Kyocera SS-66K Phone

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Iridium Motorola 9500 satellite phone

Although Kyocera SS-66k phones are no longer manufactured, they are the first Iridium Phone ever made. The telephone is small enough to fit in a pocket, purse or backpack. zoom in 9500 satellite phone

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Originally the old Iridium offered hand held phones manufactured by Kyocera and Motorola. The Kyocera SS-66K and SD-66K are not longer in production. After the new Iridium company made systems wide upgrades to the service in 2001 the Kyocera units used to have poor voice service which included dropped calls and period of no service. Kyocera started production of satellite handsets and pagers for use on the global Iridium communications network in 1998. In conjunction with its introduction of Iridium related products in the United States, Europe and Asia, Kyocera started to supply these regions with CDMA, GSM, AMPS and PDC based cellular handsets that can be upgraded to the global Iridium service using an optional Iridium satellite phone adapter.

The smallest Iridium phone 9555

Using SS-66K satellite phonezoom in 9500 satellite phone

Since the antenna retracts inside the handset when not in use, it is the most convenient Iridium phone to carry and hold. Kyocera SS66K Satellite Phone is a lighter alternative to 9500 and 9505 Iridium handsets, ideal for any remote location.

If you want to be in contact while traveling or working anywhere in the world, this phone is what you are looking for. Iridium allows you to have one phone number that reaches you anywhere in the world. Most likely if you are looking at this ad you know what it is. If not, check the Iridium services page for information on the Iridium service.

During our tests done in the early 2000, the phone was so good that it was able to pick up the satellite even through a ground floor window. However, an unobstructed view of the sky is recomended for use in a call. By unobstructed, we have generally found that if you are near buildings, mountains, forests, etc. that block more than 10% of the sky above the horizon, your drop out times will increase substantially. The more obstructed, the more drop out times you will experience. We have tested Kyocera-ss-66k in a variety of locations on the Pacific Coast of North America where we have cruised on board our sailboat. The phone provides reliable coverage most of the time. For example, we had coverage problems when we were in Princess Louisa Inlet in Canada which is a fjord with mountains blocking a lot of the sky.

The Motorola 9500 series portable satellite phone provides reliable voice and communications, worldwide. Weighing less than 16 ounces, and with a battery life of 20 hours standby and 2 hours talk, the 9500 series is simple to use, supports multiple languages and is data-capable. Kyocera phone kit includes: Phone Handset, lithium ion battery, charger with world voltage cords, leather case, laynard seperate vibrator (for ring alert) and original owner's manaul.

Motorola Satellite Phones

Iridium 9505 & 9500 demo
phones at our office.zoom in 9500 satellite phone

The SS-66K Single Mode Iridium Handset is a rugged, weather resistant handset designed for use where there is no cellular coverage or when satellite communication is preferred. The feature rich Kyocera satellite phone includes an integral antenna that permits in-bound calls without retracting the antenna, graphical LCD display, world clock with automatic local time adjusting alarms and timers, 7-minute digital recording for answering machine, voice memo and conversation recording features.

Although slightly larger than a cellphone, it will still fit into a pocket well enough to be considered truly portable (12 oz). The satellite antenna is longer and thicker than what you might be used to with a regular cellphone, but the telescoping design is cleverly engineered to retract completely into a cavity within the body of the phone (it should always be kept vertical when in use). The user interface is on 18 languages and for charging it useses a global charger with 4 AC cables 110 and 220 VAC supply. ss66k phone provides 150 minutes of talk time or 16 hours of continual standby time on each battery charge. We found this phone relatively easy to use - the menu system is clear and logical, and the unit has very acceptable battery life, you use AC and DC chargers just as you would with a cellphone. As all Kyocera Iridium satellite phones SS-66 are data ready supporting standard RS-232 data interconnection for fax and data transmission.

Pelican case for
Motorola/Iridium 9500zoom in 9500 pelican case

We also liked the fact that the voicemail system will notify you with a series of beeps if you have received any messages while the phone is off or signal has been temporarily lost. This saves you from having to keep checking in for messages on your voicemail. If you are going somewhere where you know your cellphone won't work, then you can just call-forward the cell to your satphone number, and you are ready to receive calls just as if I was back at the office. If you don't set it up that way, you can still use satellite phone to call cellphone voicemail for messages.

HighSpeedSat offers Iridium satellite phone rentals for as low as $29 per week. With over 30 Kyocera satellite rental phones in rotation, we offer large satellite phone rental inventory. We can meet the emergency response or disaster preparedness requirements of any customer.

Iridium is a low-orbit satellite system that allows calls to be made and received from anywhere in the world. Although the system has global coverage, it is not licensed to work in all countries so please contact us for specific details. When you rent an Iridium phone, it can not be used indoors. It must be within line of sight of the Iridium satellite system for successful operation and therefore cannot be used under any roof cover or rainforest canopy.

Table: Kyocera ss 66k tech specs
Technical Specifications
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Technical Specifications:
Operating Frequency: 1616 - 1626.5 MHz, L-Band
Duplexing Method: Time Division Duplex(TDD)
Multiplexing Method: TDMA/FDMA (GSM)
Link Margin: 15.5 dB average
Average Power: 0.57 Watts average
CEIRP Average: -1.9 dBW
Sensitivity: -117.9 dBm
TX Spurs General EIRP: -60 dBW
TX Spurs GNSS 1559-1605 MHz: -80 dBW
TX Noise GNSS 1559-1650 MHz: -70 BW/MHz
Standard Battery Life :
Continuous Talk Time: Up to 2hrs (3.2 hours with the optional
High Capacity Battery or 5.5 hrs with the
optional Ultra High Capacity Battery)
Standby Time: Up to 16hrs (24 hours with the optional
High Capacity Battery or 48 hrs with the
optional Ultra High Capacity Battery)
Mechanical & Environmental:
Weight: Under 454g (16oz)
Dimensions: 7.60"L x 2.44"W x 2.66 "D
(193mm L x 62mm H x 68mm D)
Operating Temperature: -30ºC - 60ºC

More Iridium Satellite Phone related links:

Iridium Frequently Asked Questions - Check the usal questions asked about Iridium
Iridium Products - Phones, handhelds, docks, internet data sets and accessories.
How iridium phone system works? - A lot of details about Iridium system.
Iridium satellites - Iridium communcation satellites, constellation, flares and more!
Iridium Service - Satellite phone service plans, activation, Internet service
Iridium Phone Rental - Rent or buy? Renting info and companies. Compare prices!
Satellite Phone Blog - Comment the latest news and info from satellite phone arena

Phone Documentation and Manuals

kyocera-ss66k phone brochure

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ss-66k-Phone
Brochure


1.30 MB
download ziped product brochure 1.25 MB

kyocera-ss66k phone brochure

Download
ss-66k-Phone
Owner's Manual


2.89 MB
download ziped product brochure 2.83 MB

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