Satellite Phones

[Crocodile Dundee]

Thinking of purchasing a satellite phone for my Defender has anybody got any experience that can share with me please
My thought is to get it a Cradle in the Defender all the time so when l step out l can just put into pack and it is charged
So if anybody has got that set up would love photos or if anybody can recommend also brand s and what l should be looking for
Thanks in Advance

[Milton477]

I have just bought an Iridium 9505a second hand off ebay. I can put my post paid international roaming enabled Telstra NextG sim card out of my mobile into the sat phone & make sat calls. I'm not going to mount it in my D4 as it is only for use infrequently.

[laughto]

I have just bought an Iridium 9505a second hand off ebay. I can put my post paid international roaming enabled Telstra NextG sim card out of my mobile into the sat phone & make sat calls. I'm not going to mount it in my D4 as it is only for use infrequently.

What are call costs when using the Telstra NextG SIM? Do you still need a Satellite Phone plan?

[laughto]

What are call costs when using the Telstra NextG SIM? Do you still need a Satellite Phone plan?

Umm, think I have found the answer to my question. Looks like you can use the cheapest possible post-paid Telstra NextG casual plan - current cheapest advertised casual plan is $35/mth. There is a suggestion that cheaper plans may be available as a walk-in to a Telstra shop and asking, or insisting on a cheaper (possibly $10/mth) plan, although some of this info dates back to 2014. May be worth a try however. Best not to mention that it is for a Sat Phone, as they will want to sell you a Satellite Plan and lock you in for a minimum period at great expense. This all of course assumes you are not swapping in your current Mobile phone SIM.

You also need to have International Roaming turned on - this may already be done on new SIMs, but probably best to check and test before needing to use in anger! As a previous Corporate customer of Telstra for many years, we found them notoriously bad at setting features on and off when requested. Optus were no better I might add!

Also a suggestion is that calls are expensive ($4/min in 2014), but if only used for an emergency, cost will probably be a major consideration in your thinking.

[LRD414]

I have just bought an Iridium 9505a second hand off ebay. I can put my post paid international roaming enabled Telstra NextG sim card out of my mobile into the sat phone & make sat calls.


There is a suggestion that cheaper plans may be available as a walk-in to a Telstra shop and asking, or insisting on a cheaper (possibly $10/mth) plan, although some of this info dates back to 2014.
I too have just purchased a 2nd hand Iridium 9505A based on positive feedback regarding the coverage of the Iridium network.

However, I don't have any Telstra mobile products so decided it would be more straightforward to purchase a pre-paid Iridium SIM, eg:
PRE Paid Iridium Satellite Phone Global SIM Card 75 Minutes 1 Month | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/331497296757?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT)

This is expensive but I think no worse if you're a non-Telstra customer compared to purchasing a post-paid Telstra SIM.

Regards,
Scott

[Stuart02]

There's the sat sleeve option too, for iphone and samsung. Not sure what satellite network they are though.

Wouldn't want to run out of credit half way through an emergency call.

Sent from my SM-G900I using AULRO mobile app

[Homestar]

If your trips that require them are only infrequent you can hire them as well.

[alien]

We have bought a Iridium 9575 on a $40/month Pivotel plan.
This is for our bigger trips and our plan is more solo camping/prospecting closer to home where there is no standard mobile coverage.
I can use $5 each month of the $40, so around 10 free text messages if we don't ring out.
If we exceed the $5 it just goes on the next bill, so no loss of use when it's needed the most.
Received calls cost us nothing and the caller is charged normal mobile phone rates.
Our plan is to send a "ring me" text to anyone we need/want to contact when possible.
This plan was the best for our situation and may not suit casual users.


The cradle while handy is just to expensive at @ $1200.00 for the odd time we would use it that way.
If we where full time touring I'd consider it.
Most of the time I plan to have it in a backpack while wandering around digging holes.
I'd like to find a light solid case to put the phone in rather than a bigger pelican case, I'm still looking into this.

[LRD414]

I'd like to find a light solid case to put the phone in rather than a bigger pelican case, I'm still looking into this.
Kyle, I'm looking into ideas for safe storage too, for example:

Small Aluminium Case with Foam Insert (Camera / Video Case) | HB6355 | Jaycar Electronics (http://www.jaycar.com.au/Tools-%26-Soldering/Cases-%26-Storage/Tool-Boxes-%26-Cases/Small-Aluminium-Case-with-Foam-Insert-%28Camera-Video-Case%29/p/HB6355)
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/

or
CASE ABS BLK IPX8 182X120X42MM | Tool Boxes & Cases | HB6421 | Jaycar Electronics (http://www.jaycar.com.au/Tools-%26-Soldering/Cases-%26-Storage/Tool-Boxes-%26-Cases/CASE-ABS-BLK-IPX8-182X120X42MM/p/HB6421)
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/

Cheers,
Scott

[alien]

Kyle, I'm looking into ideas for safe storage too, for example:

Small Aluminium Case with Foam Insert (Camera / Video Case) | HB6355 | Jaycar Electronics (http://www.jaycar.com.au/Tools-%26-Soldering/Cases-%26-Storage/Tool-Boxes-%26-Cases/Small-Aluminium-Case-with-Foam-Insert-%28Camera-Video-Case%29/p/HB6355)
http://www.jaycar.com.au/medias/HB6355ImageMain-515Wx515H?context=bWFzdGVyfGltYWdlc3w3MzIwMXxpbWFn ZS9qcGVnfGltYWdlcy9oMDIvaGQyLzg4MTQ3NDkxODgxMjYuan BnfDViZTEzMjczOWU3NDljMmUwYmUwMTllYmY0Yjc2NWQxNjMz NGY5MzhmNzMwNjUxNTQyM2QzMTQzNjU5NWMzYTg

or
CASE ABS BLK IPX8 182X120X42MM | Tool Boxes & Cases | HB6421 | Jaycar Electronics (http://www.jaycar.com.au/Tools-%26-Soldering/Cases-%26-Storage/Tool-Boxes-%26-Cases/CASE-ABS-BLK-IPX8-182X120X42MM/p/HB6421)
http://www.jaycar.com.au/medias/HB6421gallery11-300Wx300H?context=bWFzdGVyfGltYWdlc3wzMTg0N3xpbWFn ZS9qcGVnfGltYWdlcy9oMDkvaDQ2Lzg4MTg4MjE5NTU2MTQuan BnfGUxM2VhNTFmZjhlYWJiODZmZjZhNmYxMmYzYzE0MzBiNWVi NzFiYTI5ZjViN2ViMmI4Y2RmNGI4MWVlMTIxMzc

Cheers,
Scott
Spotted them when we found a new Jaycar in the next village:)
The top one is to big for my intended use but would be OK in the back for touring.
The lower one's internal dimensions are too small.


I may yet end up with a small Pelican lunchbox sized case.
Ideally I'd like something solid the size of a 1ltr oil bottle.

[87County]

I had been looking into a satellite phone, and I came across the iridium go system, which is a local wifi environment that you set up anywhere in which you can use your iphone to make satcalls anywhere - more accessible thab the thurya sleeve system.

Seems like it could be preferable to a straight satphone - about $1k + and use your mobile , thoughts anyone?

[laughto]

If your trips that require them are only infrequent you can hire them as well.

Pretty expensive if you want it for a reasonable amount of time. For a 2 month trip, for what I was quoted, I could have purchased a 2nd hand handset on fleabay - out of either Melbourne or Brisbane IIRC. Sadly that was about 2 months ago, and with the migration of all of us Grey Nomads to remote locations, they have all been sold. My guess is that there will be more available summer/autumn 2016/2017.

[LRD414]

I too have just purchased a 2nd hand Iridium 9505A based on positive feedback regarding the coverage of the Iridium network.
However, I don't have any Telstra mobile products so decided it would be more straightforward to purchase a pre-paid Iridium SIM, eg:
PRE Paid Iridium Satellite Phone Global SIM Card 75 Minutes 1 Month | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/331497296757?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT)
This is expensive but I think no worse if you're a non-Telstra customer compared to purchasing a post-paid Telstra SIM.


Kyle, I'm looking into ideas for safe storage too
This is what I have ended up with for the Iridium 9505A ....
One of these cases from Jaycar, whose internal dimensions are pretty close to perfect:
CASE ABS BLK IPX8 210X120X90MM | Jaycar Electronics (http://www.jaycar.com.au/Tools-%26-Soldering/Cases-%26-Storage/Tool-Boxes-%26-Cases/CASE-ABS-BLK-IPX8-210X120X90MM/p/HB6425)
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2016/06/304.jpg

To which I have added some additional foam to the bottom and all sides:
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2016/06/305.jpg
Nice snug fit.

This is straightforward to pack in the vehicle and I think even to carry in a back pack.
Dimensions are similar to the 1L oil bottle proposed by Kyle:
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2016/06/306.jpg
Or coolant in this case. Total weight = 866g in the case.

Cheers,
Scott

[Narangga]

I too have just purchased a 2nd hand Iridium 9505A based on positive feedback regarding the coverage of the Iridium network.

Regards,
Scott

What size SIM does it take Scott?

[Fluids]

I've been looking in to this, and so far this is where I'm at ...

Thuraya XT-Lite handset, new, $700 outright. $15/month plan with no connection fee, and no minimum term. Sign up for 1 month then cancel, and reconnect again at anytime.

Calls are 0.95c/minute to Aus numbers (landline & mobile - no flagfall). Text messages are 0.50c per message (160 characters). Data is $2.50/MB ... but the phone doesn't do data, just SMS and Voice.

Incoming calls cost you nothing, and the caller pays whatever their Telco charges them to call a mobile phone number (so if you pay $50/month for your service with $800 worth of call included, you pay no extra!). Call to the phone whilst you are OS are the same. Calls to International numbers from Oz $6.50/minute + 0.40c flagfall / Call to Oz from OS are 0.95c/minute no flagfall.

For the asking price, why wouldn't you use the phone when travelling outback ? At 0.95c/min it won't break the bank, and instead of callers being bent over to ring you (some sat' deals are $12-18/minute to the caller!!) people can ring or sms you whenever they need.

... am waiting for confirmation on the above ... Pivotel also do a $15/month no fixed term deal with 0.98c/minute calls but have a $25 connection fee .... use it for 2 months, cancell, reconnect 6 months later, pay another $25 connection fee ... still cheap, and all of the above are post paid, so you never run out of credit.

Thuraya also do the Satsleeve+ or Satsleeve Hotspot (for your iDevice or Android phone) .... These do data, but at the data rate charged you'd need to be well healed to make good use of it ... Voice & sms are fine for our use.

Still researching, but this is looking good !

Note - You also get a normal Australian mobile Phone number with the above services.

[Fluids]

OK. Did the deal. XT-Lite purchased outright with additional USB car chargers and 12v charging lead, delivered (overnight) $850 on a $15/mth Pivotel plan with a std AUS mobile number. Calls are 0.99c/min SMS 0.50c. No min' term.

The $700 deal on the phone was Optus. Still a $15/mth plan. While the calls were 0.95c/min, the number is an AUS Satellite number, which means incoming calls cost the caller calls to satellite phone rates, not mobile rates.

A BIG thumbs up to Peter Davidson from Epirbhire EPIRBhire Australia Wide (http://www.epirbhire.com.au)

A very knowledgeable dude, who knows his stuff, and provides 24/7 support.

[Fluids]

Been researching this for a while ... Irridium, Inmarsat, Globalstar, Thuraya ... a bit of a minefield ... options up the wazoo!! ... with the killer being either the cost of the calls, or the monthly cost of the plan, and the cost for people to ring you. I know I could slip my Telstra post paid global roaming sim into an Irridium phone ... but the hassle of swapping sims (phone lives in an Otterbox Defender case) and the call cost was a hassle I wasn't prepared to deal with. Why buy a $600-800-1000 phone and pack it away to maybe be never used unless there's an emergency need to fire it up ? If I'm going to buy it I want to be able to use it as and where I choose, conveniently.

Hiring is an option, but 2 x 30 day hires are roughly the price of the phone (not including calls).

I looked at HF radio, and I think it's got tons of merit, but the cost of the equipment is very expensive, it's tied to the vehicle, and a VKS737 subscription is still $130/yr ... but if your remote the morning/evening radio skeds are a plus, weather reports, ABC radio, and being able to possibly get assistance from someone close by is a BIG plus ... I'm likley to invest in a HF setup somewhere down the track ... maybe.

So I've done the deal and purchased a new satellite Thuraya XT-Lite handset outright including an extra 12v car charger for $850 including delivery (ex rentals were $720).

XT-LITE Satellite Phone | Thuraya (http://thuraya.com/xt-lite)

It's a basic handset that does calls and SMS. No data capability (and at $5/MB why would you? ... $5k/Gig ... right!! :p It's about the size of an iPhone 5s and about 2.5 times thicker. Very compact. 6hrs talk time and 80hrs standby. About 2.5hrs for a recharge.

I purchased the phone from Peter Davidson at Epirbhire (Buladelah / Upper Myall NSW)

EPIRBhire Australia Wide (http://www.epirbhire.com.au)

Hire a Thuraya XT (http://www.epirbhire.com.au/Thuraya%20XTlite.html)

... put it on a Pivotel $15/mth post paid plan (so you never run out of credit!) with calls at 0.99c/min and SMS at 0.50c each (for calls to Oz from anywhere in the world). There was a 1off $25 connection fee. I replied to Peters email answering the asked questions at 2.30pm and they did the complete sign-up process and the phone arrived next morning, activated, tested and ready to go. Painless !! :)

Pivotel Thuraya Voice Rate Plans (http://www.pivotel.com.au/thuraya-plans.php)

Pivotel do the XT-Lite direct at $699 but you have to sign up for a 24mth $30 or $65 plan (with no connection fee), otherwise they sell the phone for $799. Cheapest I found the phone for online was $789 ... but for a $50-60 premium it was worth dealing with Epirbhire (and they included an additional 2 x USB car chargers and USB to phone charging lead that's not normally supplied AND delivered it free of charge). Epirbhire provide 24/7 support ... you ring, you get Peter, who owns the business. Knows his stuff and gives good unbiased advice & assistance. Satcomms are his business. Who else do you know that you can ring at 8.30pm and discuss mobile phone handsets and plans !!?? (and he does all 4x sat' systems) A BIG thumbs up to Peter and his staff at Epirbhire !!! Exceptional service from a specialist business for a few bucks more ....

My Pivotel Sat' number is a std AUS mobile phone number. You wanna ring me ... you pay whatever your phone plan charges you for a std call to a mobile phone ... or to send an SMS. Costs me nothing to recieve calls and SMS.

I also considered Optus's deal on the same handset at $700, on a $15/mth plan with 0.95c/min calls and 0.50c SMS, and data at $2.50/MB, no connection fee, no min' term, disconnect/reconnect as & when you want with no additional cost ... but the number you get is an AUS Satellite phone number, and NO ONE (and believe me I searched ... even rang Optus Sat and THEY couldn't tell me) could tell me how much callers where going to be charged to ring me .... but this is a very viable option if all you ever want to do is make an emergency (or not) outgoing call on a plan that can be turned on/off at will for no additional cost

Optus Thuraya XT LITE (http://www.optus.com.au/business/broadband-internet/networking-solutions/satellite/voice-data/sat-talk/optus-thuraya-xt-lite)

Irridium uses orbiting satellites that "hand-off" your call to the next sat' as they pass overhead. It can be subject to drop-outs ... and the Irridium system is quite old, but has true global coverage even to the polar regions (don't think I'm taking the D2 to the poles anytime soon! :) ). Inmarsat & Thuraya each use a geo-stationary satellite for the service, which means you need to be able to locate where in the sky the sat' is and point the handset antenna in that general direction ... so if there's a big hill, trees, obstacles in the way you need to reposition yourself. From home here I need to point WNW about 20-22deg above the horizon ... the further north you travel the higher the angle becomes. If you can get your head around that it works very well. You do carry a compass with you when travelling ... don't you? Turn the phone on, wait for it to get a GPS fix, point the antenna towards the satellite and it's done. The sat' then knows your GPS location and optimizes the connection to your exact location.

Inmarsat & Irridium on a plan are expensive. Irridium pre-paid is frightfully expensive ($3.30/30sec calls!! $110 connection fee & $22/mth) ... Inmarsat pre-paid is much cheaper, but incoming calls cost the caller around $15-18/minute :eek:

Sat phones aren't supposed to work indoors (or so my research tells me) ... my Thuraya XT-Lite does !! 2m away from 2x 2mx2m windows with closed timber venetian blinds, with a terracotta tile roof, heavy tree's outside the windows, more trees at the fenceline, and tall trees over the road, all right in the line of sight to the satellite, and I can send and recieve SMS messages without any problem. Very impressed !! ... haven't tried making a voice call from indoors yet, but with 3bars of service I expect it will work. Voice calls have a slight delay, but the audio quality is excellent and clear.

IMHO the Thuraya deal is the most cost effective for a casual service. Inmarsat is next for a prepaid (but don't have anyone ring you !!).

For me, $15/mth for a post paid, won't run out of credit service, is affordable ($180/yr). If I make 20min of calls in a month and send 10 SMS messages my bill would be $40. I call that very affordable for a satellite phone service ! ... and because it's affordable I can use it when I need without worrying about what it's costing me instead of keeping it packed away for emergency use only.

Thuraya/Pivotel have obviously realised that there's demand for an affordable handset and plan for non corporate/government customers and have delivered ... and I reckon it will only get cheaper as we progress forward !

If you've got questions fire away !

Cheers!