Category Archives: Iridium GO!

Iridium GO! and handsets for use with SailMail

Iridium GO! overview

SailMail is now a certified application for the new Iridium GO!

The GO! is a small Wi-Fi “hotspot” that provides voice telephone service via a Wi-Fi connected smart-phone, and data access to certified apps including SailMail with less expensive data rates. This expands SailMail’s seamless service via radio, satellite and land-based internet to theGo

Iridium GO!, with no setup required. The Iridium GO! is supported by the new Airmail 3.5 release, click “Downloads” above. For more information see the Post at IridiumGo  and see the videos at:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS4ogX03LnIRN7T6zq3q_8w/videos

SailMail via Iridium GO! exec

The Iridium “GO! exec” is Iridium’s Certus-100 terminal, a completely different device than the Iridium “GO!”. The original GO! is quite slow (2400 baud), but has an available unlimited data plan which makes it quite attractive from a cost point of view. Access to the original GO! is also restricted to approved apps (including Sailmail), and Airmail includes a special “Iridium GO” device selection to support connections to Sailmail.

The GO! exec is considerably faster (88K baud) but usage is all charged per MB– there are no unlimited* plans (see below). So it is necessary to manage the data connections, otherwise browsers, windows updates, etc will all have a wild party with your credit-card. This is done by setting up a firewall “profile” in the GO! exec for Sailmail (or other services that you want to use), limiting access only to those servers.

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Iridium GO! Troubleshooting

Using the Iridium GO! with Sailmail is normally straightforward:

  1. Connect the computer WiFi to the GO!
  2. Open Airmail’s internet-access window
  3. Check the box near the bottom that says “First connect to iridium GO”.
  4. Verify signal strength and click the green button to connect.

But sometimes things go wrong. This article will review the more common issues and explore solutions.

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SailMail via Iridium GO! Mobile Hotspot

The Iridium GO! is a portable satellite terminal that provides Iridium voice and data access via Wifi connections to smart-phones, tablets and computers. Specialized apps or software are required, and while marketed primarily for phones and tablets the GO! works perfectly with SailMail from a PC using an updated version of Airmail for SailMail.

SailMail is now a certified application for the Iridium GO!. The updated software is available from the SailMail website at http://sailmail.com.

To connect to SailMail via the Iridium GO!, first update Airmail to version 3.5 if needed. Be sure the GO! is powered on and has a clear view of the sky, and connect the computer’s Wifi networking to “Iridium-xxxx” where “xxxx” is the serial# associated with your GO! device. Continue reading →