{"id":353,"date":"2001-07-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2001-07-06T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/?p=353"},"modified":"2012-03-07T21:08:55","modified_gmt":"2012-03-08T02:08:55","slug":"s_logs-dashew-dashew122","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/s_logs-dashew-dashew122\/","title":{"rendered":"Globalstar Phone System"},"content":{"rendered":"
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You probably know that we used a Globalstar satellite phone this past spring when we brought Beowulf back from the Caribbean. The questions of interest to cruisers-what sort of coverage does the phone have, how easy is it to use, and how fast is the data transmission, and what does this all cost?-were foremost on our minds. <\/p>\n
We didn’t have much time to play with the phone before we left, and in fact were stuck doing the connection to our computer on our own. Bottom line-it is easy to get the basic phone service up and running, and even the computerphobic can work through the couple of menu selections in Windows to get the phone and computer talking.<\/p>\n
As with all satellite direct phones the antenna needs a clear view of the sky to work. At anchor, or at sea in calm conditions, this is not a problem. However, offshore in rough weather you need a system to keep the phone dry. The phone will see through a dodger, or clear window-and aboard Beowulf we were able to point the antenna through our slanted pilot house windows on occasion. However, for long-term usage, a fixed installation, with a marine style antenna will be best. (Note-on a couple of occasions we placed the phone in a plastic bag with the data cable exiting the bottom and shoved it outside where there was a bit of spray). <\/p>\n
Quality of voice communications is excellent. Dropped calls, a real problem when we tested a Iridium phone a couple of years ago, does not seem to be an issue with Globalstar. The best part, however, is the data transfer speed. Because Globalstar has their own internet gateway, when you are connected at a baud rate of 9600 it appears almost as fast as a normal 28.8k dialup connection. Click on the computer to start the system and within seconds you are online. E-mails are really fast-you can do 10 or 15 medium-length e-mails in a minute. We were able to connect to the internet, go the Marine Prediction Center web site, and download half a dozen fax charts in about five minutes. <\/p>\n