Sparkfun’s new Qwiic iridium 9603

The Qwiic Connect System is an ecosystem of I2C sensors, actuators, shields, and cables that make prototyping faster and less prone to error. Announcing the new Qwiic Iridium 9603 by sparkfun which allows you to send and get short messages. It works anyplace on the planet, a long ways past the scope of WiFi and GSM networks. Possibly, you need to transmit weather data from a weather station on a mountain. Or on the other hand use it to send information from a voyaging inflatable sat. Maybe you have to impart in a crisis, when different networks probably won't be accessible. Qwiic Iridium helps you out.

At the core of the product is an Iridium 9603 modem. The Qwiic module has the 9603 and gives it an antenna, and its power supply prerequisites. The modem's sequential interface is converted into I2C commands by the ATtiny841 microcontroller.

Sending and accepting messages to the Iridium network is as simple as sending I2C commands from your RedBoard over a Qwiic connector. The Arduino library strolls you through sending messages to the Iridium network utilizing your Qwiic Iridium 9603. An online portal permits you to send messages from the Iridium satellite network to your modem. The Qwiic Iridium was developed by Paul Clark who needed to have the option to utilize the 9603N Short Burst Data modem on Qwiic ventures.

The pricing scheme for using Qwiic Iridium 9603 is mentioned at Sparkfun.com “The Iridium modem does require a monthly rental service to exchange information with the Iridium satellite network. You only pay for months in which you wish to use the modem. No annual contract is required. Line rental costs £12GBP (about $15USD) per month and includes access to the RockBLOCK management system for managing your devices. The billing system is built-in, and allows you to pay for only what you use. Airtime for Iridium modems must be purchased from Rock Seven via the admin portal once the units are registered. You cannot use the devices with another Iridium airtime provider by default. If you would like to use it with another provider, you will need to pay an unlock fee of $60USD per modem.”

Source: Sparkfun