL 2 – Objects larger than 12.5 mm cannot intrude, e.g. fingers.
- LEVEL 3 – Objects larger than 2.5 mm cannot intrude, e.g. most small tools.
- LEVEL 4 – Objects larger than 1.0 mm cannot intrude, e.g. most small wires and screws.
- LEVEL 5 – Ingress of dust is prevented sufficiently to prevent it from interfering with product operation.
- LEVEL 6 – Dust tight.
The second digit is the rating for Liquids:
- LEVEL 0 – Not protected against liquids.
- LEVEL 1 – Dripping water (vertically falling drops) will have no harmful effect.
- LEVEL 2 – Dripping water has no harmful effect even if the product is tilted up to 15% relative to its normal position.
- LEVEL 3 – Spraying water(water falling as much as 60 degrees off vertical) has no harmful effect.
- LEVEL 4 – Splashing water will have no harmful affect, regardless of the direction it hits the product.
- LEVEL 5 – Water jets projected from a 6.3 mm nozzle against the product’s enclosure from any direction will have no harmful affects. The test is done for 3 minutes involving 12.5 litres per minute at 30 kN/m^2 from a distance of 3 meters.
- LEVEL 6 – Powerful water jets from a 12.5 mm nozzle will have no harmful effect regardless of the direction of impact on the product enclosure.
- LEVEL 7 – The product is protected against immersion in water up to 1 meter below the surface for 30 minutes.
The ratings give the overall idea of the rating omit some specifics of the precise test conditions. So, for example, the reader is advised that if the product is rated LEVEL 4 against liquids, it may stand up to water but perhaps not some other liquid. It may also standup to water for 15 minutes but not 20 minutes. If the reader has a bad case of insomnia, he/she should look up the specific details of the IP Code for a better understanding than we have been able to present here.
REAL WORLD EXAMPLE:
The IsatPhone PRO is rated IP54. The first digit 5 means that it is protected against dust and dust may enter its enclosure but cannot interfere with its operation but can enter. The second digit 4 means it can withstand splashing at least within the bounds of the internationally accepted test conditions.
GeoPro Iridium Personal Tracking Device October 4, 2010
Posted by outfittertech in Iridium Satellite Phone.add a comment
Outfitter Satellite just finished testing the GeoPro personal tracking device based on the 9601 SBD modem. This device in intended for tracking people not vehicles.
We found the GeoPro easy to use. The GeoPro is a small weatherized handheld unit that provides two-way messaging through the Iridium network. There is a web interface that can be controlled by one or more administrators who can see the people in their team superimposed on a map.
Field users can set their status to be ”in field” or “out of field”. The GeoPro’s automatic position reporting only occurs when the unit is “ in field” — which saves on usage costs. The system can be set to send position reports at constant intervals when it is in field.
Another powerful feature is the ability of the system to “check in” with the field users. If a field user misses a check in, a reminder message is sent. If that message is not responded to the system established an emergency condition and sends an email to pre-established emergency contact(s). The web interface is designed to facilitate what people will be put into the emergency response team to go get the missing field user.
The field user can also declare his/her own emergency using a special button. This button is protected by a flap to avoid accidentally being depressed.
Advantages relative to the Globalstar SPOT: GeoPro allows a two-way communication including free-style messages. By comparison, Globalstar’s SPOT system which is simplex (only allows outbound messages from the field unit). So, the people responding to the person who has sent out an emergency message have no way to communicate with the person in the field except to personally go out to the scene — a very expensive process and one that often turns out to be a response to a non-emergency. GeoPro’s two way communication eliminates this problem.
How long does it take to send an Emergency Message? If the device has not previously registered a GPS fix or it has moved over 500 miles since the last GPS registration: expect a GPS fix in about 40 seconds. The message will then transmit in 20 to 30 seconds more. These times assume a clear unobstructed view to the sky.
Battery Performance: The battery probably will last 5-7 days if the device is powered on but no messages are sent. That is because the device will wake up 3 times an hour to check for messages which uses up the battery . Sending one or two tracking messages per day doesn’t seem to significantly reduce the battery life.
Explorer 100 incompatble with new OSs March 24, 2010
Posted by outfittertech in Inmarsat BGAN.Tags: BGAN, Explorer 100, Mac, OSX 10.6, Snow Leopard, USB, Wideye Sabre, Windows 7
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Mac OSX 10.6 (Snow Leopard) and Windows 7 are becoming more prevalent among BGAN users. This has exposed a problem with the Thrane & Thrane Explorer 100 BGAN. The Explorer 100 USB drivers are not compatible with either Snow Leopard or Win 7. The user will get an error that says, “a suitable modem could not be found…”. Thrane & Thrane has indicated that they have no software releases planned to resolve this issue. In light of this, Outfitter Satellite has implemented a policy to provide a discount off our already low prices on a Wideye Sabre to replace an existing Explorer 100. You do not have to be a current customer to take advantage of this discount. Please call us at 1-877-436-2255 for more details.
Wideye Sabre Ranger March 8, 2010
Posted by outfittertech in Inmarsat BGAN.Tags: BGAN, Sabre, Sabre Ranger, SCADA, Wideye
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Wideye has announced the availability of a rugged weatherized BGAN called the Sabre Ranger. The Ranger is installed in an enclosure that allows it to be deployed in temperatures down to -40 deg C (requires optional heater) and up to 75 deg C. With an ingress protection rating of 65 (IP 65) the Ranger can withstand a very harsh environment. The Ranger supports features that make it ideal for a SCADA application. Contact us at the number above for more information.
Globalstar Satellite Launch Update January 25, 2010
Posted by outfittertech in Globalstar Satellite Phone.Tags: Globalstar coverage, satellite phone
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Globalstar has announced that it will launch the first six of its second generation satellites during a 90-day window that opens on July 5, 2010. The satellites will be launched on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Globalstar had previously announced that they would launch 24 satellites this year. No word at this time on when the subsequent launches will occur.
