RockBLOCK 9704 - SMA

The RockBLOCK 9704 by Ground Control is a breakout board for the new Iridium 9704 including a SMA connector and a supercap charger to enable low power operation. If you need low data rate connectivity over the entire globe, Iridium is the answer. RockBLOCK 9704 leverages the Iridium Certus 9704 satellite IoT module to deliver truly global bi-directional messaging from 25 bytes up to 100 KB, with typical end-to-cloud latency of < 10 s.

Hardware interfaces include a TTL 3.3 V UART, USB-C serial bridge, U.FL for GNSS passthrough, and SMA or integrated patch antenna options. It runs from 4.0-5.3 V DC (3.6-4.5 V battery), peaks at 1.4 W, idles at < 60 mW, and sleeps at < 5 mW – perfect for battery-sensitive deployments.

In addition to top notch hardware, Ground Control has done an exquisite job easing the task of getting the message data from the field to your target with their Cloudloop Data interface. Once messages leave the device, Cloudloop Data seamlessly routes uplinks and downlinks to your HTTPS or MQTT endpoint, and exposes a REST API and dashboard for device metadata, transmission status, and message history.

Each device requires a monthly fee and a data pack purchase. With flexible, pay-per-message billing and real time usage dashboards, Ground Control delivers true full-stack support – from hardware and network transport through to data delivery – so you can prototype fast and scale instantly.

Check out Ground Control's RockBLOCK product page for airtime costs, coverage maps, and tons of example code and libraries.

• Real-Time Iridium Coverage Map
• Developer Documents
• Dimensional Drawing
• Connector Pinout