We are planning a trip to Central America and would like to stay in touch by phone. Does anyone have any experience with Iridium? Would appretiate any information as to how it worked on board, what model you use, and anyexperience connecting to your computor for E Mail. Thanks, mjbusher@aol.com
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john
iridium
All of last year I was using an Iridum hand held working offshore Mexico. The unit was one of the Ist generation Motarola's the model with a small stick up telescopic aerial. I cant remember the exact call cost to an onshore phone, but it was 1.50 iridium to iridum. The ist generation sets work perfectly well, it was in daily use and always locked on from power up in under one min , the first generation(hence cheap)sets work well but are a little bulky and eat the rechargable battery very quickly, it was always clear and usable.
All of last year I was using an Iridum hand held working offshore Mexico. The unit was one of the Ist generation Motarola's the model with a small stick up telescopic aerial. I cant remember the exact call cost to an onshore phone, but it was 1.50 iridium to iridum. The ist generation sets work perfectly well, it was in daily use and always locked on from power up in under one min , the first generation(hence cheap)sets work well but are a little bulky and eat the rechargable battery very quickly, it was always clear and usable.
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Buck Harrison
John,
Talk to the people at SEATECH Systems, 800-444-2581... they can give you the latest info on cost, etc...
Talk to the people at SEATECH Systems, 800-444-2581... they can give you the latest info on cost, etc...
C
Chuck Wayne
iridium phones
iridium works well but check your coverage area very carefully-connections that are "overseas" can carry heavy surcharges. you should also look at Globalstar, similar base pricing but much better clarity and much better internet connectivity-and the phones can also function as regular cell phones-look at globalstar.com. after much study, I went with the globalstar and i've been very happy with it-email, weather downloads,etc work very well. only weak spots are in mid atlantic ocean
iridium works well but check your coverage area very carefully-connections that are "overseas" can carry heavy surcharges. you should also look at Globalstar, similar base pricing but much better clarity and much better internet connectivity-and the phones can also function as regular cell phones-look at globalstar.com. after much study, I went with the globalstar and i've been very happy with it-email, weather downloads,etc work very well. only weak spots are in mid atlantic ocean
M
Mike Busher
Thanks for the Responses
I appretiate the feedback. I took Chuck's advise and checked with Globalstar. This looks really good for within 200 miles of the US shore, especially as they have just drastically lowered their price to I believe $595. Only problem is they do not yet handle data in Central America,which is important to us. Will probably go with Iridium and thank you John for your feedback from Mexico.
I appretiate the feedback. I took Chuck's advise and checked with Globalstar. This looks really good for within 200 miles of the US shore, especially as they have just drastically lowered their price to I believe $595. Only problem is they do not yet handle data in Central America,which is important to us. Will probably go with Iridium and thank you John for your feedback from Mexico.
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Victor Robert
Iridium works, but Beware of Stratos
I have used my Iridium phone in the Caribbean and off the west coast of Canada with good results. I was using the basic model phone, which does not support a modem link. The cost was $20 per month plus $1.50 per minute to almost anywhere, including another Iridium phone. The one to watch out for was a call to a non-Iridium sat phone (i.e. Globalstar). This rate was something ridiculous - many dollars per minute. How much it costs for someone to call me from a land line is determined by the caller's long distance carrier's rate to the Iridium 'country' code (yes, Iridium is a country). I called my carrier to find out how much it would cost to call the sat phone from my home phone, giving them the sat phone's number. After being transferred from department to department, they determined that they had no idea and I should ask Iridium. The only problem was with the service provider - Stratos. Iridium does not sell its services directly to end users, but sells through a number of distributors who handle customer service and billing. The sign-up process was straight forward. We filled out the form at the retailer's store, providing a credit card for monthly billing, who then faxed it in to Stratos, and the service was activated shortly thereafter. The surprise came with the first billing. To that point I had only used the phone to experiment and make sure it worked properly before going offshore. After deciphering the billing statement, it became clear that I was being billed for two phones, though I had only bought and registered one. OK, it happens. I called the Stratos customer service line many times, always to be met with a recording saying no one was available to take my call and please leave a message. Finally, I left a detailed message with the account number, the problem, the two phone numbers, and which was mine. When the second months billing arrived, there were the two phones again, with a more significant usage fee for my mystery guest. Back to the voice recording once or twice a week. In the third month, I finally got a call back from Stratos. They would look into it. At this point I wanted an immediate stop to this billing and demanded that both phones be deactivated until the situation could be resolved. A few days later, Stratos got back to me to explain that they had verified that a clerical error had been made when the account was set up. Unfortunately, I did not have the authority to stop service on the other phone, because they had determined that this was in fact someone else's phone. The fact that my credit card was being charged for it did not seem particularly relevant. Back and forth for a couple more months until Stratos finally determined that my credit card had been overcharged by about $450. A refund would be coming 'soon' - procedures, you understand. After weeks of checking with the credit card company, the Stratos item for $450 finally appeared - as a charge, not a credit. Now they had helped themselves to $900 of my money. Still not resolved. A one-time error that couldn't happen to you ? You decide. But the Iridium phone worked great !
I have used my Iridium phone in the Caribbean and off the west coast of Canada with good results. I was using the basic model phone, which does not support a modem link. The cost was $20 per month plus $1.50 per minute to almost anywhere, including another Iridium phone. The one to watch out for was a call to a non-Iridium sat phone (i.e. Globalstar). This rate was something ridiculous - many dollars per minute. How much it costs for someone to call me from a land line is determined by the caller's long distance carrier's rate to the Iridium 'country' code (yes, Iridium is a country). I called my carrier to find out how much it would cost to call the sat phone from my home phone, giving them the sat phone's number. After being transferred from department to department, they determined that they had no idea and I should ask Iridium. The only problem was with the service provider - Stratos. Iridium does not sell its services directly to end users, but sells through a number of distributors who handle customer service and billing. The sign-up process was straight forward. We filled out the form at the retailer's store, providing a credit card for monthly billing, who then faxed it in to Stratos, and the service was activated shortly thereafter. The surprise came with the first billing. To that point I had only used the phone to experiment and make sure it worked properly before going offshore. After deciphering the billing statement, it became clear that I was being billed for two phones, though I had only bought and registered one. OK, it happens. I called the Stratos customer service line many times, always to be met with a recording saying no one was available to take my call and please leave a message. Finally, I left a detailed message with the account number, the problem, the two phone numbers, and which was mine. When the second months billing arrived, there were the two phones again, with a more significant usage fee for my mystery guest. Back to the voice recording once or twice a week. In the third month, I finally got a call back from Stratos. They would look into it. At this point I wanted an immediate stop to this billing and demanded that both phones be deactivated until the situation could be resolved. A few days later, Stratos got back to me to explain that they had verified that a clerical error had been made when the account was set up. Unfortunately, I did not have the authority to stop service on the other phone, because they had determined that this was in fact someone else's phone. The fact that my credit card was being charged for it did not seem particularly relevant. Back and forth for a couple more months until Stratos finally determined that my credit card had been overcharged by about $450. A refund would be coming 'soon' - procedures, you understand. After weeks of checking with the credit card company, the Stratos item for $450 finally appeared - as a charge, not a credit. Now they had helped themselves to $900 of my money. Still not resolved. A one-time error that couldn't happen to you ? You decide. But the Iridium phone worked great !
B
Buck Harrison
Victor,
Thanks for making us aware of your horror story w/ Stratos... I've been shopping for a sat. phone also, and your msg. is very helpful. Have you considered caling your credit card co.'s customer service, explaining the problem and demanding that they credit the money back to you and charge-back the money to the merchant?
Thanks for making us aware of your horror story w/ Stratos... I've been shopping for a sat. phone also, and your msg. is very helpful. Have you considered caling your credit card co.'s customer service, explaining the problem and demanding that they credit the money back to you and charge-back the money to the merchant?
V
Victor Robert
Buck, re:Credit cards
Buck, The first question the Mastercard rep asked was "Did you authorize this merchant to make automatic charges to your card ?". Well yes, but.... At that point it became my problem. It was betweeen me and Stratos, Mastercard did not want to get involved. This is something to consider when filling out a form authorizing a merchant to make regular withdrawls of some unspecified amount from your card or bank account. Would a retailer open his cash drawer and say "Go ahead and make your own change, we trust you" ? This is effectively what we are doing with these authorizations. Who decides how much of your hard earned money will be withdrawn from your pocket each month ? 'The Computer' does. And never forget that 'The Computer' works on the two rule system. Rule 1: The computer is never wrong ! Rule 2: If the computer is wrong, see Rule 1 I always choose some other method of payment, unfortunately, many businesses adopt a simple 'take it or leave it' policy. The last time I bought life insurance, the agent handed me an authorization form. I said I would prefer to pay by invoice and cheque. She didn't know how to do this because nobody had ever asked before, so she took my cheque for the first couple of months and would get back to me. To get the policy started, she used her own account to get the first payments to the insurance company. In the next two months, she found she had made two $700 mortgage payments for a couple in Niagara Falls. 'The Computer' was in charge. This is a digression from the topic of sat phones, but I think relevant to all cruisers and cruisers-to-be who are forced to set up automated payment methods. With 20/20 hind sight, at the first sign of a problem I should have cancelled the card and asked Mastercard to issue a new card number for my account. I assume this would have stopped the automated withdrawls from the card number vs the account. The problem was that every time I spoke to someone at Stratos, I got a nodding head assuring me that the problem was being corrected. After all, how complicated could it be ? The point that always gets me in these situations is when the person on the other end admits that they have effectively stolen hundreds of dollars from you, but its going to take them a while to figure out how to get it back to you. Lets just consider it an interest free loan for a few weeks or months. Does anyone have a solution ? Please share !
Buck, The first question the Mastercard rep asked was "Did you authorize this merchant to make automatic charges to your card ?". Well yes, but.... At that point it became my problem. It was betweeen me and Stratos, Mastercard did not want to get involved. This is something to consider when filling out a form authorizing a merchant to make regular withdrawls of some unspecified amount from your card or bank account. Would a retailer open his cash drawer and say "Go ahead and make your own change, we trust you" ? This is effectively what we are doing with these authorizations. Who decides how much of your hard earned money will be withdrawn from your pocket each month ? 'The Computer' does. And never forget that 'The Computer' works on the two rule system. Rule 1: The computer is never wrong ! Rule 2: If the computer is wrong, see Rule 1 I always choose some other method of payment, unfortunately, many businesses adopt a simple 'take it or leave it' policy. The last time I bought life insurance, the agent handed me an authorization form. I said I would prefer to pay by invoice and cheque. She didn't know how to do this because nobody had ever asked before, so she took my cheque for the first couple of months and would get back to me. To get the policy started, she used her own account to get the first payments to the insurance company. In the next two months, she found she had made two $700 mortgage payments for a couple in Niagara Falls. 'The Computer' was in charge. This is a digression from the topic of sat phones, but I think relevant to all cruisers and cruisers-to-be who are forced to set up automated payment methods. With 20/20 hind sight, at the first sign of a problem I should have cancelled the card and asked Mastercard to issue a new card number for my account. I assume this would have stopped the automated withdrawls from the card number vs the account. The problem was that every time I spoke to someone at Stratos, I got a nodding head assuring me that the problem was being corrected. After all, how complicated could it be ? The point that always gets me in these situations is when the person on the other end admits that they have effectively stolen hundreds of dollars from you, but its going to take them a while to figure out how to get it back to you. Lets just consider it an interest free loan for a few weeks or months. Does anyone have a solution ? Please share !
S
Stan
CANCEL CARD
I ran into a similar problem with MasterCard. When they said it was my problem. I said CANCEL MY CARD!!! There attitude instantly changed. I was transfered to another person and lo and behold they cancelled that credit card number and reissued a new card with a different number. Their idea. When the money was turned off I finally got a response from the vendor who improperly attached charges to my card. Magically everything was taken care of.
I ran into a similar problem with MasterCard. When they said it was my problem. I said CANCEL MY CARD!!! There attitude instantly changed. I was transfered to another person and lo and behold they cancelled that credit card number and reissued a new card with a different number. Their idea. When the money was turned off I finally got a response from the vendor who improperly attached charges to my card. Magically everything was taken care of.
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