Iridium GLOW Archives

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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..It is 100% guaranteed that we will be basing all of our communication hardware choices; Single Side Band, Sat Phone, Sat device, Cell Phone…. on being able to best use Predictwind Offshore.

Many choose their hardware and then see which software applications perform with that device. But we are doing it in reverse order. We are choosing our software and then, and only then, buying the hardware we need to support it.

Our most recent in-depth comparisons of both Predictwind Offshore and every other weather product I could find on my Ipad and Android, has Predictwind Offshore coming out at the top. I spent way too much money and effort trying them all, but I needed to be sure.

There are certainly a lot of very pretty weather applications out there, but only if you have a strong internet connection. Whatever flavor you want, based on your own visual preferences, is on offer. I can not claim that Predictwind Offshore is the absolute prettiest or elegant out there, but for our needs as full time cruisers, on a limited budget, on a modest sailboat, sailing offshore frequently, “Predictwind Offshore” definitely offers the best option once we leave the coast and fast internet.

There are 5 characteristics a weather product needs to have to fulfill our requirements, and only Predictwind Offshore fulfills ALL 5 of these. These are:

1. Accessible from far out at sea…while on passages, away from internet for extended periods. Whether we choose the Iridium GO, the Iridium GLOW, Single Side Band/Pactor, a satellite phone or any other more expensive product, or just wifi/internet when we have it, PREDICTWIND will work, and work well.

2. Offers more than just 1 forecast model. GFS (Global Marine Forecast system) is a good model, and it’s offered by every weather software package out there because it’s free. But we want other good models too, even the ones that are not free. The ECMWF (European Center for Medium range Weather Forecasts) forecast model is the most important one to us, and probably the most respected and expensive for a weather software provider to offer. Any weather forecasting product we use MUST have ECMWF, or we don’t want it. I think of this model, after experimenting with it for years, as the “worst case scenario” model. It often shows more wind or higher waves than what we actually get. And it’s almost never worse. GFS forecasts often show no indication of these extremes so many people ask why we bother paying for weather..it’s always wrong! Predictwind offers not only the GFS, and ECMWF forecasts, but 2 more models that are proprietary, based on a completely different algorithm that starts with current conditions, and then produces higher resolution, more accurate forecasts. All 4 of the Predictwind Forecast Models that Predictwind offers are a primary draw for us, and worth the price tag. Yes if you use only GFS forecasting products, you will wonder why the weather forecasts seems to be wrong so often! Get Predictwind Offshore with access to the forecast models that the pros use, spend time learning how to use the software and understand the models it provides, and weather will be accurate much more often.

We would like the weather to be accurate, with few exceptions, and for us to see the possibility of it being not on the mark. We can compare the 4 models that Predictwind Offshore provides, and if they all agree, we can be quite sure of the forecast. If they greatly differ, then we had better brace ourselves for unpredictable weather up ahead!
Affordable. Predictwind Offshore is not the cheapest, but it is not the most expensive by far. Their Standard package at about $20 per month offers everything we need for the big Ocean passages we have ahead of us. We will upgrade to the pricier Professional package when we need serious information about the Ocean currents, and even better resolution GRIBS, like right before a passage to Bermuda or around South Africa.

5. We can receive the weather forecasts on our laptop, on our Android devices or on our IPad….all while at sea…. Predictwind Offshore is a Multi-device application, giving us flexibility like we have never had before. We can view Predictwind on all of our devices in a beautiful graphic presentation. We can receive forecasts via Our SSB (how to) radio/Pactor modem/laptop.

Predictwind Offshore! offers so many other features that are remarkable time savers, like Weather Routing, and Departure Planning. Describing them would require a whole separate blog. This wealth of feature, along with fulfilling our 5 basic requirements are why we INSIST ON using Predictwind Offshore and building our hardware around it.

We have ruled out using a satellite phone. Airtime is way too expensive. Creating the necessary permanent installation of it is also too expensive.

We no longer wish to wrestle with our SSB/Pactor setup because when we need weather reports, we need them now, and we need to be certain we can get them, and not leave it up the Propogation gods. SSB/Pactor will still be maintained, but demoted to being our backup system.

The Communication Hardware we have decided on in the last few hours, but after much deliberation is the Iridium GO!…a kind of satellite wifi hotspot. It is currently the only hardware offered for sale right on the Predictwind web site, signifying that it is the most obvious, well integrated choice to use with their software. Predictwind provides complete support for both their software and the GO! so there will be no fingerpointing at the other guy when something doesn’t work. The Iridium GO! offers so much more too. SV Totem has written one of the best blogs about its features at Sailing Totem.

The “Unlimited Data Plan” on the Iridium GO! is far less expensive than other satellite plans, but is still a bit pricey for us. It seems though to be the best way to go if you want no lack of information. There is so much to worry about on a passage…why worry about how much time you have left on your satellite phone to get your weather (and email, among other things)? We will most definitely exercise the right of stopping and starting service as needed that Predictwind’s NO CONTRACT Iridium GO! data plans offer!

Concluding all my research, our Iridium GO! order will be in the mail tomorrow!

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