Atlantic Circuit (and beyond?): SSB - how useful is it?

[Koeketiene]

It's about two years till we cast off (for good?) and we're in the final stages of getting the boat ready for the trip of a lifetime.

When i last sailed across the Atlantic and in the Caribbean (not in my boat) use of SSB was widespread. Lots of nets during the crossing - and, of course, Herb was still around at the time - and plenty of local nets in the Caribbean.
However, I now seem to get the impression that more and more people are switching to some sort of satcom.

Now, I will most likely get some sort of satcom for ship-shore communication (Iridium Go, DeLorme InReach or similar) but is it still worthwhile to install SSB for ship-ship communications? Are there still SSB cruising nets around?

I would not want to go through the expense of installing an SSB kit and obtaining an LRC only to find out that there is no-one to talk to.

 

[Tradewinds]

Well my reply is useless because it's out of date.

But, for what my opinion is worth, it's still another source for weatherfax.

And back in the good old days it was great to hear up-to-date info from other cruisers on places/anchorages etc with handy gps co-ordinates as well. We soon heard about the various informal passage nets and listened/joined in. So you could have several yachts giving useful up-to-date info. Same with medical problems (lots of doctors out cruising). Seemed to have more relevance Caribbean (west) and Pacific, Indonesia etc. Maybe it still has a relevance nowadays despite the one-to-one of the sat phone. The OCC still runs a Caribbean net.

Still having my SSB I wouldn't ditch it for a moment if I was doing a circumnavigation again (or even Caribbean). I'd go for a deLorme in-reach as well.

I wouldn't bother about the LRC - it's only the hams who are keen on licensing (though I did get my LRC way back when). I was never - ever - asked for my licence details on air or officially in any port around the world.And that includes Sudan where some official came along and taped a piece of paper over the radio buttons so you couldn't use it in port.

Why don't you see how you go without it? Out on the other side, if you find you'd like to go down the SSB route there is always someone on a yacht who knows about these things and you'll probably get a cheap secondhand set-up that will do the job without the £/$ pain.



Cue TCM for his input

 

[john_q]

I have been out here for 11 years and once we are clear of the dock, the SSB Radio is used every day, still loads of nets going on and it is a very good source of up to date/non third party/chinese whisper information, daily weather and occasionally safety issues.

Chris Parker (the weather man) has installed new equipment and directional aerials this year and is now booming in but you need to listen at the times he is pointing in your direction

 

[Tradewinds]

I have been out here for 11 years and once we are clear of the dock, the SSB Radio is used every day, still loads of nets going on and it is a very good source of up to date/non third party/chinese whisper information, daily weather and occasionally safety issues.

Chris Parker (the weather man) has installed new equipment and directional aerials this year and is now booming in but you need to listen at the times he is pointing in your direction

Good to know.

 

[Ashman]

I thought about this a lot but I didn't go down the SSB transceiver route because of the initial setup outlay although admittedly once you've got it there's no further expenditure. Instead I bought an Iridium phone, a good antenna and signed up with Mailasail for airtime and email access and so far its all performed very well.

We left the UK two years ago and sailed to the Canaries, Cap Verde Islands, Brazil and then north through the Caribbean, Bahamas and we are now in Florida still north bound.

I use the Iridium to download GRIB files daily and when we got to the Bahamas we signed up for Chris Parker's excellent daily email weather service. Some Americans we have spoken to used both Chris Parker's SSB forecast and also backed it up with his daily email because they said it was sometimes difficult to write as quickly as Chris spoke!

The nets throughout the Caribbean and Bahamas were on the VHF so we didn't miss out much on the daily news and contact.
In the US the Coastguard constantly broadcast a good local weather forecast on VHF but our European ICOM set wouldn't receive it so we invested in a cheap US handheld set so we could.

The Iridium phone (the Extreme model as it has the DSC type service with built in gps ) and antenna cost me around £1400 and when we are on the move I use about 50 minutes of airtime a month.

.......but I am thinking now of buying a low cost SSB receiver just so I can pickup Navtext as we move north!

 

[temptress]

I thought about this a lot but I didn't go down the SSB transceiver route because of the initial setup outlay although admittedly once you've got it there's no further expenditure. Instead I bought an Iridium phone, a good antenna and signed up with Mailasail for airtime and email access and so far its all performed very well.

We left the UK two years ago and sailed to the Canaries, Cap Verde Islands, Brazil and then north through the Caribbean, Bahamas and we are now in Florida still north bound.

I use the Iridium to download GRIB files daily and when we got to the Bahamas we signed up for Chris Parker's excellent daily email weather service. Some Americans we have spoken to used both Chris Parker's SSB forecast and also backed it up with his daily email because they said it was sometimes difficult to write as quickly as Chris spoke!

The nets throughout the Caribbean and Bahamas were on the VHF so we didn't miss out much on the daily news and contact.
In the US the Coastguard constantly broadcast a good local weather forecast on VHF but our European ICOM set wouldn't receive it so we invested in a cheap US handheld set so we could.

The Iridium phone (the Extreme model as it has the DSC type service with built in gps ) and antenna cost me around £1400 and when we are on the move I use about 50 minutes of airtime a month.

.......but I am thinking now of buying a low cost SSB receiver just so I can pickup Navtext as we move north!

We did exactly the same. Am considering a SSB for our upcoming trip into the Pacific but have not made my mind up yet. IMO Satphone is the future, I am trying to decide weather it is here now or I still need an SSB. In the 90's when I went off an SSB was the only option and very useful. When refitted our current boat in 2013 we decided not to have an SSB.

 

[Oscarpop]

for what its worth, we went through the same decision making process last year. We are now one month from our leave date and decided to opt for both sat phone and SSB.
The sat phone was an e bay job. cost about £300 and seems to work fine. We also paired this to a Mailasail Redbox, which allows you to send compressed e mails through the satellite phone, wirelessly using iPads and any other device. This makes weather and comms for our crew very very easy as they just do what they normally do with e mails. So far we have tested all this and it works well.
As for the SSB, well it is a bloody ordeal to go from nothing to being set up. We purchased an icom802 from ebay (£1000). Took it to Icom to check it and reset the MMSI number (£30). Then purchased the antenna tuner from ebay (£300). Again, a trip to Icom. Installation , running the wiring, counterpoise system (£100)and having a rigger sort out an insulated backstay (£500)
Then there is the pactor modem (£1000) and the training (£500). Not to mention a night in the hotel in Southampton (£100), and the sailmail subscription ($250 p/a).
The software doesn't support anything Apple based, so we had to buy a windows laptop (£200). Which I hate.

However. after all this whining, it does work. Albeit at 1990 internet speeds.

I figured that this was at best a punt. We are planning a circumnavigation, and i hope that the further we are from home, the more useful it will be . It also gives me a huge amount of pleasure tinkering with it.

One option that we did consider ( plan B so to speak) was the used sat phone connected to a wireless router, then an Eton Global traveller SW radio. This costs £100 and allows you to listen in on SSB frequencies. We have it and was a good way of starting out.
Now I use it to listen to radio 4 as we sail down the coast, which upsets my girlfriend as she say I'm turning into an old man.

Hope this helps.

 

[madian2]

We're going off sailing in April after many years of prep - we've got SSB installed but we don't know if we made the right decision yet. We've also got Delorme Inreach Tracker. We bought the SSB second hand from a couple who had done a circumnavigation and the lady couldn't imagine not having it, she said it was invaluable for networking, and if you like to chat, network and keep in touch whilst sailing then you will enjoy the SSB. It made sense at the time so we bought it - time will tell if it's the right decision. Not a cheap option though, and don't forget to factor in the training, overnight stay in Southampton, exam fees etc.

 

[Monique]

OR4751 & Temptress,

I am planning a RTW and chose a new Icom 801E with Pactor 4 and Sailmail. I also have Satellite email via DelormeInReach tracker.

Just saying...

 

[Tradewinds]

We're going off sailing in April after many years of prep - we've got SSB installed but we don't know if we made the right decision yet. We've also got Delorme Inreach Tracker. We bought the SSB second hand from a couple who had done a circumnavigation and the lady couldn't imagine not having it, she said it was invaluable for networking, and if you like to chat, network and keep in touch whilst sailing then you will enjoy the SSB. It made sense at the time so we bought it - time will tell if it's the right decision. Not a cheap option though, and don't forget to factor in the training, overnight stay in Southampton, exam fees etc.

Which is what I said (more or less) in my post #2.

It depends on the type of cruiser that's out there in this day and age. Technology/trends move so quickly and if the majority are into satphones then it might get lonely on the ssb..

For those of us who have ssb/ham it's a no-brainer.

For those who haven't it's a more difficult decision.

That's why I said to the OP - wait until you're on your way and across on the other side where you'll have a clearer idea of the way to go. Loads of opportunities to pick up a cheap rig in the Caribbean I would have thought.

 

[Koeketiene]

Which is what I said (more or less) in my post #2.

It depends on the type of cruiser that's out there in this day and age. Technology/trends move so quickly and if the majority are into satphones then it might get lonely on the ssb.

For those of us who have ssb/ham it's a no-brainer.

For those who haven't it's a more difficult decision.

My fear/worry in a nutshell.

And going by the posts so far, I'm not alone in this.

That's why I said to the OP - wait until you're on your way and across on the other side where you'll have a clearer idea of the way to go. Loads of opportunities to pick up a cheap rig in the Caribbean I would have thought.

I have already bought a cheap/dated SSB (Icom M800 with ATU).
However, now considering the not inconsiderable costs of fitting it and the training (LRC). I know some of you have never been asked for the LRC, but I'm reluctant to take that chance.
I am also reluctant to fit bits of kit right before departure or once underway. Ideally I want to have to have the boat fully kitted out one year before departure so that I will have one year to fiddle around with and test all the gear.

 

[RobbieW]

We did exactly the same. Am considering a SSB for our upcoming trip into the Pacific but have not made my mind up yet. IMO Satphone is the future, I am trying to decide weather it is here now or I still need an SSB. In the 90's when I went off an SSB was the only option and very useful. When refitted our current boat in 2013 we decided not to have an SSB.

There was an article on the CA forums last year, instigated by Frank Singleton, that referenced some material and concerns of one of the Pacific SSB net controllers - the chap that operates from Borneo - I think it was on here as well but cant find a link at the moment. Heres a link to the discussion on Cruisers Forum though - http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f121/ssb-or-satphone-52639-13.html (you dont need to read the whole thread, the position is summarised quite well in post 184)

In essence the argument is that due to the remoteness of many Pacific passages sat phone cannot replace SSB as a 'get you out of a hole' service. Its the essential difference between broadcast (SSB) and point to point (sat phone) that makes this so, to the extent that organised long distance racing in Pacific generally requires SSB (with DSC working so the ham sets dont meet requirements). Atlantic passages are rarely as remote as Pacific making sat phone viable for those not wishing to make the investment in SSB.

 

[Tradewinds]

Ideally I want to have to have the boat fully kitted out one year before departure so that I will have one year to fiddle around with and test all the gear.

If you think that once you've done your fitting out in the UK you've finished then you'll be one of the very few that doesn't get fit-out-isis in some foreign port where yachts gather in the off-season!!

As I recall, it didn't cost me much to fit my 2hd-hand SSB set-up. It was only routing the cable, fitting the ATU in the aft cabin and drilling 2 holes for the sintered plate (out of the water!). I did it all myself. I completely understand your reluctance not to have an LRC but I was just putting across the reality of the situation.

As you become a long-term full-time cruiser/traveller you will lose some of your present inhibitions and reluctances - I did.

Good luck with your plans - you only live once.

 

[john_q]

Why not dip your toe in the water and get a receiver, this will allow you to pick up weather and listen to the nets and then be in a position to decide if you pay the money to be able to transmit as well?

We started out with a Lowe receiver

 

[capnsensible]

You may not want to fit it somewhere exotic but you will have to fix things there!

After 17 years of living aboard, we are reducing the amount of stuff we cart about rather than adding on.....

An SSB was never on my list!

 

[KellysEye]

SSB is still the lifeblood of cruising: you can get weather forecasts and faxes, ocean cruising nets, anchorage nets and keep in touch with other boats you know. The Caribbean Safety and Security net is still there. It was the best bit of kit after a Hydrovane wind vane which doesn't use power, doesn't eat, doesn't sleep and is an extra crew member.

 

[ip485]

I fitted a fleet broad band and an icom on the basis the icom does all the voice stuff and the broadband the data. I am not keen on a pactor simply on grounds of speed. The fleet broad band has surprised me just how quick and reliable the connection is.

 

[oldvarnish]

and drilling 2 holes for the sintered plate (out of the water!).

There's a way round that which doesn't involve drilling, or hauling out.

http://www.kiss-ssb.com

If you know what you're doing you can make one yourself - but this works for me, and v easy to fit.

 

[Koeketiene]

There's a way round that which doesn't involve drilling, or hauling out.

http://www.kiss-ssb.com

If you know what you're doing you can make one yourself - but this works for me, and v easy to fit.

Got the KISS ground as well. :encouragement:

This has not been mentioned before: has anyone got an idea how much it would cost to isolate the backstay?
Rough figure - just to have an idea when I contact a rigger.
Thanks

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Cost of a new backstay plus two insulators and the riggers time, depends on whether they will do it with the mast up or not but if they do then about £250 if they take the mast down put another £150 or more on the top.