dgadee
Well-Known Member
No - seems to do everything, including dancing. If it works, that is. Didn't look as though it did when I had the survey done, but may just have been a switch missed.
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Navtex - had it's day?
- Thread starter dgadee
- Start date
No - seems to do everything, including dancing. If it works, that is. Didn't look as though it did when I had the survey done, but may just have been a switch missed.
AngusMcDoon
Well-Known Member
KellysEye
Well-Known Member
If you are coastal sailing why not just use the coastguard forecasts. For long distance sailing I wouldn't use Navtex, SSB is the way to go. You can get weather faxes, voice weather, ocean cruising nets, local nets in marinas and big anchorages, plus talk to other cruisers. It's the lifeblood of cruising.
NormanS
Well-Known Member
For at least two reasons:-
You may well be in a place with no CG VHF comms. Navtex cover is much superior to VHF cover.
To get the CG Forecast you have to listen at a particular time, which may be inconvenient, or you might not even be aboard.
2nd_apprentice
Well-Known Member
Dunno but I'd say if you fell overboard the weather forecast is probably not going to be all that important.
NormanS
Well-Known Member
OK, I'll spell it out in small words.
If you sail along the shore, some times you go ashore, for stores, or a walk. If you are on the shore, you will not hear the VHF. Navtex will record the forecast for you. Get it?
aslabend
Well-Known Member
You can filter out ice reports around Guernsey without worrying too much.
I tend to include the piracy warnings when off Essex though
jbweston
Well-Known Member
+1.
Yes the technology is a bit old fashioned (read tried-and-tested) and it doesn't work well in harbour (where I can get internet or stroll up to the harbour office to read the weather printout), but I find it a great piece of kit. One of the most useful bits of electronics on the boat.
And mine's a cheap-and-cheerful NASA Clipper.
2nd_apprentice
Well-Known Member
Easier to simply ask the harbour master when you're ashore. Joking aside although I have a Navtex box (which unfortunately does not allow filtering of any kind) I never needed it for coastal sailing. As last resort there's always the shipping forecast on longwave that I could tape-record but mobile phone reception has very rarely been a problem for me. Including places like Orkney and the west coast of Scotland.
Davegriff
Well-Known Member
Err, yes, very observant. That's why I asked the question.......
It's a Navtex aerial and it works fine with my Navtex Pro, so was asking if a switched one might also work (to give me more 'coverage').
xeitosaphil
Well-Known Member
I also have a Navtex Pro and have two aerials one 490 KHz and one 518 KHz which are switchable, so you can tune to which ever frequency you wish? At present I use 490 KHz as local coastal cruising and I also don’t speak French?
Coverage Stations and Messages are down to how you tune the reception?
Davegriff
Well-Known Member
Thanks, that I think answers my question. Probably 'coverage' wasn't really the word I was looking for - 'options' I quess would have been better. Must have been having a senior moment.
xeitosaphil
Well-Known Member
Just one thing that occurred to me, I am not sure how old my set is as it came fitted to the boat so before you go out and buy an aerial it might be an idea to check if yours will run on two different aerials. The new ones run on a dual purpose aerial. Might be sensible to ring Nasa with your set serial number and ask them?
Just a thought
Phil
Twister_Ken
Well-Known Member
OK, ladies and gents - any consensus about which is the best standalone Navtex solution on the market at the mo, without going silly money? And please don't mention NASA, had one, hated it. And the ICS one needed a ludicrously large aerial last time I looked.
xeitosaphil
Well-Known Member
If I had'nt already got one I think I would have gone for a Furuno NX300D Navtex, only thing is the size of the unit and cost.
NormanS
Well-Known Member
My NASA Navtex works perfectly, thankyou. Obviously you do have to programme it to get what you want out of it.
I don't think a more expensive one arranges better weather for you, unfortunately.
steve6367
Well-Known Member
I think it depends on where and how you sail really - for what I do coastal day sailing 99% of the time I've never had a problem getting a forecast either on VHF or the internet. The internet being especially useful for weather maps etc. I can see Navtex would be useful of you were off for a more extended cruise however.
Steve
Steve
AHoy2
Well-Known Member
I have gone for Navtex and Weather Fax applications on my Android tablet and phone, can be programmed to automatically switch on and receive selected stations/transmissions and record the data. I have suitable Sony and HAM receivers so effectively a free solution, the cost of a multi-band receiver is a lot less than a navtex unit.
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AngusMcDoon
Well-Known Member
Furuno NX300.
charles_reed
Well-Known Member
As a chat-link for navigation changes Navtex is indispensable. It's never been much good for weather forecasts, being to late and covering too short a time-span.
Perhaps overstating the case - non ECDIS navigation software (which are most leisure systems) certainly excludes use for navigation - but there are few commercial vessels who don't use it now - in fact some now don't carry any paper charts, or so I'm told.