LATEST ADDITIONS TO BRICK HOUSE 
December 2017 – in preparation for the Indian Ocean, we knew getting weather, not to mention email , on our Sailmail and Winlink – SSB/Pactor modem was NOT going to be good enough for this Ocean. First, waiting for the perfect propagation time wasn’t going to work, and second…we needed to get bigger, better reports than the Pactor connections could handle. We also needed to be sure our family could reach us any time. So we researched high and low, and decided that the Iridium GO marine package from PredictWind.com was going to be our best bet. I actually (conveniently) forgot to put it up here when we first got it (It’s June now). I wasn’t sure we were gonna like it, and felt a certain guilt for abandoning my SSB/Pactor loyalty of 10 years. I am happy to report it has been flawless. So now it’s up here. We can get our weather reports from PredictWind, that cover a much bigger and much more detailed area than the Pactor connections could handle in the best of times. We can get our email ten times a day if we want, and at any time. The Iridium GO has been a fantastic addition to Brick House!But the best things about the Iridium GO…the feature that it released in a big big way for Brick House, is PREDICTWIND. This software/service with the best weather and current forecasting models available is far and beyond the best software/service we have ever had on Brick House. Whether it be waiting for the right hour to take off a Genoa off the Profurl furler, or when to depart for the best weather to our next destination, to what route to take to follow the currents to our advantage, to whether we should leave a full main sail up at night, or if it will be settled weather to stay in an open anchorage. PREDICTWIND, and particicularly it’s proprietary models (which I didn’t believe at first) have been spot on for our weather both at sea and in anchorages. We baught it to be able to get the highly valuable ECMWF forecast model at sea…and the rest was just a bonus, But it turns out that Predictwind’s own proprietary models…PWE and PWG are the meat of their product…far better than GFS and ECMWF! And the selection of Currents models in the Professional Subscription is worth the extra price after all…even if not in an area famous for notorious currents. If you can go an extra knot or two because you know where the current is…well…isn’t that why we all fit fancy props to get an extra knot of speed? It changes more on a daily basis than I ever imagined. Knowledge is power….free power, and if you have PredictWind, you have an extra knot of power in many places! We never knew weather predictions could be so good…we are used to 10 years of looking out the window for the best weather report, and knowing GRIBS have a 50% chance of being right. With the models that PredictWind offers…it’s more like a 95% chance of being right! PredictWind works in conjunction with the Iridum GO as though they were made specifically for each other, and the two are going to remain a permanent fixture on Brick House. Anyone want to buy our Pactor III modem? It’s the best 8 track tape player you can buy!!!Seriously people. If you don’t have satellite communication yet, buy an Iridum GO…you will not regret it. And if you get the GO, or have another satellite solution, absolutely and positively get a Professional subscription to Predictwind. Also…if you want to get your email on just your device Iridium Go Mail will work fine, but not when you put it all on hold when you are in port…If you want to get your mail through your computer, your device, through the GO and equally as easily when just on a land internet connection, get Xgate since it offers much more flexibility for your email. PredictWind (and Xgate)CAN be used with SSB, but without satellite you will NOT be able to get the detailed larger reports that PredictWind can so easily deliver through satellite. Get the Unlimited data package through Predictwind and get any report you could ever want or need. Anything else, and you are in the dark ages…you CAN have correct weather forecasts now!!! It’s a changed world! 
Here is a Link where you can find out more about the Iridium GO! order one, order the External antenna kit which I highly recommend, and even get SIM cards.
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Rebecca, thanks very much for the Iridium GO and Predict Wind performance report. We are new Predict Wind users, still coming down the learning curve. Iridium GO is on my watch list, for purchase when next we are in the US. Your report makes for a more relaxed decision, as there are some negative reviews out there.
Thanks for taking the time.
Brad Smith
Kindred Spirit
Whangarei, NZ, waiting for weather, as usual.
Hi Brad…Yes…I was wary too….ecspecially with some of the negatives I read. It’s not a cheap investment to find out it’s no good. When you read the negative reports on the GO, be sure to look at the date it was written…I think there may have been problems when it first came out…but I must say that with PredictWind and Email, whether you use Iridium GO Mail or Xgate Mail (for if u want it on a computer and for access to it when you turn GO Plan off when in port)…there are NO problems at all. It finds a satellite every single time we turn it on, and it’s all 5 bars of strength 90 percent of time, 4 bars the rest but that’s only for a minute here or there, presumably when the satellite isn’t in a perfect place. But even at 4 bars it will do everything it’s suppose to so. And every single connection you make, works every time. I do find it disconnects on larger downloads, but then it automatically reconnects and picks up where it left off. I would never go with anything but the unlimited plan for that reason, AND because I observe people with satellite phones that have to be careful with their minutes, and hence do not get as detailed or as geographically big reports as I get, and miss part of the “big” picture. It’s nice to get every report that could come in to play. Not to mention it’s nice to chat freely, and to email freely. I have even been able to get attachments up to about a quarter of a megabyte with it if I am patient. Facebook Posts are a little quirky in that you have to get a Facebook token every 90 days. And internet pages are definitely quirky but sometimes workable with a lot of patience and practice. I have compiled a notepad list of URLs I may like to see at sea…because internet browsing to a web site, or using Google to get there is about impossible. You must go to the exact page you want right off. Also..if you have expectations that it will be just like a WiFi hotspot at home with speed and elegance forget it. If you have the expectation that it will be like an SSB/Pactor modem but always accessible, and able to get much more data down than Sailmail or Winlink, you will be the happiest camper in the world!! So nice to lie in bed in bad weather and either figure out when the bad weather is gonna end…or chat real time with people about your misery! Did I mention that CHAT works as well as Messenger! And that the tracking feature is fantastic? And that there is even an SOS button to call for help to assist with the EPIRB, if all else is lost?
But again….the BEST bit of it is PREDICTWIND. Weather like we have never had it before. Watch every video they have…learn how to really use it. It’s OK near shore in my opinion…but offshore…it is stellar!!! When we used Sailmail to get GRIBS…and that’s just the GFS model…we were allowed a report up to 30kb. That is not very big compared to what I can get on PredictWind. Typically, two times a day, I would get all 4 forecast models, and each one would be 100kb-125kb…So 400-500kb. Try that on Sailmail…your time would be gone in one day…if it would come down at all! And propagation is NEVER a concern with an Iridium GO…so you can get your data when you need it most!!! And when it’s comfortable to get it!!! We are so happy with the GO! And so happy with PredictWind!! For bot PredictWind and the GO…always get the updates..they get better and better all the time. We did the firmware update right out of the box and the reliability of it may have come with the firmware update. Don’t assume a new Go comes with the latest update. And make sure to get the Marine package with that external antenna…I am quite sure that is really important.
I too have the iridium go, bought as a safety feature. I had gotten pretty good a recognizing the sound of somebody signing off their pactor modem, so I rarely had trouble getting hooked up. But once I figured out the go with an iPad, I hadn’t bothered with the pactor modem again, and sold it a year later.
The holes in satellite coverage near the equator, where the satellites are further apart, are only a minor annoyance – especially compared with the propagation issues of HF radio.
I use weather 4D pro for weather, since it also shows currents (but not when connected by satellite). It was more user friendly than predict wind – until the most recent version. I am about ready to try something different. I found gribs to be about 60% accurate +/- 72 hours (across the Pacific).
But being able to check email and weather any time, not just morning and evening is a serious bonus.
Yes Weather 4d is nice when near internet..but we have found currents to change daily and even more so weekly…sometimes even totally reversing…or Eddy’s moving north or south…so definitely nice to have them at sea and see them relative to your position and when there it’s best a little north or south of rhumbline. I find PredictWind much easier to use than Weather4d and much more reliable. Different updates tend to render Weather 4d unusable sometimes. PredictWind seems more reliable from update to update. Also, PredictWind seems to be putting more energy in to their Android App which should make it on par with the IPad version of its not there already. iPad used to be the best version but I think Predictwind’s latest update closed that gap. This application just amazes me how flawlessly it works with the GO. Almost like having internet for weather the whole way. Really amazing. We find it accurate AT LEAST 90% of the time…particularly their PWE model. I am almost ready to say PWE is accurate 99% of the time for about 5 days out..but couldn’t say that for sure yet. And it’s still best to look at all 4 models. Weather 4d doesn’t offer that for most areas. When you look at a number of models all side by side, and If they agree…it’s gonna be right on. If they disagree…there may be some room for error. But in that case where they differ, lately, I am tending to err on the side of PWEs predictions over the other ones. So I still get all 4 reports when I get them. But I used to get them predeparture and then get nothing underway because I just didn’t feel good enough to drag out the laptop and do battle with listening for openings for a Pactor connection, and then exhausting my Sailmail time allotment and not even have the weather I needed. And back then I didn’t even know I was getting just one of many kinds of reports you can get with PredictWind….GFS. The ECMWF and the PredictWind proprietary models are SOO much better. And the ability to have “votes” from all 4 so so beats what we used to get 🙂 And now I get them any time I want and all reports for the day. So love it!
Well thanks a lot Rebecca, I just got a pretty good handle on the SSB and all the whistles and horns of Sailmail and now you think I should switch over to a Sat. phone and Predict Wind – Yes the world is changing and we should change along with it I guess but when’s it going to end ? Or do we end and it never does ?
Yes we will end before change ends my friend 🙂 But with the Iridium GO and PredictWind, the learning curve is MUCH MUCH gentler than with the SSB!