Qwiic Iridium 9603N

SKU: SPX-15780 Brand: Sparkfun

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This product has been retired. It is no longer available, but this page has been kept for reference.

With a clear view of the sky, the Qwiic Iridium 9603 allows you to send and receive short messages. It works anywhere in the world, far beyond the reach of WiFi and GSM networks. Maybe you want to transmit weather information from a weather station on top of a mountain? Or use it to send data from a travelling balloon sat? Perhaps you need to communicate in an emergency, when other networks might not be available?

At the heart of our product is an Iridium 9603 modem. The Qwiic module hosts the 9603 and provides it with an antenna, and its power supply requirements. The modem’s serial interface is translated into I2C commands by the ATtiny841 microcontroller.

Sending and receiving messages to the Iridium network is as easy as sending I2C commands from your RedBoard over a Qwiic connector. The Arduino library walks you through sending messages to the Iridium network using your Qwiic Iridium 9603. An online portal allows you to send messages from the Iridium satellite network to your modem.

The Qwiic Iridium design is largely based on the RockBLOCK 9603 and was invented by Professor Paul Clark. Professor Clark also wrote the complete I2C library. For now, we don’t have the licensing to sell this board along with the modem. So you need to buy a RockBLOCK 9603 to get the Iridium modem and Maxtena Iridium antenna for a full transceiver system.

Note: 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.

Experimental Product: SparkX products are rapidly produced to bring you the most cutting edge technology as it becomes available. These products are tested but come with no guarantees. Live technical support is not available for SparkX products. Head on over to our forum for support or to ask a question.

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Exact shipping can be calculated on the view cart page (no login required).

Products that weigh more than 0.5 KG may cost more than what's shown (for example, test equipment, machines, >500mL liquids, etc).

We deliver Australia-wide with these options (depends on the final destination - you can get a quote on the view cart page):

$3+ for Stamped Mail (typically 10+ business days, not tracked, only available on selected small items)
$7+ for Standard Post (typically 6+ business days, tracked)
$11+ for Express Post (typically 2+ business days, tracked)
Pickup - Free! Only available to customers who live in the Newcastle region (must order online and only pickup after we email to notify you the order is ready). Orders placed after 2PM may not be ready until the following business day.

Non-metro addresses in WA, NT, SA & TAS can take 2+ days in addition to the above information.

Some batteries (such as LiPo) can't be shipped by Air. During checkout, Express Post and International Methods will not be an option if you have that type of battery in your shopping cart.

International Orders - the following rates are for New Zealand and will vary for other countries:

$12+ for Pack and Track (3+ days, tracked)
$16+ for Express International (2-5 days, tracked)

If you order lots of gear, the postage amount will increase based on the weight of your order.

Our physical address (here's a PDF which includes other key business details):

Unit 18, 132 Garden Grove Parade
Adamstown
NSW, 2289
Australia

Take a look at our customer service page if you have other questions such as "do we do purchase orders" (yes!) or "are prices GST inclusive" (yes they are!). We're here to help - get in touch with us to talk shop.

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