That’s a good suggestion, Joel. I’ve found a couple of Globalstar 1600 phones in the $200 range and a place that offers a free Globalstar 1700 phone with an annual subscription. I can also get a “free” SPOT phone (which has data service for downloading weather forecasts) with an annual or monthly service contract ($780 per year either monthly payments or a 1 time fee.
I’ve also found a couple of Iridium phones in the $150-$250 range, and a 3 month Iridium plan is in the $250 price range. But the reasonably priced Iridium phones don’t appear to do data downloads. I’ve also marked an Iridium GO, which is a mobile Wi-Fi hot spot using the satellite network. You then use your smart phone for calls, text, and email, and get weather information and forecasts on an IPad or laptop. The downside to this being that you can’t take it in your ditch bag for use from the life raft if the unthinkable happens. Fred Street mentioned that the Globalstar network has gotten some bad reviews about connection and dropped call issues, and suggested Iridium or Imarsat might be better alternatives. So that brings up 2 questions: What has been your experience with the performance of the Globalstar network? How much do you use the phone to obtain weather forecasts like GRIB files or NOAA Offshore forecasts? If you don’t use the phone, how do you get the information; and if you do, how? Thanks for the input. Rick From: CnC-List [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] On Behalf Of Joel Aronson via CnC-List Sent: Tuesday, January 10, 2017 1:55 PM To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com Cc: Joel Aronson <joel.aron...@gmail.com> Subject: Re: Stus-List Safety equipment rental? Rick, Can't offer you my sat phone, as it is joining me for the Annapolis Newport race. You can pick up used phones off of craigslist, but be sure that there is a monthly plan offered by the carrier. I picked up a Globalstar phone for $200. Not an endorsement of it, just an example. Joel
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