navtex or ssb?

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robertj

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I'm slowly upgrading my boat loads to do and still going strong at mo now looking at weather forecasting etc.
whats the verdict on navetex or ssb which is the best or most useful?
any ideas?
 
I'm in a similar position (and also fairly new to running a small cruising boat). I was originally keen on the idea of navtex and close to for a NASA Clipper navtex. However I understand now that this system really only broadcasts meteorological and navigational warnings - not the same as weather forecasts. The alternative would be the Weatherman, also NASA.
 
Well, navtex gives you a limited detail overview similar to the coastgaurds broadcast. Weatherfax over SSB will enable you, with a laptop and appropiate software, to have uptodate weather charts of all types. Weatherfax requires you to understand how to make SSB & the laptop talk to one another, as well as being able to read weather charts.

Navtex just sits there and gives you a forecast at set intervals.

SSB with weatherfax is slow, but if you are on long voyages SSB/WF is probably a much better tool than Navtex. If you are coastal and weekends then I dont see wy Navtex cant do the required task.

Navtex is probably the cheaper and more simple to install and configure, especially if you have to buy and install everything from scratch especially if you dont already have a laptop.

There may be self contained "all in one" weatherfax units that dont require a laptop, I dont know.
 
navtex or ssb

If you are going more than 200miles offshore then SSB would be the preferred choice although when I was asking about SSB at LIBS yesterday I was totally put off by the cost --ICOM Transceiver about £2400 then the need for expert fitting,grounding plate bonded to hull,backstay used as an an antenna and much more.

I have a NAV6 navtex on board which I fitted myself. In ideal conditions it will receive from stations up to 300miles away.It gives all the info which I need for sailing in the Med..Weather,traffic info,exclusion zones (active or inactive).Mayday alerts,floating oblects which could be a danger to shipping, instructions for making entry to non EU countries all for a cost of about £400.
The navtex is interfaced with NMEA on board so I have an extra display unit as well as indivIDual display for log,wind Gps
To improve reception i have a small whip aerial mounted on top if receiver unit and if reception is poor then I connect the whip to the backstay with a short length of wire.

There may be some benefit in a receiver only SSB unit but I do no have any info to pass on but would appreciate if someone can tell me about it.
 
I have just completed the ARC as crew on a friend's boat and SSB was an invaluable communications tool. However it does cost megabucks to install a proper system and there were some ARC entrants who found that despite paying professional installers , reception was indifferent.
Unless you are planning an Atlantic crossing or similar within the very near future, go for Navtex. We have had a Navtex 6 on our boat for the past four years and it has served us well. Like all these devices it can sometimes have reception problems ( for example low water in Bradwell when you are below the level of the wall) but generally we have been well satisfied and it has certainly returned the investment handsomely.
 
Navtex and noise...

Navtex in my opinion iss so full of noise about distant and unrelated problems to make it virtually useless.

Icom ssb

Icom hade 2 very small hf/ssb units

Both are the size of a standard car radio

both have transmit and receive

Icom 703 transmits up to only 10 watts and has a built in auto antenna coupler that saves a gread deal. Runs on 12 v.

Icom 706, up to 100 wattts, needs an Icom matching auto antenna coupler.

Both require a backstay antenna, my wife installed Sta Lok insulators in the backstay.

A weatherfax receiver coupled to the ssb/hf is inexpensive and works through the laptop. They are small, about the size of apack of cards and use little power.
 
Although expensive, SSB has proved invaluable for receiving weather forecasts. Using a Pactor modem gives access to Sailmail ($240/year) which gives worldwide email access (no attachments) and access to Saildocs which includes downloads of weather forecasts.
Via Metscan we can also download directly fax transmissions of weather charts.
 
Don't forget NASA do a cheap SSB receiver only.
Depends on your cruising area. Anywhere in Europe - Navtext.
Anywhere else SSB
 
franky said:
If you are going more than 200miles offshore then SSB would be the preferred choice although when I was asking about SSB at LIBS yesterday I was totally put off by the cost --ICOM Transceiver about £2400 then the need for expert fitting,grounding plate bonded to hull,backstay used as an an antenna and much more.

There may be some benefit in a receiver only SSB unit but I do no have any info to pass on but would appreciate if someone can tell me about it.
Click to expand...

OK. If all you want to do is to receive weather info, then the receiver option is much more cost effective. The set itself will be cheaper and you dont need the same quality of aerial nor the grounding plate. Sure an electronics engineer will tell you correctly that the best aerial and earth would be exactly the same as for transmitting but the reality is that the loss of signal strength through compromising in this area is small and something the receiver will easily cope with.

If you wish to transmit, then you do need the backstay aerial or an equivalent ( pal used a long whip) and a decent earth though not necessarily a ground plate. The keel will often work well enough. As for the set, you can use a ham radio which costs maybe £1k new and half that second hand. For the marine bands that will need to be "all banded" which is a simple job for an engineer to bypass the circuits which prevent the set from transmitting only on ham bands. And a ham set will not do DSC as is now standard on marine sets.

Non of this is any real use in my view when you are pottering round the UK coastline and assuming you dont want to take up ham radio. Weather charts and forecasts are much better by 3G off the WWW. or by Navtex. Talking to others is better by VHF or phone. SSB comes into its oiwn when you get out of phone or vhf range
 
I'd go along with bosuns view.

For weather only
offshore 200miles + ssb receiver (nasa is very good) and cheap old laptop maybe £300 total

Transceiver is nice and there are options at around £1000 with a whip aerial and DIY instal, I've havn't done it myself but have used systems of the car radio type Kenwood models if I remember correctly


If it's coastal or cross channel then I think navtex is almost redundant.

Small tablet laptop with solid state memory, or an old laptop at £100-£150 and a pay as you go hook up and you will have up to date choices of weather data plus much more. Or even a large screen phone will give you more than navtex.
 
franky said:
If you are going more than 200miles offshore then SSB would be the preferred choice although when I was asking about SSB at LIBS yesterday I was totally put off by the cost --ICOM Transceiver about £2400 then the need for expert fitting,grounding plate bonded to hull,backstay used as an an antenna and much more.

.
Click to expand...

Ic radios are available from 200 quid. IC706 Mk1 second hand, 200 pounds. Brand new IC7000 900 quid. All ranges in between, all computer controllable if you want.

D
 
robertj said:
I'm slowly upgrading my boat loads to do and still going strong at mo now looking at weather forecasting etc.
whats the verdict on navetex or ssb which is the best or most useful?
any ideas?
Click to expand...

Currently researching this myself Robert.
Have seen the benefit from Natvex/VHF combination for weather forecasts previously (iceland, faroes, herbidies and Ireland). Looking at weather forcast options for the med. (and in English). Looks like Navtex and VHF again.

As already mentioned - Navtex good up to 200-300miles offshore. A two channel set (518kHz & 490kHz) will recieve both international and local station broadcasts every 4 hours. VHF broadcasts (when within range) will provide 2nd source. A decent Navtex set will let you programme what messages (type and regions) you're unit will receive, cutting down on the "noise". I don't think this combination can be beat for both service and setup cost. (Shame not to use t'internet before you cast off too).

Don't see the need to look at SSB/RTTY unless I was planning a cross Atlantic trip. The cost is too prohibitive for me. Then again, general concensus appears to be if you meet weather mid atlantic, there is little you can do to get out of the way anyhow.
 
cimo said:
Currently researching this myself Robert.
Have seen the benefit from Natvex/VHF combination for weather forecasts previously (iceland, faroes, herbidies and Ireland). Looking at weather forcast options for the med. (and in English). Looks like Navtex and VHF again.
Click to expand...

Once had a NASA Weatherman, which ius an SSB set. It works using the weather forecasts from Germany and the forecasts cover the Med. Worth considering
 
Navtex vs Weatherfax

To see a chart of Navtex station coverage, have a look at http://www.pcnavtex.com/AboutNAVTEX/NAVTEXStations/NAVTEXCoverageChart/tabid/66/Default.aspx

Also, bear in mind that you do get what you pay for with radio receivers, including Navtex. Several people have been pleasantly surprised when upgrading from NASA to Furuno or McMurdo.

Weatherfax just needs a receiver, as already stated, and it will give you maps as opposed to text (both give forecasts and the current synopsis). Also, weatherfax will work across any ocean, though it is more fiddly to use, and weatherfax stations are slowly being closed down as ships shift to satellite comms.

Tim
 
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