Do I Need An External Iridium Antenna
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Note: This question relates only to the portable 9500/9505/9505a units. The fixed install units come with an external antenna
The standard answer is that: "yes an external antenna is required whenever you are operating the unit indoors / undercover"...
...However... Since most of our customers are cruisers and don't have lots of money what we tend to suggest is that an external antenna is highly desirable, but not 100% necessary. Some of our customers get adequate reception using only the antenna on the phone (usually only those with catamarans) Roughly 1/4 of customers don't get good reception, but they either get one of the crew to hold the phone out of a window (small children often who make good "phone holders"...), bring the laptop on deck or use the car antenna through a window (on a biscuit tin) and manage that way. However, over 50% of our customers now take a proper marine antenna (this is also a function of an increasing number of people who go for the robust "compact fixed install" units)
So if you are on a "plastic" or wood boat then we would say "external antenna is highly desirable, but let the equipment budget be the ultimate decider" Of course if you have a metal boat (or in a car or building) then an external antenna is usually mandatory...
Signal Strength
You need 5 bars of signal strength (as shown on the phone display) to get satisfactory email reception. At 4 bars your download speed is perhaps 1/2 normal rate, and at 3 bars it's perhaps 1/10 normal speed, and at 2 bars or less it will probably drop the call... The performance really drops off a cliff as the signal strength/quality drops, so you need to be seeing 5 bars signal strength for several mins on end in order to use the satellite phone *without frustration*
Conclusion
You really should have an external antenna whenever you are operating the phone anywhere except with obstructed views of the whole sky. If you want push button, always there, reliability with no messing around then get an external antenna.
However, if you are on a budget and prepared to mess around a little and reposition the computer and phone and wait a while to try and get the best signal then you may be happy using only the standard antenna on the phone (or the car antenna included with the phone)
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