THALES VesseLINK Iridium Certus Broadband User Guide

: June 5, 2024
: THALES

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION
SYSTEM OVERVIEW
GETTING STARTED
THALES MANAGEMENT PORTAL
Documents / Resources

Thales VesseLINK™
Quick Start Guide

INTRODUCTION

This Quick Start Guide (QSG) provides instructions for an initial start-up of the system up to and including making a basic phone call and accessing the internet. This QSG is only for use on VesseLINK™ systems that have been successfully installed per the Installation Guide (Document # 84464). After initial start-up, for more detailed operational procedures, reference the VesseLINK™ User Manual (Document # 84469) is located on the Thales website and also accessible through the VesseLINK™ Management Portal.

This document contains technology controlled for export by the U.S. Department of Commerce in accordance with Export Administration Regulations. Diversion contrary to U.S. law prohibited.

IMPORTANT: DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS MANUALS NOW

To begin, you need the BDU, the AC/DC power supply with an AC power cord (or the 10-32 VDC power cable accessory), and an Ethernet cable or Wi-Fi antenna.
Note: The AC/DC power supply with AC power cord and Ethernet cable may be included or optional depending on the model purchased.
Connect AC/DC power supply to AC power, turn on BDU and wait for System LED to go solid.
(Note: System ( ) and/or Satellite ( ) LEDs may be red since the antenna is not connected.)
Once the System LED is solid and not blinking, the Management Portal can be accessed to download the manuals.
Connect PC to LAN port shown with Ethernet cable or use the Wi-Fi antenna.
Select “ThalesLINK” in network settings (either W-Fi or LAN settings page).
Open a web browser, Type:: http://portal.thaleslink (Do not type .com or any other extension).
Note: If there is a problem connecting, try http://portal.thaleslink/#
Select the Help Tab on the left side of the screen
Download the User Manual and Installation Guide
Turn BDU off, disconnect peripherals and proceed with Installation Guide instructions

SYSTEM OVERVIEW

VesseLINK™ typical system components are:
A. Below Deck Unit (BDU)
B. Above Deck Unit (ADU) or Antenna
C. AC/DC Power Supply
D. RF and Ethernet Cables
E. SIM Card (From Air Time Provider)
F. POTS Phone (user-provided)
G. VoIP Phone(s) (user-provided)
H. Advanced setups may have Cellular or Network Modem connected (user- provided)
I. Laptop/PC (not included)

Terminology / Acronyms : The following terminology is used throughout this QSG.

ADU: Above Deck Unit (Antenna)	SIM: Subscriber Identity Module
BDU: Below Deck Unit	VoIP: Voice over Internet Protocol
PoE: Power over Ethernet	WAN: Wide Area Network
POTS: Plain Old Telephone Service	Wi-Fi: Wireless Network

GETTING STARTED

STEP 1: Connect Phone (standard POTS handset) or Ethernet VoIP Phone to BDU.
The BDU front has the main power button, one RJ-14 jack for POTS, three PoE RJ-45 connections for VoIP phones or computers, and one WAN (Wide Area Network) connection port.

POTS Phone connection
By default, the POTS phone(s) are pre-configured to use the Iridium voice lines without any additional configuration. The BDU can accept up to 2 POTS phones (with RJ-14 Splitter).
VoIP or Thales IP Phone connection
By default the BDU has (3) extensions preconfigured for use with POTS phones, VoIP phones, or Thales IP handsets as shown in the table below. If using a VoIP phone, Thales recommends CISCO SPA504G and Grand Stream GXP2140 models for ease of use with VesseLINK™. Other brands and models may be supported but the functionality cannot be guaranteed. Follow your VoIP phone configuration guide to connect using the following parameters.
From the factory, the defaults for the three phone lines are shown below:

Extension 1: (make and receive calls on line 1	User: “1001”
of your SIM)	Password: “1001”
Host: “sip.thaleslink”
Protocol: udp
Extension 2: (will make and receive calls online	User: “1002”
2 of your SIM)	Password: “1002”
Host: “sip.Thameslink”
Protocol: udp
Extension 3: (will make and receive calls online	User: “1003”
3 of your SIM)	Password: “1003”
Host: “sip.thaleslink”
Protocol: udp

By default, Extensions 1 and 2 are mapped to POTS phone connections and Extension 3 is flexible. A VoIP phone can be configured to any extension, even those assigned to the POTS lines. The Thales SureLINK IP Handset will have a default of 1002 or extension 2, so it will automatically work when plugged in similar to the POTS phone.

STEP 2: Know your Thales VesseLINK™.
It may be necessary to know details about your Thales VesseLINK™ system when calling for help or service.
IMEI is unique to each unit and can be found on the back of the BDU. This IMEI can also be found in the http://portal.thaleslink under the ABOUT tab.
IMSI is a unique identifier for each SIM card. This IMSI can also be found in the http://portal.thaleslink under the STATUS→ SIM tabs. (SIM must be inserted)

STEP 3: Install SIM
Remove SIM Cover.

Install SIM card from Air-time provider as below. Insert card with contacts down as shown until it clicks into place. Be sure to engage the lock for the SIM Card and secure the SIM Cover once the SIM Card has been locked into place.

STEP 4: Power the VesseLINK™ Unit.
Before powering the unit, make sure the AC/DC supply is plugged in and connected to the BDU. The antenna must also be connected per the installation manual. Power the unit by pressing and releasing the power button on the BDU. NOTE: After the button is pressed and released, a few seconds will pass before the System LED (left) starts flashing. It may take a few minutes on initial startup for all 3 LEDs on the unit top to turn solid GREEN or BLUE.

Step 4 (Cont.)

Indicator	Description

STEP 5: Connect to VesseLINK™ Management portal to configure the system.
Option A: Via Wi-Fi.

Power on the VesseLINK™ BDU and let it boot up (may take a few minutes).
On the wireless device, find and select the SSID ThalesLINK as an available Wi-Fi access point. No password is required on the initial setup and is left to the user to add WPA2 protection with a password during this configuration process.
Open a browser and type: http://portal.thaleslink (do not type .com or any other extension)
As a default, no changes to setup are necessary, but advanced users may want to config their preferred system settings.
Once the Management Portal opens, click the LOGIN button. Enter “admin” for Login ID and Password.
At this time it is advised that you change the password. To Change Password: Go to SETTINGS → GENERAL and change the password for the Admin User.

Option B: Via (PC, Mac, or Linux) Ethernet connection

With your computer connect the Ethernet RJ-45 Cable (included) to any of the 3 Ethernet ports on the BDU. (Do not connect to the WAN port on the BDU with a box around the port.)
Via the network settings on your computer’s operating system, enable the VesseLINK connection.
Open a web browser and type: http://portal.thaleslink (do not type .com or any other extension).
As a default, no changes to setup are necessary, but advanced users may want to configure their preferred system settings.
Once the Management Portal opens, click the LOGIN button. Enter “admin” for the Login ID and Password.
At this time it is advised that you change the Management Portal admin password. To Change Password: Go to SETTINGS →GENERAL and change the password for the Admin User.

NOTE: If you forget the Wi-Fi WPA2 password or the admin password, press and hold the reset pin on the back of the box (while powered on) in order to reset the system to factory settings. All custom configuration settings will be lost.

STEP 6: Place a phone call.

Choose either POTS or VoIP handset.
Remove the handset from the base and ensure a dial tone is present.
For all calls using the Iridium Voice Services, dial 9 before the number. When making a local call, simply dial the extension.
Call a known number to test call and voice clarity

Call the Iridium automated message at: (9) 1-480-752-5105
Note: The VesseLINK™ system contains PBX functionality, where both local calls and outside calls can be made. Local extensions can be dialed directly from another local phone, but outside calls require dialing a “9” in order to connect to an outside line prior to dialing the phone number.

STEP 7: Access the internet.
Once your device has successfully connected to the BDU, open the Management Portal
http://portal.thaleslink to verify the satellite connection.

Verify:

No active alerts (DASHBOARD or ALERTS page on the Management Portal)
Satellites detected (go to STATUS → SERVICE), signal strength bars (top right of screen) should show more than 1 bar as available.
Check that the antenna has a clear view of the sky or the alerts if voice or data calls fail.

Try loading a small website such as www.google.com to verify your internet connection. If the page loads successfully you are ready to browse the internet.

THALES MANAGEMENT PORTAL

When you first log into the Thales Management Portal, you will notice menu choices down the left-hand side of the screen. Each of these menu options is discussed in more detail in the VesseLINK ™ User Manual.

Status – Provides status of each of the Devices, GPS, LAN, Phones, Services, and the SIM card.
Alerts – Provides a listing of system alerts
Calls – Provides information relating to Calls, including current calls, call history, and call management.
Emergency – This section is where you send an emergency signal.
Settings – This section is where the administrator can set operating parameters/ settings for sending messages, using Wi-Fi, WAN, LAN, Satellite, data, and phone.
System – This section allows the operator to perform system backups, view data usage, reset the system, and view/update system firmware.
Diagnostics – The section enables the administrator to run a self-test, check system status, and view diagnostics log entries.
About – Provides system-level information for the antenna, modem, power supply, the system, VoIP Module, and Wi-Fi
Help – Provides a link to the Thales VesseLINK™ User Manual, Installation Guide, and Quick Start Guide.

Thales Defense & Security, Inc.
22605 Gateway Center Drive | Clarksburg MD 20871
Toll-Free 1.800.324.6089 | Phone: 240.864.7000 | Fax: 240.864.7920
Email: Customer.Service@thalesdsi.com | Website: www.thalesdsi.com
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