HOW IMPORTANT IS `HF' RADIO?

[cat man do]

No choices at all Bill, used Satphone and found it unreliable and hideously expensive , VHF has no range, so HF marine it'll be, unless we get another option within 12 mths.

She's a powercat so insulated backstay is out as well.

Dave

[Paul Elliott]

Dave,

Sorry for the confusion -- Bill's clarification is perfect.

I usually use "SSB" as shorthand for "HF Marine Band SSB". Many marine HF radios will also transmit and receive on Ham bands (but you need a ham license, except in an emergency) The HF ham bands use SSB for voice communications as well.

HF/SSB typically isn't used by daysailors, but is often used by cruisers and people on long passages. Sailmail works great, as does the ham-radio equivalent "Winlink", and this is how most cruisers send and receive their email. If you want more details, feel free to ask, and there is good info on the www.winlink.org and www.sailmail.com sites. To be complete, there are other HF email services in addition to Sailmail and Winlink.

Satellite phone email is starting to compete with HF Sailmail, and each have their pros and cons. To use a satphone for email there will (usually?) be an ISP service with some optimized satphone gateway software.

[Paul Elliott]

Dave,

For what its worth, I have found my (Iridium) satphone to be quite reliable. I actually prefer it to HF for email -- with HF I have to find a band that is open, fight interference and lightning crashes, and wait my turn to connect. It does work, but I can send and receive much more data, much more quickly, by satphone than by HF. By the way, I've had my ham license for many years, and used to hold a commercial ticket as well, so I am reasonably good at HF radio operation.

Of course "much more data" really isn't much, compared to land-based internet.

I used HF and Sailmail exclusively a couple of years ago, and it was great. Since I started using satphone email, it has become my first choice for email, with HF as a back-up. I still use HF regularly for the nets.

As for it being "hideously expensive", that, too, is relative. It is certainly more expensive than Sailmail or Winlink, and one should look at the budget impact before deciding to use it.

[Sonosailor]

I have to admit, we spent a lot of the last two years waiting for our turn for Winlink email, after we searched for the correct node and frequency. With the Admiral hooked to emailing, and the need to control competing electronic devices on board, it was a real nuisance. I need a drink just remembering it.

[Talbot]

People have made a lot of assumptions on this thread that are based on conditions in their area. The original Post was from Australia, and things are different there. call somebody on VHF and you will be very lucky to get help. GMDSS is by HF see http://www.gmdss.com.au/recvsls.htm

Greetings Lloyd

Geez... they let anyone on this site! You still running just VHF then? You are not alone if you are.

I have quite a list of sailmail address's in my email program. Like Quoll II in Malasysia, Arcturus and Chappie in Phuket etc etc... and it seems to work fine except you have to keep the file sizes down, no photos. It's a slow link. The hard part is keeping your family and friends from inadvertantly clogging it up. So, limitations but it works. When Trish on Quoll II sends me a story with pics she waits till they are in town at a internet cafe and then sends them on.

Someday when I grow up and get to do what you are doing..... I think I'll get a HF.

BTW Lloyd... we have a new boat in the works... Best not to drop by Bowen for a while... you may be pressed into service!

Cheers

[rebel heart]

I don't have a lot of miles under my keel, but I put the SSB radio into the list of MTDS (Multi - Thousand - Dollar - Systems). There are tons of them out there:

- SSB
- Fridge / Freezer
- Radar
- Air Conditioning
- Watermakers

I have no doubt that they are all very nice, and in fact we have a couple of them on our Hans Christian. But they are expensive, require money, and typically require you to bolster up other aspects of your boat (noteably the eletrical system).

We're saving up money over the next few years to pay our boat mortgage off, and get a nice purse going so we can leave. The more money we give to West Marine, the longer we have to wait, and the shorter our trip's duration can be.

If someone wanted to give me all those MTDS's to me for free and agree to maintain them, well then I'd probably have them all installed. You guys let me know if anyone wants to hook that up.

[Talbot]

Originally Posted by Bob Norson

Someday when I grow up and get to do what you are doing..... I think I'll get a HF.

How many people around Aus coast are actually equipped with a DSC HF
because GMDSS for Recreational Vessels implies that you wont get help unless you have a dsc set

[swagman]

Hi Talbot,
As of 1997 when we left, most cruisers and all racers went offshore installed MF/HF. Can't even recall if DSC was available then - we certainly did not have it.
But on the west coast there were then, and suggest still are today, large areas with no VHF and restricted MF cover from shoreside. When running longer races from Freo up we needed a race control team to drive up and position a van based land station at differing points for lower frequency contact.
I understand Perth Radio is still manually monitored and busy.....but with DSC not sure what longer term plans are.
Rgds
JOHN