franksingleton
Well-known member
Offshore and High Seas forecasts are always available in English but may, sometimes, also be broadcast on 618 kHz. The 490 kHz is intended for national use.
Nasa Navtex finally died
- Thread starter Refueler
- Start date
Refueler
Well-known member
Never said it wasn't .. being the originator of the thread and explaining that I no longer sail Channel or North Sea .. that I am in Baltic .. a) Navtex service here is not good, b) I am within mobile coverage a large part of the time .. or at least less than a days sail between service.
I am interested in others criteria for having or not having Navtex - but principally was looking to see what others thought of replacing / continuing use of Navtex on y boat ..
As repeat - if I was sailing in situations where mobile coverage was less and I would like to receive weather and other data - Navtex is the answer.
Refueler
Well-known member
618 ?? Who uses 618 ?
National on 490 .... in Baltic we get Swedish and Estonian on 490 ...
International English is on 518 ... the two above are reported as sending out - but you cannot rely on it as many times I have received nothing on 518 and I know many others with boats have said same here.
Gary Fox
N/A
Since it's free forecasts when out of VHF range, and it's sitting there, garnering info from your chosen stations, using very little power, I would say, why not? The NASA's are dire, go one step upmarket..and RTFM. Also you can NMEA patch into a GPS/plotter, will auto-select stations by location, a fab feature. If mine broke I would get another.
For area 2 distances don't write off BBC 198 kilohertz, I got it in S.Utsire on a portable, for what it's worth...
Useful info from Refueler and Frank ^^
For area 2 distances don't write off BBC 198 kilohertz, I got it in S.Utsire on a portable, for what it's worth...
Useful info from Refueler and Frank ^^
franksingleton
Well-known member
[
I always take reports of poor reception with a pinch of salt. Often, they are from people trying to use NAVTEX in harbour or too near to land. The signal weakens greatly with any land track. It is for use at sea, beyond the fairway buoy. But, like any terrestrial service, reception can be unreliable. Sky wave is the most serious and impossible to deal with.
I never was a good proof reader.
I always take reports of poor reception with a pinch of salt. Often, they are from people trying to use NAVTEX in harbour or too near to land. The signal weakens greatly with any land track. It is for use at sea, beyond the fairway buoy. But, like any terrestrial service, reception can be unreliable. Sky wave is the most serious and impossible to deal with.
franksingleton
Well-known member
Perhaps I misunderstood. I thought that you were saying that li ve NAVTEX could be used at sea. They all can only work on a catch as catch can basis. They cannot distinguish between station received by sky wave and what should have been received. One of the best services is from the DWD. They have pages of messages received at Emden and Rostock 518 and 490 kHz separately.
Overall, what you say is correct. NAVTEX, still has its place for those outside VHF reception range. In the fullness of time, it will die and use of satellite technology will take over. A cynical view is that it is dead but will not lie down.
capnsensible
Well-known member
I agree with those that say it's day is done. Like semaphore.......
Not seen it on any other boat for years. Junked mine a decade ago.
I do miss the annual requests to look out for locust swarms off the n Africa Atlantic coast though. ?
Not seen it on any other boat for years. Junked mine a decade ago.
I do miss the annual requests to look out for locust swarms off the n Africa Atlantic coast though. ?
NormanS
Well-known member
For those who sail in areas where there is good VHF, good mobile phone service, and or good internet, Navtex is old hat, and can probably be forgotten about. For those of us who sail in areas where there is little or no phone signal, so no internet, and in places, very little VHF, Navtex is still very much worth having. Mine is set on 490 for the Inshore Forecast, so although nothing like as good as some of the internet weather forecasts, I can at least get an indication for the next 48 hours. It's also much more convenient than listening for a VHF broadcast at a particular time.
franksingleton
Well-known member
I rarely use ours as we do not, these days, make passages longer than 18 or so hours. But, I would not junk it simply because it is the ultimate fall back. Some years ago coming up the Landes firing ranges, it was the only way that we knew about a jargevsemi-submerged vessel.
lustyd
Well-known member
Phone signal isn't required for Internet, it's one of a great many options and within 20NM of shore might be the most convenient, but there are definitely quite a few alternative affordable (within the context of yachts) alternatives.
franksingleton
Well-known member
Apart from email over HF/SSB and a satellite system, what else is there?
lustyd
Well-known member
You say that like there's one satelite system!
franksingleton
Well-known member
I did say, “A satellite system.” I am not disputing what you say. I am asking for an explanation. I am not a communications expert but I do like to keep up with developments. You clearly know more than I do.
cpedw
Well-known member
I find Navtex to be useful in the parts of NW Scotland where internet access is challenging. I inherited a 2 channel receiver with the boat so each morning I have the latest Shipping Forecast, Inshore Waters Forecast and Extended Outlook to hand. The Extended Outlook in particular is up front about how confident the forecaster is, though sometimes thhey are strangely verbose!
Refueler
Well-known member
I have not totally ruled out replacing the unit ... its just that with present cruising area - its redundant and any info you do get is ?? .
I can be in Gotland in 18hrs ... another 18hrs to Swedish Islands .......... any other destination - I'm literally coast hugging and mobile internet fully available from Poland to Russia ....
