What to think about first
- What is the primary link, and what happens when it fails?
- What gear must stay powered overnight or in poor weather?
- Which functions are mission critical, weather, emergency messaging, position updates, or voice?
Recommended layers
- Primary data link, such as Starlink or equivalent.
- Low-bandwidth backup, such as Iridium messaging or weather.
- Local safety and coordination layer, such as VHF with proper power planning.
Power planning matters
- A communications plan that dies with the house bank is not redundant.
- Put low-draw emergency comms on a protected, known-good path.
- Test the backup path when conditions are calm, not when they are ugly.
When it is urgent
- Primary and backup gear share the same fragile power path.
- No weather or emergency path remains if one device fails.
- The crew does not know which device to use for which scenario.
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