Expedition Navigation Software 
1 of 1- Hugh from Alamo
- Expert
Offline - Registered: 11/11/2018
- Posts: 17
Network set up recommendations?
OK, so I am definitely new at this, so like many before me, I have questions about the set-up. Ideally I want to get everything to the laptop via wifi- no wired connections. The boat electronics are a B&G Zeus 2/NMEA 2000, AIS is from a Standard Horizon Matrix AIS/GPS GX 2200, the satellite communications we are considering is an Iridium Go and of course Expedition on a laptop. Can anyone point me to a good reference for how to make this happen?
Also, this is for the Transpac and it seems like the Iridium Go is iffy regarding the "always on" satellite phone rule. Does anyone have any thoughts on Iridium Go in this case? We are trying to keep the cost down and a FleetOne, for example, costs quite a bit more. For our use case, voice, text & email is adequate - no Internet browsing is needed.
Thank you in advance!
- Nick
- Moderator
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- Registered: 9/16/2015
- Posts: 2,964
Re: Network set up recommendations?
I think you need xgate for iridum go and people's experiences vary with xgate.
For connections to NMEA 2000 networks, most people use the Actisense NGT-1.
Where are you based? If in southern California, Artie is probably your best contact.
- Blizzard
- Expert
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- Registered: 3/01/2018
- Posts: 39
Re: Network set up recommendations?
We have been using an Iridium Go for a couple of years. It works great for text and email through a mobile device. For weather, I set up a scheduled GRIB from saildocs.com to be emailed when available. Keep the file sizes tiny for best results. I just plug my Android phone into the laptop with a USB cable to transfer the file. It's cumbersome, but we only use it about 10 days per year.
We almost never use the voice feature, so I can't say much about the ability to receive a phone call at any time of day.