I 'ver just seen the Yellowbrick advertisement in the latest FF, so I looked at their website. It seems to have come of age. No longer a Big Yellow Brick, but a small, rugged device with minimal power consumption, and a sensible purchase price, monthly fee and usage structure. It would give me what I 'm looking for - the ability to keep the folks back home aware of my position, and to send and receive SMS-style messages, when out of range of 3G.
I 'm tempted.
Is anyone using one?
David.

Hello,

I found this thread and thought I should show my face, as it were.

As has been pointed out, these devices all offer similar functionality - but they 're not the same. We designed Yellowbrick for people like you, and we think it 's the best option for blue-water cruising, but I would say that! :whistle:

Just a few key differences:

- Yellowbrick allow you to purchase line rental on a month-by-month basis, with no minimum contract. If you 're only cruising for 3 months, just pay for 3 months. Our position and messaging credits don 't expire either.

- Yellowbrick allows to you read short incoming messages on it 's own display.

- You can customise your list of pre-set ( 'canned ') messages, which can be sent directly from the unit.

- YBlog is a really nice way to share your travels. See here for a good example.

But most importantly, we 're a small team of people who really understand sailing, and we 're always here to help.

A note on the World ARC problem: Yes, we had a manufacturing problem that affected the waterproof seal on one batch of trackers. The problem has now been resolved, and as a result we now manufacture our trackers in the UK - even the plastics are moulded here.

Feel free to fire any specific questions my way and I 'll do my best to answer.

Thanks,

Richard Searle
--
Yellowbrick Tracking Ltd