Anyone using SSB in Europe?

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MBullock

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Hi all,
just wondering if anyone is using SSB in the Med/Europe? I'm just looking to arrange a chat to test my install. I'm pretty sure we're all good as I'm sending e-mail using sailmail via Belgium (from West Scotland) but it would be good to test voice quality too.

Very pleased with the system, and the Pactor modem. One thing that has been good is a grounding system that doesn't require any holes through the hull. check out www.kiss-ssb.com, seem to deliver exactly as promised. Out yacht already has a traditional ground but I'm now using that for the Navtex which has improved it's reception quality considerably.

It's not using anywhere near the amps I thought it would, and using saildocs I can get text versions of web sites, plus all my weather etc. for next to nothing. Glad I went SSB first instead of SatPhone. First real test will be when we ship out up to Orkney, then Norway next month.

cheers, Malc
 
MBullock said:
Hi all,
just wondering if anyone is using SSB in the Med/Europe? I'm just looking to arrange a chat to test my install. I'm pretty sure we're all good as I'm sending e-mail using sailmail via Belgium (from West Scotland) but it would be good to test voice quality too.

Very pleased with the system, and the Pactor modem. One thing that has been good is a grounding system that doesn't require any holes through the hull. check out www.kiss-ssb.com, seem to deliver exactly as promised. Out yacht already has a traditional ground but I'm now using that for the Navtex which has improved it's reception quality considerably.

It's not using anywhere near the amps I thought it would, and using saildocs I can get text versions of web sites, plus all my weather etc. for next to nothing. Glad I went SSB first instead of SatPhone. First real test will be when we ship out up to Orkney, then Norway next month.

cheers, Malc
Click to expand...

Have you looked at Winlink. This could provide additional routes for e mail messages and some Winlink stations run both pactor3 and Winink software modems.

Pactor can work at low power settings so no need to tturn up the wick more than necessary. Even though some radio manufacturers say they can cope with 100% duty cycles it is still possible to destroy the PA transistors on full power .

If you run an 802 and damage the transmitter to the extent it blows fuses then for receive only of faxes and navtex you can disconnect the transmit PA section so you can run on receive only and the fuses do not blow.

I usually run on 20 metres here so no good for working West of Scotland.
 
I plan to get my rig up and running in May, based in the North Adriatic. I do not have a ground yet but if I do get something sorted out I will try WinMore.
This uses the sound card of PC as modem.
call sign ZL1ASM
 
WINMOR

In a couple of previous posts WINMOR (the sound card protocol) is misspelled and, I think, mistaken for Winlink. Some of the Winlink gateways support both Pactor and WINMOR protocols but you need a ham id to access those gateways.
 
>just wondering if anyone is using SSB in the Med/Europe?

It's very rare to non-existant. Technically there is a Med net but nobody uses it which is a shame. For example, outside Europe there are lots of nets from from ocean to weather to safety and security to marina nets including such things as social events, things for sale, help with repairs. As I always say it's the lifeblood of long distance cruising.
 
SW UK do?

If you've a call sign you care to post (here, or by pm), and a frequency suggestion and time, I'll try to call you this w/e if you like. Only a relatively short path, since I'll be in Cornwall not the med. I suspect that 3.5 or 7MHz bands (ie '80m' or '40m') will be best.

I assume you've an amateur band set up, but we could also try an inter-ship call if you're licensed for that (again, we'd have to pick a channel, time and need to know each other's call signs). Could even try it by DSC.

I'm afraid it would only be voice since I can not transmit TTY or HF Fax. However I have arranged with a friend to try sending me both a fax and a TTY message this coming weekend (from Bedford), so I could let you know when and on which frequency he's sending and you could also try to receive them. Like you, I'm checking the set-up prior to setting off in a few weeks.
 
MBullock said:
Hi all,
just wondering if anyone is using SSB in the Med/Europe? I'm just looking to arrange a chat to test my install. I'm pretty sure we're all good as I'm sending e-mail using sailmail via Belgium (from West Scotland) but it would be good to test voice quality too.

Very pleased with the system, and the Pactor modem. One thing that has been good is a grounding system that doesn't require any holes through the hull. check out www.kiss-ssb.com, seem to deliver exactly as promised. Out yacht already has a traditional ground but I'm now using that for the Navtex which has improved it's reception quality considerably.

It's not using anywhere near the amps I thought it would, and using saildocs I can get text versions of web sites, plus all my weather etc. for next to nothing. Glad I went SSB first instead of SatPhone. First real test will be when we ship out up to Orkney, then Norway next month.

cheers, Malc
Click to expand...

Don´t think I can help much with the main question, sounds like you are on marine ssb. If you can recieve\transmit on the ham bands then wspr can be useful to check how your set is doing http://wsprnet.org/drupal/

Also, have you checked out the DWD forecasts on 10.1Mhz? Frank has some info here .. http://weather.mailasail.com/Franks-Weather/Radio-Teletype-Weather-Broadcasts

Jvcomm will decode them, set ..
Type - baudot
baudrate - 50
shift - 450
centre freq - 800.

Some very good weather info for the north sea and some for Norway also.

Good luck with it all :)
 
I will be sailing in the Adriatic and further west in July/Aug/Sept.
Would be interested in testing/signal reports with fellow onboard hams.
One poss time would be after Med net which finishes around 0600Z.

Germans can be quite active on 14313 late afternoon.
An English net early eve would be nice!
We could try the new extended 40mtr band up to 7200.
Not so crowded as below 7100.
Altho realise this may be diff for Marine sets.

What do the more experienced suggest!?

Med/Atlantic Maritime HF NETS plus RFI/BBC fcsts

Med Net 05.30 UTC 8122 (occ 8131/8107/8104)

Dragnet 06.00 UTC 6516 MHz Western Med (never heard)

Med Net 07,00 UTC 7.085 MHz (never heard)

British Maritime Net 0800 UTC 14.303 MHz

Monaco Radio 09.30 UTC 8728/13146 (AM)

RFI Atlantic fcst 11.30 UTC 15.300 Mhz (AM) (plus6175,17570,21645)

BBC R4 Ship fcst 0048,0520,1201,1754 UTC/BST 198 (AM)

South Atlantic Net 1140 UTC 14.316 MHz

Canadian Maritime Net 1230 UTC 14.1225 MHz "Mississauga"

OCC NE (Maine) summer net 07.30EDT 4045 MHz
Cruiseheimer's/US East coast 08.30EDT 8137 MHz

Transatlantic MaritimeMobile Net 1300 UTC 21.400 MHz

South Africa Net 16.00 UTC 21.365 MHz
German Maritime net 16.30 UTC 14.313 MHz

British Maritime Net 1800 UTC 14.303 MHz

Italian Maritime Net 1900 UTC 14.2975 MHz
Alfredo IK6JF 1900 UTC 14306 MHz

Herb Hilgenberger Southbound 11 Net 19.30/20.00 Z 12.359 MHz
 
whipper_snapper said:
Ah yes, the worlds most expensive pieces of wire for those lacking a pair of pliers and a tape measure.
Click to expand...

:)

I was just reading their blurb and thinking that I'm in the wrong business!

An 80m radial compressed into ten feet is going to have an interesting radiation resistance.
 
Love the KISS-SSB

Two years ago I had just made the mistake of having nearly 100 feet of 4 inch copper foil and a large bronze ground plate installed. The SSB worked just fine, but two months later I was anchored by a couple that had just received a KISS-SSB and was about to install it in their boat. We decided to compare it with my new copper since it is just a one wire connection. I contacted another cruiser that was nearly 1,000 miles away and we tested our signal strength with each on my boat. The kiss worked better and we were told it had a stronger signal. Reception improved slightly, and transmission improved even more. Since then I have replaced my copper ground plane with the kiss and couldn't be happier. I have an external SWR/PWR meter onboard and while I was installing the kiss I compared the two and found that the kiss had a better SWR rating and was putting out more wattage. I often do net-control, Sailmail, weather fax and use it on all the ham bands too.
For the price and simplicity of installation you can not beat the kiss for your ground plane. I have a ham friend that attempted to make his own and was never able to get a good SWR reading through out the whole marine HF frequencies. He now uses a kiss in his attic along with a long wire also in the attic and says he is working the world. We talk often and we both have strong signals. Just thought I would throw in my two cents.
 
Oh, I'm sure that KISS works more or less as well as a copper ground-plane - neither is a good, resonant earth! It's amazing how far you can transmit on a random piece of wire - and lets face it, all boat antennae are effectively random pieces of wire - you need something the size of a small cruise liner to put up a resonant antenna for 2MHz! Even at 14MHz the antenna has to be substantially compressed to fit in most yachts.

My problem with the KISS is that it's a hell of a lot of money for a few lengths of wire coiled up...
 
tri39 said:
RFI Atlantic fcst 11.30 UTC 15.300 Mhz (AM) (plus6175,17570,21645)


...

Italian Maritime Net 1900 UTC 14.2975 MHz
Alfredo IK6JF 1900 UTC 14306 MHz

Herb Hilgenberger Southbound 11 Net 19.30/20.00 Z 12.359 MHz
Click to expand...

update
Unfortunately, RFI has stopped broadcasting their bulletin on Jan 1st this year, it's a real pity it was the only bulletin covering the whole of the Atlantic crossing E-W

The Italian maritime net and Alfredo are the same, he does not use 14297.5 any more but works on 14306.
He does the net when required, that is you must send him an email beforehand and he will be on air. Look for Italian maritime mobile net "iarms" on the internet and you will find his email. He is a really nice guy, of course the net is held in English and Italian.
I plan to cross from the Carib to Acores in a couple of weeks time, and hopefully will be in touch with him, if anhone wants to join.. :smile:


Herb I have not heard anything on several occasions during the last few weeks, his site states he will only talk to people contacting him beforehand because of some problems which occurred lately.
 
I am not going to claim any first hand experience, but I quite liked the idea of Yacht-funk (I think it's http://yacht-funk.com ). They have a paint that you paint a chunk of the "bilge" with and that becomes your ground plane. I guess with a rough glass matt finish on a bilge that would even improve the amount of surface area? Seems like a neat and simple idea - lots of the ARC boats seem to use it.

I have no involvement and can't even claim to have heard of someone doing an A-B comparison. Simply that the idea seems straightforward and looks theoretically very nice.


As an aside, several folks here seem to take an "sat phone OR ssb" approach. I personally think they serve complimentary purposes. It would be a bit like saying "shall we take mobile phone or walkie talkies" - they both have their uses and arguably they don't even overlap all that much. Consider using both for their most effective purposes - we have a lot of customers with both (and don't forget it's not an OR vs wifi or cell phones either - sadly you kind of need one of everything...)

Good luck - happy cruising!
 
tri39 said:
Thanks for the update Roberto.
Who are you talking or listening to in the Atlantic!?
Click to expand...

for the moment just email/data with winmor my long time favourite, I have made my first longish passages singlehanded (850 miles +500 plus a few shorter ones) and wanted to experience a little actual loneliness so just used the radio for zbzbzbbzbzbzzgrrrrrr *message sent* :smile:

oh and also trying to understand the subtleties of the US voice bulletin, they have changed the areas at the beginning of April and I still have difficulties in finding any agreement with the content they show on the internet and the text actually being read by "Mechanical Mike" voice, plus the bulletins are almost 45 minutes long, one waits until the end pen in his hand and his own area is not even mentioned...

I think I'll leave from here Martinique for the Açores in about a couple of weeks, I'll get in touch with Alfredo to see if he is available for a regular schedule, otherwise try to check in in the other nets (esp the UK one G4FRN on 14303).

Another very active frequency (though I only heard Spanish being spoken) is 14360/14370 at 2300UTC, "Rueda de los navegantes", one land station in the Canary and one in the Açores.
Interestingly, the frequency is just outside the amateur bands so basically it'a pirate frequency, yet the very King of Spain awarded medals and honours to Rafael del Castillo (the guy running the canary station) because he provides an excellent service to sailors and has often been of great help during distress situations.





Agree with mailasail about the complementarity between ssb and sat phone, with the radio I could cover all my needs, yet this year I am bringing the boat back alone and just to hear the voice of my two daughters from time to time I took a satphone with me :blush:
 
MBullock said:
Hi all,
just wondering if anyone is using SSB in the Med/Europe? I'm just looking to arrange a chat to test my install. I'm pretty sure we're all good as I'm sending e-mail using sailmail via Belgium (from West Scotland) but it would be good to test voice quality too.
Click to expand...

Just had a thought, why not download this?

http://www.sdr-radio.com/

then you can have a listen through various stations around Europe, see if you are getting recieved.
 
SSB Radio Communication Live

MBullock said:
Hi all,
just wondering if anyone is using SSB in the Med/Europe? I'm just looking to arrange a chat to test my install. I'm pretty sure we're all good as I'm sending e-mail using sailmail via Belgium (from West Scotland) but it would be good to test voice quality too.

Very pleased with the system, and the Pactor modem. One thing that has been good is a grounding system that doesn't require any holes through the hull. check out www.kiss-ssb.com, seem to deliver exactly as promised. Out yacht already has a traditional ground but I'm now using that for the Navtex which has improved it's reception quality considerably.

It's not using anywhere near the amps I thought it would, and using saildocs I can get text versions of web sites, plus all my weather etc. for next to nothing. Glad I went SSB first instead of SatPhone. First real test will be when we ship out up to Orkney, then Norway next month.

cheers, Malc
Click to expand...


Please check in every morning, Livestream for the Med Net at 5:30 UTC on 8.131khz and Drag Net at 6:00 UTC on 6.516khz .

http://livestream.com/yachtfunk

I´ve you want to check your own SSB transmission, please sent me an e-mail with your location and i switch the Receiver to your frequency and you can listen your audio with a delay of 5sec over the Livestream.

Thanks for the 6 cruiser to use the SSB Live Stream yesterday to test they Equipment over more than 1000 miles. It was a lot of fun for me. In the future we plan to bring the receiver to an external server an you can change by your self the frequency for an ssb Check. At this moment the receiver is located in the middle of germany, we plan 2 or 3 more receiver online ( Balearic Island , Canary Island and the Azores ). But we need contact for locations for install the receivers . We need Internet DSL with 24/7 , and little space for the Antenna . It´s not a big antenna online a magnetic Loop. Later i take 2 photos of the equipment. I Ve there anybody to help with the location, it´s very helpful for us .

There is also a APP for iPhone for the Livestream ;-)


cheers, Joerg from Yachtfunk.com
 
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