Is SSB still a useful electronic

[Passages]

New boat came with SSB. Does it serve useful purpose in 2017 or has it gone the way of LORAN?

I'm out of Lauderdale and think my cruising will be limited to Florida & Bahamas.

 

[Boatsb]

SSB is quite a bit more powerful than VHF. It's still used by commercial vessels and blowboaters. If it works leave it.

 

[Scarlett]

I agree with Scott, keep it, you may need to communicate in an emergency when out of cell or VHF range. You might want to talk to someone who participates in some nets and find out their frequency’s for emergency contacts. John

 

[Boatsb]

Do take a few minutes to determine which antenna it uses. When transmitting no one shouod be within 15 feet of the antenna.

 

[SaltyDawg86]

SSB is quite a bit more powerful than VHF. It's still used by commercial vessels and blowboaters. If it works leave it.

It's still a requirement on commercial vessels, I wouldn't necessarily say "used" though.

 

[Boatsb]

Depends on the unit. There's side channels for data and other communications and most guys I know that have them operating are ham operators too. They use them but usually from the dock.

But you can do email and some other basic computer things. Not that its a great way to get high bandwidths but it's pretty cool

 

[Bugsy]

When we cruised from Florida to Grenada, SSB was essential for weather high seas forecasts; weather nets; and, weather map facsimiles. Definitely an adjunct to existing and more popular means of transmitting ( and more importantly) receiving information.

 

[Scarlett]

If it is an Icom 710 or 802 you can get a Pactor modem that is plug and play and a $300.00 a year Sail mail subscription and hook up to a lap top computer and you can do e-mail, no attachments however, like Scott said pretty cool. John

 

[rustybucket]

If it is an Icom 710 or 802 you can get a Pactor modem that is plug and play and a $300.00 a year Sail mail subscription and hook up to a lap top computer and you can do e-mail, no attachments however, like Scott said pretty cool. John

I'm very ignorant on SSB, but if you can send email, you should also be able to send SMS (text messages) to cell phones with it? You can send text messages through email by knowing the carriers email extension and the persons phone number.

For example if you are verizon customer and put your phone number followed by @vtext.com you will send a text to that number.
9991231234@vtext.com

 

[rsmith]

Most offshore guys use them for relaying fishing info. Plus VHF is useless more than 20 mi offshore

 

[racclarkson@gmail.com]

Most offshore guys use them for relaying fishing info. Plus VHF is useless more than 20 mi offshore

Useless?? Did you say useless? Hopefully the statute of limitations has expired on this one. I put a 200 watt amplifier on the VHF aboard my old SeaRay 30 years ago. When I got to Wrightsville Beach one summer they told me they heard me talking to a marina back on Isle of Palms (Charleston) hours earlier. Had to be bouncing off the ionosphere or something. I'm glad I wired a switch into the power supply. I think the antenna must have glowed in the dark from the way that voltmeter headed south. Nobody, but nobody stepped on me. What fun.

 

[rsmith]

Useless?? Did you say useless? Hopefully the statute of limitations has expired on this one. I put a 200 watt amplifier on the VHF aboard my old SeaRay 30 years ago. When I got to Wrightsville Beach one summer they told me they heard me talking to a marina back on Isle of Palms (Charleston) hours earlier. Had to be bouncing off the ionosphere or something. I'm glad I wired a switch into the power supply. I think the antenna must have glowed in the dark from the way that voltmeter headed south. Nobody, but nobody stepped on me. What fun.

VHF is line of site. You could have a million watt linear it wouldn’t matter.

 

[Boatsb]

But in an airplane....

 

[Top Hatt Craig]

I copied a HAM I know at an audio site, his reply... While VHF FM is inexpensive and great for quality communications on the water with nearby boats or shore based VHF setups, HF SSB is a better choice for the high seas where other boats and the shore might be hundreds of miles away. I'm not a boater but I know how HF and VHF propagation differ.There are HF SSB digital modes (sitor, amtor, packtor, winlink, shipcom, etc) and services that provide email or chat-like communication over the air. The commercial services charge a fee while HAM radio operators will often use Winlink. Winlink is tied to the internet by shore based stations and the system allows email exchanges between a boater on the high seas and family and friends on land.And of course there's always HF SSB voice communications.There are also satellite phone based services via Iridium, Inmarsat, Globalstar, but these can be pricey.

 

[krush]

The commercial services charge a fee while HAM radio operators will often use Winlink. Winlink is tied to the internet by shore based stations and the system allows email exchanges between a boater on the high seas and family and friends on land.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like this is not secure and a great way to send your SSN to the prince in Algeria.

 

[Boatsb]

I'm sure its safe Krush. No one woukd take advantage of a sailboater all alone in a foreign country.

 

[Avenger]

Do you still need a license to operate them?

 

[racclarkson@gmail.com]

VHF is line of site. You could have a million watt linear it wouldn’t matter.

Right, but it happened. Sometimes things just do. That day they just did.

 

[Boatsb]

Do you still need a license to operate them?

SSH yes.

VHF should but not always needed.

 

[Scarlett]

You are required to have a ships station license that actually covers all electronics that broadcast a signal which includes VHF, SSB, and even radar, but a lot of people don’t even bother with the license and still use these electronics. The Gov’t does not have the resources to enforce this regulation. John