The Offshore Voyaging Reference Site

HF SSB Radio or Iridium Satellite Phone?

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In this chapter I’m going to look at the two main hardware options, when offshore or in remote places, for receiving weather information as well as other communication needs:

Should an offshore voyager fit a marine single sideband radio (SSB) or an Iridium phone or GO! or even both?

Yes, I know there are other satellite options such as Globalstar—which isn’t global—but my purpose here is to compare satellite and SSB radio, not delve into the complexities of which satellite system is best, and Iridium is a good representative system.

Capital Cost

I’m not going to do a detailed analysis of purchase price simply because this is an overwhelming win for Iridium and also because any analysis I did would be out of date five minutes after I wrote it. But the summary is that you can put a full-on Iridium system together with external antenna and data kit for about US$1500, but a properly installed—if you do it yourself—marine SSB system with radio, tuner, and PACTOR modem is going to run you about two and a half times more (US$4000). And the new Iridium Go drops the price to US$1300.

Ease Of Installation

I was an early adopter of both HF SSB and Iridium and I can tell you, based on that experience, that installation is another big win for Iridium. Yes, things can go wrong with the software to connect to the satellite phone, but solving those problems, particularly if you use UUplus instead of Iridium’s native drivers, pales into insignificance when compared to the complexities of putting together a really good SSB installation: antenna, counterpoise, voltage drops, can all make you crazy, and don’t even get me started on the joys of chasing stray RF issues! If you don’t believe me on this, just have a read through some of the forums on HF SSB installation.

Data Transfer Costs

The cost of data transfer would, at first glance, seem to be a killer win for SSB since it is free for those with an amateur radio (ham) licence using Winlink and just $250 a year for Sailmail for those without. And since we recommend UUplus at $357 a year for use with Iridium, and Sailmail obviates the need for that, albeit with less features, the win is even bigger for SSB.

But before we get too carried away here, let’s not forget that the voyager who buys an Iridium has over $2000 worth of savings in hand as against SSB.

Based on our own usage while out voyaging, which is generally heavy due to the needs of this web site, I would say that saving will fund Iridium usage for at least five years of passaging, as long as the voyager uses cell (mobile) technology for voice and data when near land, an option that is getting easier in most countries with the increased availability of pay-as-you-go cards.

You can learn more about how to minimize your Iridium charges and still get really good weather information, both tactical and strategic, in this chapter.

Ease of Use

Ease of use is another clear win for Iridium: turn it on, click on the send/receive button on UUplus, and you are done. Even if the call drops out, UUplus will elegantly reconnect and pick up where it left off. If we contrast that to tuning a radio, listening for other traffic, and understanding the complexities for RF propagation, there really is no contest.

Safety

Traditionally, SSB was the preferred way to call for help or medical advice in an emergency when far from land. Back in the day before satellite phones there were hundreds of stations around the world staffed by professional operators that listened intently for radio traffic on many different bands because they made money from telephone patch calls by doing so. These same operators would hear and respond to even the weakest call for help.

Today most (all?) countries have shut down their commercial HF radio stations, and ships, while still required to monitor 2182 on SSB, use Digital Selective Calling (DSC) and so are no longer actually listening by ear.

And even if a station is still listening in theory, I’m going to guess that manual monitoring of HF radio is a pretty low priority. Or to put it another way, when an operator has not received a non-DSC HF call for hours, days, or maybe even weeks, how high do you think the volume is set on that HF radio next to him or her?

Contrast that to an Iridium phone, where you can do as we do and program all the applicable Rescue Coordination Centres’ (RCC) telephone numbers into speed dial, so you can be talking to someone in seconds with the press of a single button, without any worry about propagation or interference.

And with Iridium phones as small as they now are, you can even take yours with you into a life raft—waterproof case recommended for older models, new model is ruggedized—or ashore on a hike in a remote place in case someone gets hurt.

Further, an Iridium is self-contained with no reliance on an external antenna, that will come down with the rig, or ship’s power (as long as the battery lasts), that will probably fail in a flooding situation, as SSB is.

One advantage for SSB is that, if it is fitted with DSC and you activate it, an alarm will ring on the bridge of any GMDSS equipped ship within range. Sounds great in theory. But from what I hear, albeit anecdotally, the mechanism whereby most yachts in distress are rescued by a ship is that the yacht activates an EPIRB and the area RCC puts out a request to assist to all ships in the vicinity via Inmarsat, so realistically HF SSB doesn’t, in most cases, play a part.

Recommendations

Given all that, when faced with choosing between Iridium and SSB, what should you do? Here are my recommendations:

Starting from scratch

If you have neither of the two technologies installed, buy or rent an Iridium phone or GO! and see how you like it before spending twice that on SSB.

Have an SSB

If you already have a good HF SSB installation but no PACTOR modem, as we do, the decision is harder, but I think that I would still recommend buying an Iridium first because of the ease of use and compelling safety benefits.

Have PACTOR

If you have a full SSB installation with PACTOR modem and are happy with it, by all means stick with it, although I would still consider an Iridium for the backup and safety benefits it provides. And if your SSB does not have DSC, I would up the Iridium to required status.

Not a Techie

No matter what you have installed, if you don’t actively enjoy messing with technology, go with Iridium every time. Heck, I’m an electronics technician by trade, and I’m happier with Iridium.

Have an EPIRB

If you do decide to forgo SSB then you should definitely fit an EPIRB since an Iridium phone is not a recognized distress device under GMDSS, but then I personally think that’s a sensible requirement no matter what other equipment you have aboard.

What about weatherfax?

If you decide to forgo SSB, what about receiving weatherfax maps, something that we still recommend in addition to GRIB? Well, you can download the same maps from the internet using Iridium data, albeit at a cost of US$1.00 to 3.00 a chart, which can add up in a hurry. However, with unlimited data on the GO! this no longer matters.

Don’t forget rental

If you only make the occasional ocean passage, renting an Iridium phone or GO! can be a compelling option that confers yet another advantage for that technology over spending $4000 on SSB that you only use occasionally.

Like to talk

First off, you should know that I’m an old curmudgeon whose worst nightmare would be having my voyaging life structured by the requirement to sit in front of a radio at a specific time(s) of day, every day, to chat on a cruiser net, therefore you should factor that in as you read this chapter. (I share this not to claim any virtue for my position, but just so you can put my thoughts in context.)

Having got that admission out of the way, if you like to talk on the radio, you may want an HF radio (ham or marine SSB) just for that purpose but, even so, I would still look long and hard at Iridium for important data such as weather, before you add PACTOR. And it might be a good idea, in this case, to look at becoming a ham since, as I understand it, the radios available to hams are a good deal less expensive than marine SSB.

The Expert View

As part of the research for this chapter, I spoke with Steve Pegg, watch stander at Bermuda Radio, an RCC that handles many offshore yacht emergencies every year. I asked Steve what communications equipment he liked to see on yachts and his answers were:

EPIRB comes first

Not surprisingly, the first and most emphatic words out of Steve’s mouth were “all yachts should be fitted with 406 mhz EPIRB and it is vital that it be properly registered”.

Iridium or SSB

While in a perfect world Steve would like to see yachts equipped with both SSB and a satellite phone for redundancy, on a practical basis he stated that Iridium is more useful in an emergency because it is easier to use and the communication more reliable than SSB. Steve said they had often had problems communicating over SSB with yachts due to operator errors (at the yacht end), only made worse by the stress of an emergency.

He did qualify that with a recommendation that the Iridium be fitted with a permanently mounted external antenna as they have also had problems with people trying to use a hand held phone while sheltering below.

Summary

There is no question that there are benefits to SSB but, let’s face it, it is most assuredly yesterday’s technology and the future lies with satellite communications. If you still want an SSB for whatever reason, that is absolutely fine, but I would argue that SSB is no longer a need.

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David Magda

Just as another data point: some folks may remember the family who had a very ill one-year-old which was rescued in the Pacific a little while ago. They had an EPBIRB, HF, and a satellite phone.

It turns out that the satellite company was changing the type of SIM cards being used around that time, and they mailed paper notices with new cards to all their customers ahead of time to their physical address of registration. Of course if you have a satellite phone you’re probably near a mailbox. The service on the ‘obsolete’ SIM card was cancelled at the worst possible moment: after they had managed to get an initial call in to the USCG and doctor about the situation and awaiting a call back for medical advice.

They had a “long range” radio per interview (probably HF), but they had been taking on seawater and it got into the electrics.

They lit up their EPIRB and then waited and hoped (as they had no idea if the signal was being received).

Interview available at:
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/525/call-for-help
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/525/transcript (search of “satellite”)

Dick Stevenson

John,
I will be thinking about some of your points, but, on casual review, I think that your analysis is a good overview of the practical aspects of Iridium vs SSB.
One element not emphasized that has been important to Ginger and me over the years is the community feeling that gets fostered in those areas where there are nets and during weather nets such as the former Southbound II. We have met some of our most lasting friends when, just after anchoring, a dinghy comes up and says hello and you find that they shared information on the harbor with you a few days ago. Or they just have heard you on the net.
Your curmudgeon-ly side (or anyone’s for that matter)should never get activated as I actually know of no net where you are required to sit down and chat on the net every day, so that is a non-issue. For those of us who may wish to tune into a net in the morning, listen to boats all over your area give little reports, weather and so-on, be able to ask questions about possible future harbors: all while sipping a mug of tea in your home— this can be very pleasant. It is also a wonderful way of connecting with friends as many will be listening in and you can connect and move to a different frequency. All of this, I believe, also fosters an appealing (and at times very practical) community spirit in the more boater populated areas (Carib & Bahamas) that a phone could never accomplish.
This community element is likely to be less appealing to those who frequent high latitude destinations and where practical aspects prevail. For many frequenting more boater-populated areas, the social aspects coupled with SSB’s many practical aspects, make SSB very appealing.
My best, Dick (KC2HKW) Stevenson, s/v Alchemy, Bodo, Norway

Ben

Good analysis John, I completely agree, in fact give me two sat phones over a single satphone and fancy HF anyday, that way the shore party and boat can keep in contact and there is always a spare tucked away in the grab bag.

Just make sure you have spare chargers, we fried a couple and had to use an old cellphone with it’s charger and battery piggybacked into the phone to get it to work.

Saying that old Ham sets and HF sets are very cheap if you just want to talk. I’ve got three old HF sets stashed away, and will definitely fit one of them back on the new boat when I head back offshore.

In my experience HF always seems like another high maintenance item, with lots of components and sensitive connections to give problems in a damp environment and absolute reliance on lots of good quality battery power, whereas a satphone is low maintenance and low power, another big plus for the satphone.

The biggest problem with satphones is that people can call you, I generally hate that even on land, so at sea its off except when I need to download my Gribs.

I guess another issue if you have crew is that they can use it much more easily than a HF, so you always have to deal with them “Needing” to make that call home that then sucks up lots of money, and you have to try and get it back off them latter.

It also disrupts the important feeling of isolation on the voyage. This can lead to all sorts of problems especially if there are issues back home that can’t be dealt with at sea. It can potentially be very damaging to crew moral and team spirit, and can drag problems from ashore onboard. I guess it just becomes one more thing as skipper that you need to manage.

Email at sea (either Pactor or satphone) has the similar issues so you need to have clear boundary’s on it’s use and the associated costs, and also a way to deal with confidentiality and privacy issues.

Another thing along these lines is when crew have their own satphones and epirbs. If conditions get nasty they could make distress calls, or activate EPIRBS, or otherwise just concern friends and relatives without the skippers knowledge.

I guess you cant do too much about this without being draconian except give some clear guidelines, and at least have all Epirbs linked to the ships details and emergency contacts, and if things get dire, make sure everybody is included in discussions and fears are addressed. Not always easy… That’s technology for you!

Cheers

Ben

Douglas Pohl

Good comparison but taking it one step further – is this the yacht’s primary long distance or safety comms system or is it for general or personal messages? I’ve used them all and today would recommend Inmarsat FLEET ONE. On a more practical and personal basis you cannot beat Delorme InReach device cost and air times. No matter which you select – IT ALL DEPENDS – so be sure to understand each system limitations and costs. Or put another way – what are your needs – one unit does not do it all unless you open a big wallet to kill the fly. Crossing oceans vs coastwise cruising makes a BIG difference.

Matt

One unit certainly does not do it all, and there are corporate politics to consider as well. While I’m very impressed with Inmarsat’s coverage and technology, they may not be the most predictable company to deal with and sometimes seem out of touch with the “low end” of the market. (An example here from Panbo; basically, it boils down to a lot of small clients like cruisers getting caught in the crossfire of a petty corporate turf war.) Iridium’s pricing and plans have, from what I’ve seen, tended to be somewhat more predictable. But you are still relying on a company that can unilaterally change its rules, prices and conditions at any time.

SSB, I agree, is becoming a niche product but I doubt it’ll disappear completely anytime soon. When it does fade away, I suspect (hope?) it will be in favour of long range mesh networks, probably IPv6 based. Those are already being developed and are insanely successful where they’ve been tried, but so far they’re restricted to the unlicensed, low power, short range 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. Just imagine what the Freifunk guys could do with a little chunk of over-the-horizon spectrum….

(I’m posting this over a Ka-band link through a high gain dish pointed at ViaSat-1…. it’s not a true ‘broadband’ connection by any stretch of the imagination, but at 5Mbps RX / 0.5Mbps TX it’s passable once you figure out how to deal with the 650 ms ping times.)

Matt

All that said, I agree with John’s conclusion for now and probably for the next few years. If you’re going to be out of cellphone range for extended periods, a satcom unit (Iridium, Inmarsat or whatever else suits your budget and usage scenario) is the way to go. The second device, if you’re buying one, should be a different network’s satcom.

(Up near shore, of course, use local prepaid SIM cards on the cell network, and have a *good* Wi-Fi repeater and antenna handy in case you can find a usable signal.)

ChrisW

John,
When equipping for this phase of our life, we came to the same conclusions. One step we added to our assessment was looking at cruising bulletin board/forum monologues-dialogues on SSB/HAM comms.

What we inferred from what we read was:
a.) there is an HF sub-culture in cruising dedicated to keeping HF viable no matter what
b.) postings about installation and performance problems with HF out-number benefits postings to a substantial degree and most of the benefits were the party-line telephony, not safety of operations.

We opted for satphone and have not been unhappy.

However, I would suggest if one is going to have two satphones, consider two different satphones for two reasons. First it is possible to have constellation wide/regional difficulties especially in upper latitudes when solar flare activity is strong. The three different orbital altitudes used by the major providers can respond differently to these environmental challenges. Second, for data transfer, some phone systems offer very much less expensive rates.

Incidentally, the near to market WiFi hubs that will enable smartphone terminals can take advantage of quite a few digital WX products that have been compressed for smartphone apps. For instance, the Boston Surface Analysis Chart 40W-95W is only 98kb — a second or less of transmission time. One could bundle quite a bit and stay withing the minimum 1 minute charge.

Ben

Hi Chris, Interesting debate on if to go two satphones of different types, or get both the same. Getting two the same simplifies everything and gives redundancy of parts to hopefully keep one alive no matter what.

Another benefit is that calls between them are often much cheaper. useful if you have shore parties that will be out of line of site. Guess it depends on your situation.

The technology is changing so quickly who knows what coming up next, to be honest I am not really up with the latest. At the moment, these new Yellowbrick and Inreach systems look perfect. I suppose the ultimate for expedition yachts is two identical primary systems with voice. And a cheaper text only backup on another independent system…

Ben

Guess we need to get our terminology clear, maybe SatPhone for voice+data etc, and Satcom or Sattext? For just text options.

Is the phone and data even needed? to be a devils advocate, for much less money 2 yellowbricks would provide redundancy, and if a third party could be found to compile and shorten gribs into a usable form using less than 1000 char you could still get your weather info.

ChrisW

We use the sat phone for communicating with weather/oceanographic professionals, medical consultant/concierge services, law enforcement, family, etc. We pick up the phone and call them subject to operating hours — most of which are 24/7/365. We find that data comes into play only as back up or to provide a visual layer to the communications.

Extra ground segment hardware is great for backing up the ground segment. When the total system’s overall availability and QOS is environmentally diminished*, extra ground segment hardware is just ballast.

Each of the major providers is aperiodically environmentally diminished in different ways because of variably informed design choices made decades ago. Some of those design choices were driven by science and engineering data, some by anchor tenants, and some by constellation capitalization realities. [and some were flat out wrong] Each offers a different path for communications which is a higher level of redundancy than extra ground segment equipment.

Admittedly the various boxes out there providing SMS comms are attractive because low rate data transmission is inherently more robust than even 2.4 voice, and they are relatively cheap. However, they approach dangerously useless if trying to actively manage an emergency rather than simply report status.

*Solar activity is at its lowest in the last 100 years. We are at solar max right now, and it is lower than most solar mins since 1900. Actually no one alive (that we know of) has seen a solar cycle this weak. On the other hand… The Carrington (Solar) Event of 1859 actually delivered shocks to telegraphers from the massive amounts power absorbed by telegraph lines acting as antennas. The Aurora Borealis was observed in the Caribbean. A similar event occurred in 1921. Such an event today could render sat comm and HF discussion moot as it could destroy/seriously degrade about 90% of satellite functionality currently on orbit. The space hardware price tag alone could be $30-$70 billion. The societal cost to unprepared countries dependent on electronic technologies and an electric power grid is beyond estimating. Today events such as this can be culture destroyers. While HF radio might work for comms within 0 to 10 days (regionally dependent), the use of non-EMP hardened components in modern radios (and just about everything else) might well render the whole conversation moot.