Shipboard Communications

[Zen]

Who uses what? why?
SS, Ham, Satellite, VHS, yelling, bull horn  :D,  etc? all?

[Captain Smollett]

This'd be a good place for a "poll."

I don't have any comm equipment on the boat at present.  I am considering adding a hand held VHS for bridge-to-bridge and weather info, as well as bridge openings on the ICW.

[AdriftAtSea]

I use VHF—and have two handhelds as well as a ship's radio.  I also have an GPIRB, for offshore use that I hope never to need...  Eventually, I'd like to get an SSB unit, but not for a while.  For sound signalling, I have two horns—one is a refillable compressed air horn, that uses a bicycle pump to fill it; the other is a lung-powered horn—both are reasonably loud.

I also carry a set of signal flags...as you never know when they might come in handy.

[Fortis]

We have a fixed VHF with masthead ariel, and 27meg.
A handheld vhf that lives on a clip just inside the companionway and a dinky pair of walky-talky headset thingies so we can quietly talk to eachother if one is on the bow and the other is in the cockpit. It is nicer then shouting when they work...but they are kind of random. We originaly got them because it was asier and cheaper to just give a call when one of us arrived in the carpark and the other could then go and let them into the marina...because for love or money, our yacht club only issued one gate key per membership.

Having a fixed VHF with the full 25watts of power and a masthead ariel with low-loss cable gives you amazing reach for the VHF (which is basically a line-of-sight transmission). A 5watt (those are the GOOD ones) handheld VHF with the ariel about five feet above deck level just does not begin to compare.

The 27 meg is mostly a holdover from the old days...but it is a short wave radio of sorts in that its signal can bend or bounce off the atmosphere...and since we cannot afford an SW/SSB transceiver at this time, it has been spruced up and retained in the com systems.

We have one of the older EPIRBs (121) and are definately going to upgrade to a 406 with inbuilt GPS when the boat is back in the water and the serious cruising starts. 406 EPIRBs were close to $3000 only a couple of years ago...we can now get one with inbuilt GPS signal and update button for $350.


Alex.


Alex.

[Joe Pyrat]

I've got VHF and am working on my HAM license.

[AdriftAtSea]

Alex-

The GPIRBs that are about $350 are usually personal locator beacons, not really full EPIRBs.  The main difference is that a full-size EPIRB has a much longer battery life, works in greater temperature ranges, and  usually has a strobe on it.  Also, a PLB is registered to a person, an EPIRB is registered to a vessel. 

Dan

[Fortis]

Yes, Aware of all of that, Dan.
The GPS based EIRB I am reffering to is made under license in Australia and is a GME version of the standard Paines Wessex largish 406. It is vessel specific and is cheap because of a government subsidy...Because around here it is cheaper to make sure that boaters have an epirb that lets them be located to a 1km radius then a 10km radius. Someone actually decided to be pro-active about SAR expenses.

The personal epirbs (called PLB's, personal locator beacons) are still sadly in the $1100.00 range as they are not covered be the subsidy or manufactured under local license (yet).


If I was to spring for the personal 406epirb I would go with one of the new wireless teather systems. This involves a little transmitter that sits just under the boom gooseneck. Every few seconds it sends out a ping and all of the personal epirbs on board "reply" in a way that apparently causes no power drain (not sure of the specific method). The transmitter has a field that is only a little larger then the boat length.

If one of the epirbs fail to chirp back in response an alarm  is sounded inside the boat as it assumes that the person has been washed overboard.
The personal epirb unit then works just like a standard epirb and calls for help.

The more sophisticated (I can never afford it) racing version of the system also has a secondary long range sensing feature on the transmitter box that you can switch over to. This allows you to know when you have come within X number of meters of the "missing" epirb (and thus crewmember), which is usefull for night searches and such.


Margaret once described one of her nightmare scenarios for sailing being that she wakes up, comes up on deck to relieve me of watch and finds that I am not there...and she would have no idea how long ago I was lost or where to begin looking other then the obvious reverse course.


Personally, having needed to do two MOB retrievals in earnest now (one deadly serious and one that was a breeze by comparison) the excercises are worthwhile but do not begin to cover it. Personal epirbs take one of the nightmares out ...but are not a cure all by any means.


Alex.

[AdriftAtSea]

Lucky for you that they're subsidizing full-size GPIRBs...but it makes sense...cuts down on the costs of SAR work. Sounds like your government actually works once in a while. :D

Staying on the boat is key... even if you have someone else on the boat.  Sailing as a couple was once described as sailing single-handed for half the time... and it is probably a good idea to think of it that way... as you describe in Margaret's nightmare... you would effectively be single-handing, since she's down below and asleep.

[pura vida]

Hi all, I'm new to the dock but have been sailng for a while. In two years I'll be heading off for a year in my little boat and am considering skipping the SSB in favor of a sat phone. The more I think about it the better I like the idea. Once I factor in the cost of batteries and charging system, radio and installation I can get a sat phone that friends and family can contact me with. Any thoughts?

[Pixie Dust]

Hi all, I'm new to the dock but have been sailng for a while. In two years I'll be heading off for a year in my little boat and am considering skipping the SSB in favor of a sat phone. The more I think about it the better I like the idea. Once I factor in the cost of batteries and charging system, radio and installation I can get a sat phone that friends and family can contact me with. Any thoughts?

Welcome to the Sailfar Marina!  I too am looking at SSB receivers and now have decided to check into Sat phones.  I am interested in the feedback on your question. 

[pura vida]

So far the big boat cruisers don't like the idea. There is a "club" atmosphere to the HAM SSB crowd. It sounds like a lot of fun but I don't want to wake up in the middle of the night hunting for better signal propogation. Also If I want to call land based friends or marinas a sat phone makes more sense. It also makes more sense in a ditch bag. The Globalstar seems to have the best price point but a buddy racing across the Gulf said it dropped the signal pretty regularly. For the price of a good SSB installation I can get 20 minutes airtime per day for a year.

[AdriftAtSea]

Yes, but SSB doesn't have the on-going costs associated with satellite phones.  Satellite phones charge you per minute as a general rule, and per megabyte for data services.  SSB-based e-mail is much cheaper, and SSB-based communications are free, unless you're going through a ship-to-shore operator.

Globalstar doesn't have full global coverage IIRC, as you can see at http://common.globalstar.com/images/coverage/coveragemap_nolegend_gusa.jpg

[Zen]

Inmarsat &  Iridium both have full global coverage, and most important for me, 95% of the Pacific Ocean with internet and phone coverage.

[AdriftAtSea]

True Zen, but prices are a bit stiff.  :(

[s/v Faith]

So far the big boat cruisers don't like the idea. There is a "club" atmosphere to the HAM SSB crowd. .....

  I would expect that to change now... the code requirement to get a ticket has now been dropped.

====> Link to the story here. <====

[s/v Faith]

Official FCC New release;

Link here

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:         NEWS MEDIA CONTACT:
December 15, 2006   Chelsea Fallon:  (202) 418-7991
                     
FCC MODIFIES AMATEUR RADIO SERVICE RULES,
ELIMINATING MORSE CODE EXAM REQUIREMENTS AND
ADDRESSING ARRL PETITION FOR RECONSIDERATION

Washington, D.C. – Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a Report and Order and Order on Reconsideration (Order) that modifies the rules for the Amateur Radio Service by revising the examination requirements for obtaining a General Class or Amateur Extra Class amateur radio operator license and revising the operating privileges for Technician Class licensees.  In addition, the Order resolves a petition filed by the American Radio Relay League, Inc. (ARRL) for partial reconsideration of an FCC Order on amateur service rules released on October 10, 2006.

The current amateur service operator license structure contains three classes of amateur radio operator licenses:  Technician Class, General Class, and Amateur Extra Class.  General Class and Amateur Extra Class licensees are permitted to operate in Amateur bands below 30 MHz, while the introductory Technician Class licensees are only permitted to operate in bands above 30 MHz.  Prior to today's action, the FCC, in accordance with international radio regulations, required applicants for General Class and Amateur Extra Class operator licenses to pass a five words-per-minute Morse code examination.  Today's Order eliminates that requirement for General and Amateur Extra licensees.  This change reflects revisions to international radio regulations made at the International Telecommunication Union's 2003 World Radio Conference (WRC-03), which authorized each country to determine whether to require that individuals demonstrate Morse code proficiency in order to qualify for an amateur radio license with transmitting privileges on frequencies below 30 MHz.  This change eliminates an unnecessary regulatory burden that may discourage current amateur radio operators from advancing their skills and participating more fully in the benefits of amateur radio.

Today's Order also revises the operating privileges for Technician Class licensees by eliminating a disparity in the operating privileges for the Technician Class and Technician Plus Class licensees.  Technician Class licensees are authorized operating privileges on all amateur frequencies above 30 MHz.  The Technician Plus Class license, which is an operator license class that existed prior the FCC's simplification of the amateur license structure in 1999 and was grandfathered after that time, authorized operating privileges on all amateur frequencies above 30 MHz, as well as frequency segments in four HF bands (below 30 MHz) after the successful completion of a Morse code examination.  With today's elimination of the Morse code exam requirements, the FCC concluded that the disparity between the operating privileges of Technician Class licensees and Technician Plus Class licensees should not be retained.  Therefore, the FCC, in today's action, afforded Technician and Technician Plus licensees identical operating privileges.   

Finally, today's Order resolved a petition filed by the ARRL for partial reconsideration of an FCC Order released on October 10, 2006 (FCC 06-149).  In this Order, the FCC authorized amateur stations to transmit voice communications on additional frequencies in certain amateur service bands, including the 75 meter (m) band, which is authorized only for certain wideband voice and image communications.  The ARRL argued that the 75 m band should not have been expanded below 3635 kHz, in order to protect automatically controlled digital stations operating in the 3620-3635 kHz portion of the 80 m band.  The FCC concluded that these stations can be protected by providing alternate spectrum in the 3585-3600 kHz frequency segment.

Action by the Commission on December 15, 2006, by Report and Order and Order on Reconsideration.  Chairman Martin and Commissioners Copps, Adelstein, Tate, and McDowell. 

For additional information, contact William Cross at (202) 418-0691 or William.Cross@fcc.gov.

WT Docket Nos. 04-140 and 05-235.

– FCC –

News and other information about the Federal Communications Commission
is available at www.fcc.gov

[Solace]

Hello all,

As a regular coastal cruiser, living on a 27' boat full time, with plans to extend my voyages in the near future, this has been a topic I've been interested in. Kudos for the poll.

For me, space, power consumption and cost are of primary concerns. I would love to own a SSB. Access to accurate weather and joining the cruisers net while travelling would be awesome. I may yet opt for a receiver, but for now, the learning curve and the return on the afore mentioned 3 concerns is not great enough.

I have upgraded Solace's VHF to a DSC radio (digital selective calling) though I haven't yet registered the DSC. Something I intend to look into in the new year. This radio also includes a WHAM mic. My handheld radio (which was at the helm) proved insufficient once my buddy boats were out of sight. Too many times this meant leaving the helm to use the radio at the Nav station for short messages confirming I was still ok during harrowing sea conditions. The WHAM mic is considered a must have on this boat.

John

[AdriftAtSea]

Just remember that SSB radios aren't all that power hungry, unless you are transmitting with them.  In receive only mode, they're relatively low wattage... and with the dropping of the Morse Code requirement, it might be worthwhile to get a Ham license, and an SSB that is type accepted for both ham and Marine SSB use.

[Iceman]

Ive been away for awhile..is there a post somewhere for Computer comms on the water..What works for not alot of cash

Iceman

[Grampian]

Hay Yawl!

For those of you thinking about SSB, for long distance comm it is a very good idea. Because of it's type of wave propagation (AM instead of FM), it is over-the-horizon - actually around the world if the conditions are right.

When I was in Viet Nam I carried a PRC-47 SSB radio on a number of operations. The frequency range of this radio was 2 - 12 Mhz and the power was 20W low to 100W high and the units weighed over 50 pounds. We carried them on our backs until we set up to broadcast with either a whip or a wire antenna. We used these radios to talk to the Cruisers and Destroyers off shore for Naval gun support and occasionally even practiced sending code to the Swabs at sea since we didn't actually use it in operational status.

Step ahead almost 40 years and we have units now that have a frequency range of 500Khz to 20Mhz and power at 150W. With added modules you can get e-mail, you can talk to other boats thousands of miles away, and you can even interface with land-bound HAM operators to make telephone calls home. The license no longer requires Morse code although 5 words a minute is really very easy if you wanted to try it.

To get out of radio school, we had to send "code" at 24 words a minute and receive it 26 words a minute. If I could do that, anyone can do the 5 wpm for the unlimited license. Anyway, a little anectdote and I will go: In the Fall of 1968 I was on an operation South of An Hoa combat base carrying my trusty PRC-47. One night while scanning freqs for traffic, I heard a decidedly civilian callsign being broadcast. I answered with my operation call sign and got into a conversation with a fellow (who to this day probably thinks it couldn't have happened) in the States. He asked where we were located and I told him we were about 15 kilometers inland from the South China Sea and about 30 kilometers South of Danang. He allowed as how it was impossible for that to be true but went on talking to us anyway. Anyway, the reason you can get this kind of range is that SSB is AM broadcasting and it bounces off the Ionosphere instead of being line-of-sight like FM (VHF). Also, we were talking using only 100 Watts of power on my end.

Anyway, fair winds to all of you...