Runs on its own from power-up
Starts the 9704 at power-up and runs on battery alone, with no computer attached.
N3D Products · Dev kit
N-9704
Iridium certification in preparation; not yet for sale. N3D's performance edition of the Iridium® Certus® 9704 Launch Pad: the same Iridium board running N3D firmware, built with IMT CC for long, unattended operation outdoors.
Key features
Retries when a send fails
Retries after 1, 2, 4, 8 and 15 minutes, only with a satellite in view (at least 1 bar), up to 5 times within 60 minutes. Failures that resending cannot fix, such as an invalid subscription, stop and are reported right away.
Pending messages survive a power loss
Messages to send are stored in an outbox on the SD card first, so sending carries on after a power loss or restart.
Full 100 KB messages
Incoming messages are written to the SD card as they arrive, so a full 100 KB message is received in one piece and processed only if its checksum is correct.
Files larger than 100 KB
Delivered by IMT CC in segments; the board collects them, verifies the whole file and saves it to the SD card, up to 2 MB per file, with remaining capacity visible in the console. Large-file transfer is currently not charged separately.
One-click updates, step-by-step tests
Update the firmware with one click from the IMT CC console in Chrome or Edge, with nothing to install; dev kit tests show progress station by station and compare content byte by byte.
Compared with Iridium’s example programs
The board hardware is the same, so this compares firmware: the left column is Iridium®’s example programs, the right column is N-9704 firmware 1.0.
| Iridium example programs | N-9704 | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Demonstration and evaluation: the kit ships with Iridium’s demonstration settings, sending messages to a Blynk dashboard or reflecting them back to the board through the Iridium gateway; other examples include a serial pass-through and a 9704 module firmware update | Working with IMT CC: send and receive your own messages, run round-trip tests and transfer large files |
| Start-up | Examples such as the serial pass-through and the reflector wait for USB to be connected before they start, so the output can be watched on a computer | Starts the 9704 at power-up and runs on battery alone |
| When a send fails | The reason is printed on the serial port; your program decides whether to send again | Retries automatically after 1, 2, 4, 8 and 15 minutes, and only with a satellite in view (at least 1 bar); up to 5 times within 60 minutes, then it stops and reports. Failures that resending cannot fix (for example, an invalid subscription or a content checksum error) stop and are reported right away |
| The 9704 restarts partway through a send | Handled by your program | Sent again from the start, up to 3 times |
| Power loss or board restart | The examples do not keep pending messages; after a restart they start over | Messages to send are stored in an outbox on the SD card first, and sending carries on after a power loss or restart |
| Receiving a 100 KB message | Per Iridium, the board’s 32 KB of RAM cannot hold a 100 KB message; the reflector example compares each part with the original message stored in the program as it arrives | Written to the SD card as it arrives, received in one piece and processed only if the checksum is correct |
| Large files (over 100 KB) | One IMT message is up to 100 KB | Delivered by IMT CC in segments; the board collects them, verifies the checksum of the whole file and saves it to the SD card (currently up to 2 MB per file); remaining capacity can be checked from the console |
| If the program hangs | Handled by your program | Watchdog: restarts after 8 seconds and records why; a message that stalls for 30 minutes, or is interrupted by a 9704 restart, is abandoned without stopping the board |
| Buzzer | A tone while the 9704 transmits; melodies for start-up, shutdown and failure | Test message or large file received: three short beeps, each higher than the last; message sent: one falling tone. Can be muted by command |
| USER LED | Shows signal strength | The same |
| Operating log | Printed on the serial port when a computer is attached | One line per second on the SD card (voltage, signal, send and receive status), readable afterwards without a computer |
| With a computer attached | Text output; the serial pass-through example lets you send commands to the 9704 directly | A JSON status line every 2 seconds plus event reports; content can be handed from the computer to the board to send |
| Updating the board firmware | Flash with the Arduino IDE | One click in the IMT CC console with Chrome or Edge, no tools to install; Arduino CLI also works |
| microSD card | Used by some examples | Required: messages, large files and the operating log are stored on it |
Large-file transfer is currently not charged separately.
Not included in N-9704
- The Blynk demonstration dashboard and GNSS position reports (in Iridium’s Dashboard example).
- Shutting down the 9704 by holding the USER button.
- Updating the 9704 module’s own firmware: N3D verifies new versions and updates the module for you.
- Serial pass-through (sending commands to the 9704 directly).
N3D maintains the N-9704 firmware. The board is still Iridium hardware, and you can flash Iridium’s example programs back at any time with the Arduino IDE.
Coming soon
- Uploading a large file of your choice from the board to IMT CC (for example, a photo the device took). Receiving large files, and sending a whole file back in dev kit tests, are available now.
- N-9704 Pro (STM32U5G9J-DK2 + RockBLOCK 9704) is in preparation.
Note
“Iridium example programs” means the examples included with the Iridium 9704 Launch Pad Arduino library 2.0.9 (Dashboard, Reflector, TransceiverConsole, FirmwareUpdate and others); for factory settings, refer to Iridium.
Specifications
- Status
- Iridium certification in preparation; not yet for sale
- Hardware
- Iridium Certus 9704 Launch Pad (Iridium hardware)
- Firmware
- N-9704 firmware 1.0 (maintained by N3D)
- Satellite service
- Iridium Messaging Transport (IMT)
- Per message
- Up to 100 KB
- Large files
- Delivered by IMT CC in segments, up to 2 MB per file (currently no extra charge)
- Automatic retries
- After 1, 2, 4, 8 and 15 minutes, up to 5 times within 60 minutes
- Storage
- MicroSD card (required)
- Firmware updates
- One click in the IMT CC console (Chrome, Edge); Arduino CLI also works
- Testing
- Bench-tested and field-tested over satellite on a rooftop
FAQ
Can I buy N-9704?
Not yet. N-9704 is being prepared for Iridium certification and will not be sold before it is certified.
How is N-9704 different from Iridium's 9704 Launch Pad?
The hardware is the same; the firmware is not. Iridium's example programs demonstrate and evaluate the 9704. N-9704 is designed to work with IMT CC and run on battery, unattended, for long periods: it starts on its own, retries failed sends, keeps pending messages through a power loss, and receives files over 100 KB. See the comparison table below.
Is large-file transfer charged separately?
Not at the moment. Files can be up to 2 MB.
Can I flash Iridium's example programs back?
Yes. The board is still Iridium hardware, and you can flash Iridium's example programs back at any time with the Arduino IDE.
How is the 9704 module's own firmware updated?
N3D verifies new versions and updates the module for you.
Has it been tested over satellite?
Yes. N-9704 has been bench-tested and field-tested sending and receiving over satellite on a rooftop.