ICOM M700 adaptation for use with Pactor Modem

[Petronella]

A bit of a techie question here and maybe I'd be better off asking on a Ham radio forum but here goes anyway.

Our previous boat had an ICOM M700 HF radio installed with a modification to allow a Pactor modem to be plugged in. Despite warnings that it might not work (http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?203235-Using-Sailmail-with-an-ICOM700-SSB-set&highlight=), it did work for us for many years.

By coincidence our new boat has the same radio but NOT the modification. The modification consisted of a lead that emerged from the back of the radio with a DIN plug on the end of it that I connected to the Pactor modem. Does anyone know what wires have to be intercepted inside the radio for me to make the same modification to the 'new' radio?

It's probably not my worth my while to buy a new radio (cheap replacements gratefully received!) but I would love to get this one working before we cross the Atlantic again next year.

 

[RobbieW]

If you use Facebook I'd try this group "Offshore SSB Radio and Email"

 

[KellysEye]

HF radio Modem and Transmission Media
You need to have a special radio modem to send and receive email via HF (SSB) radio. Most SSB email services providers transmit using a transmission media called PACTOR.
PACTOR modems are manufactured by SCS in Germany.Using PACTOR-3 transmission speeds of 2722 bits per second without data compression can be achieved. PACTOR-4 transmission speeds of 5512 bps without data compression can be achieved. We had one and it worked fine. How to fit a DIN plug: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jp3vl97pCi0&app=desktop

 

[Bilgediver]

A bit of a techie question here and maybe I'd be better off asking on a Ham radio forum but here goes anyway.

Our previous boat had an ICOM M700 HF radio installed with a modification to allow a Pactor modem to be plugged in. Despite warnings that it might not work (http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?203235-Using-Sailmail-with-an-ICOM700-SSB-set&highlight=), it did work for us for many years.

By coincidence our new boat has the same radio but NOT the modification. The modification consisted of a lead that emerged from the back of the radio with a DIN plug on the end of it that I connected to the Pactor modem. Does anyone know what wires have to be intercepted inside the radio for me to make the same modification to the 'new' radio?

It's probably not my worth my while to buy a new radio (cheap replacements gratefully received!) but I would love to get this one working before we cross the Atlantic again next year.

Yes it can be done but as well as giving the pactor modem access to the radio PTT. Line in and Line out you may need to got the M700 modified to operate on the frequencies used by services that use ham frequencies.

It can be fiddly setting the preset frequencies on the M 700 but it seems you may be up to speed with that.

Check out the Sailmail website and also discussions on pactor and winlink on the USA cruisers forum.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f13/winlink-on-icom-m700-168947.html

https://sailmail.com/sailmail-via-web/


Also check out this discussion on a ham forum.

https://www.eham.net/ehamforum/smf/index.php?topic=54480.0#msg361908

 

[Bilgediver]

Further to my earlier reply the actual wires you need to locate are basically the sound to the speaker which becomes the received sound to the Pactor. The Mic. input to the radio which takes the sound from the Pactor . and the PTT voltage which keys the Pactor unit. However it is not likely that the signal levels in the radio will match the levels to suite the Pactor modem so I would expect that an interface would need to be constructed. I started to investigate this however I am finding confusing info regarding your mike socket. The M700 manual suggests this is 7 pin however many other references on the web suggest it is actually 8 pin. One of the easiest way to interface this radio is to construct an interface unit in a wee box that can plug into the mike socket where all the connections you need are located . The interface box will have a socket to take the din plug from the Pactor as well as a socket for the mike. I have one such here which was used between an Icom 290 VHF and a PK232 modem and any ham local to you could make one up for your radio.

You might find more info available on a Sailmail forum However the Cruisersforum.com in the USA has had many threads dealing with this subject.

 

[PilotWolf]

When I was in the UK I had a fairly large ham set up with their radios. They were always very helpful on the phone, especially the technical deptartmenr - might be with a call?

W.

 

[blenkinsop]

Consult Sailcom Marine, based in Bursledon on the Hamble