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The RockBLOCK is even compatible with Raspberry Pi! https://www.rock7mobile.com/products-rockblock https://www.rock7mobile.com/products-rockblock

• mintplant 12y ago
  Did your comment end up on the wrong thread?
  • CompuHacker 12y ago
    It did not. The product is an Iridium transceiver, and a great conversation starter for this topic.
• Adaptive 12y ago
  That is very cool... I remember walking into an Iridium store back in the day trying to think of way to justify a purchase of one of the phones to tinker with (I couldn't come up with a rationale). Can't think of a pressing need for a RockBLOCK either, but it's a neat device. Nice to see that the iridium fiasco has resulted in some long tail utility edit: here's a page with a proof of concept with an arduino hookup: http://makezine.com/projects/make-37/iridiumsatellite/ http://makezine.com/projects/make-37/iridiumsatellite/
  • apercu 12y ago
    The Iridium GO! device is a pretty cool Wi-Fi hotspot that works anywhere outside in the world.
• throwaway_yy2Di 12y ago
  $1.26 - $3.77 per thousand characters... wow. I think it'd be cheaper to build your own acoustic modem and glue it to a handset.
  • duskwuff 12y ago
    Undoubtedly. But a handset will only operate where a cell signal is available; Iridium will operate anywhere on the planet, so long as you have line-of-sight to the sky.
    • adamgamble 12y ago
      I think he meant iridium handset but I could be wrong.
      • ars 12y ago
        He did mean that, but it wouldn't help - voice calls are very expensive on Iridium.
        • kabouseng 12y ago
          Last I checked (~2 years back) it was 7$ / minute.
          • easytiger 12y ago
            Well if you are stranded half way across The Sahara, I think you'd fork out $7
          • deleted 12y ago
            [deleted]
  • apercu 12y ago
    For data you can get an unlimited plan (includes SMS) for $150/mo.