One-fourth the volume and half the footprint of its predecessor, the Iridium 9602, the Iridium 9603 combines the global coverage of the Iridium satellite constellation with the low latency of the Iridium Short Burst Data service to provide highly reliable satellite communications from pole to pole.
When you send or receive small packets of data (hundreds of bytes) in difficult geographic areas, Iridium SBD may solve your problem. It uses the Iridium satellite network, which has truly global coverage, and provides a vital means of communication for M2M applications.
The best applications for the 9603N
It’s regularly used for connecting remote weather stations, ocean drifters and buoys, monitoring of oil pipelines, controlling and reporting on equipment in the middle of nowhere. For basic telemetry and command/control applications where mobile signals don’t go, it’s ideal.
Iridium SBD is designed to move small packets of data, a few hundred bytes, from the middle of nowhere. If you’re looking to send photos, videos or large files, Iridium SBD is not for you!
We are SBD specialists. Whether you have existing Iridium equipment you’re looking to get airtime for, or you need help and advice on the best way to solve your particular problem, we’re here to help. Get in touch today – we’re friendly, knowledgeable, and we won’t baffle you with technology.
- Ideal for M2M Applications
- Small form factor, low power requirements
- Can provide/suggest SBD equipment, or provide airtime for existing equipment; we’re Iridium SBD specialists and here to help
- Truly global operation, using the Iridium satellite network
- Single-board transceiver
- Single header connector for power, on/off control, logical level asynchronous UART control and network availability
- Simple AT command interface
- SIM-less operation
- Automatic notification that mobile-terminated messages are queued
- Low, uniform global latency (less than one minute)
- Supports Short Burst Data (SBD) capability; does not support voice, circuit switched data, or short message service (SMS)
- Dimensions (LxWxH): 31.5mm x 29.6mm x 8.1mm
- Weight: 11.4g (0.025 lb)
- Operating Temperature Range: -30C to + 70C | Operating Humidity Range: < 75% RH
- Storage Temperature Range: -40C to +85C | Storage Humidity Range: < 93% RH
- Frequency Range: 1616 to 1626.5 Mhz
- Duplexing Method: TDD (Time Domain Duplex)
- Input / Output Impedance: 50Ω
- Multiplexing Method: TDMA / FDMA
- VSWR Return Loss: 1.5:1 In Iridium Band, 3:1 Out of Band
- Supply Input Voltage Range: 5.0V +/- .2V DC
- Supply Input Voltage Ripple: <40mV pp
- Idle Current: 45 mA (average) | 195 mA (peak)
- Transmit Current: 190 mA (average) | 1.5 A (peak)
- Receive Current: 45 mA (average) | 195 mA (peak)
- SBD Message Transfer: average current – 190 mA | average power: <= 1.0 W
*These are example airtime plans; please contact the Ground Control team and we’ll build a custom quote for you based on your requirements.
FAQs
We created the RockBLOCK to make it easy for developers and systems integrators to incorporate Iridium Short Burst Data satellite communications into their solutions.
As many developers have found, buying and integrating a 9603N transceiver directly is not trivial. We make it easier for you by dealing with the mechanical support, the strict power requirements, by adding a perfectly matched and tuned antenna (or you can connect an external one), and exposing the serial interface on a convenient header connector.
So you can buy just the module / transceiver (9603N) and do the work yourself, or you can buy a RockBLOCK 9603 for an additional £102 and just connect it up and start using it. It’s entirely up to you. We can help you with both if you want us to, and we also offer a pre-pay SBD airtime option so that developers can easily keep control of airtime usage in the early stages.
The 9603N transceiver uses Iridium Short Burst Data to communicate, which is a message-based protocol. Effectively, the device wakes up, acquires a signal, transmits, and then falls asleep until its next cycle. This process usually takes 20-30 seconds if there is a perfect view of the sky, and a satellite is passing immediately overhead.
While you can receive the raw data from the satellite, you’ll need to implement the Iridium SBD decoder – which, bluntly, is laborious. Cloudloop Data is designed to take all of the work out of this process. The platform has been designed to provide fast and reliable delivery of IoT data, irrespective of Device type. As most customers want to consume their data in their own systems, we provide effortless connectivity into all major Cloud providers and IoT platforms.
Documentation
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Our team is ready to assist you. Please complete the form, or if you prefer to speak to someone directly, call us on +44 (0) 1452 751940 (Europe, Asia, Africa) or +1.805.783.4600 (North and South America). Expect comprehensive support, valuable advice, and tailored quotes to meet your specific needs.
