Old Furuno Weather fax usefull or not ?

[BartW]

This weatherfax hasn’t been used for years
I don’t know how to operate,
Could this be usefull, or better leave it out and use that space for control switches and display from ao the 24V/240V invertor ?

for weather forcast, we have plenty of windfinder display's on the boat (PC, Ipad, Iphone)

Same question for this sat telephone dome (the small dome on the radar arch, on Port side) ?

would like to place a empty Intellian dome on that position, same size as the TV sat dish on SB side

 

[Bilgediver]

This weatherfax hasn’t been used for years
I don’t know how to operate,
Could this be usefull, or better leave it out and use that space for control switches and display from ao the 24V/240V invertor ?

for weather forcast, we have plenty of windfinder display's on the boat (PC, Ipad, Iphone)

Same question for this sat telephone dome (the small dome on the radar arch, on Port side) ?

would like to place a empty Intellian dome on that position, same size as the TV sat dish on SB side

The fax can still be used to collect weather faxes if working. You need to set it up for the stations you need to use so it sits on the right frequency at the right time in order to get the right fax. This is usually straightforward if the manual is available. More of use for long distance sailors.


Many folk would love your SSB which can be fitted with a free running processor giving access to the Ham BAnds. I have used one of these on our oil rigs for operating ham sitor and pactor.


http://ebooks-4-u.biz/PDFfiles/Skanti/Sailor4000.pdf

 

[BartW]

The fax can still be used to collect weather faxes if working. You need to set it up for the stations you need to use so it sits on the right frequency at the right time in order to get the right fax. This is usually straightforward if the manual is available. More of use for long distance sailors.


Many folk would love your SSB which can be fitted with a free running processor giving access to the Ham BAnds. I have used one of these on our oil rigs for operating ham sitor and pactor.


http://ebooks-4-u.biz/PDFfiles/Skanti/Sailor4000.pdf

Many thanks for posting BD
Do you think that the fax can give me usefull info , or advantages ?
Compared to online info ?

The SSB is out of order, but due to your and others advice, i will leave it there, and one day I might test my former electronic skills

Thanks for the diagrams !

 

[MapisM]

Do you think that the fax can give me usefull info, or advantages ? Compared to online info ?

Absolutely not.
I also have a Furuno 207 onboard, and actually I always turn it on at the beginning of each season, just to check if it still works. Never missed a beat.
But as a matter of fact, since the advent of UMTS dongles/routers, I've not used it anymore.
The web gives a zillion more info than meteofax/navtex.
Only advantage of course is the coverage, because it always works regardless of how far you are from the coast (as SSB does).
No big deal in the Med, though.

 

[Bilgediver]

Many thanks for posting BD
Do you think that the fax can give me usefull info , or advantages ?
Compared to online info ?

The SSB is out of order, but due to your and others advice, i will leave it there, and one day I might test my former electronic skills

Thanks for the diagrams !

How much use the fax is depends on where you sail. It operates on the short wave bands so will reliably pick up faxes up to 8000 mles plus from the shore so you effectively have ocean cover once you know the stations and timings.

For uk faxes in UK waters Northwood transmits many faxes and I expect has been set up in this for the Synopsis at T and synopsis at T+24 which are usually on the hour.

Here is a chart of timings from Franks page. For Northwood the 4610 KHZ frequency is best up here in Scotland however if you are doon sooth then maybe 2618.5 is a good one.

If you have lost the manual then Furuno are still around.


http://weather.mailasail.com/Franks-Weather/Radiofax-Schedules-Northwood-And-Offenbach


Furuno Manual
http://www.furunousa.com/ProductDocuments/FAX207 Operator's Manual F1 1-16-03.pdf

How to use faxes
http://www.furunousa.com/ProductDocuments/How to Use Radio FAX.pdf

 

[BartW]

How much use the fax is depends on where you sail. It operates on the short wave bands so will reliably pick up faxes up to 8000 mles plus from the shore so you effectively have ocean cover once you know the stations and timings.

For uk faxes in UK waters Northwood transmits many faxes and I expect has been set up in this for the Synopsis at T and synopsis at T+24 which are usually on the hour.

Here is a chart of timings from Franks page. For Northwood the 4610 KHZ frequency is best up here in Scotland however if you are doon sooth then maybe 2618.5 is a good one.

If you have lost the manual then Furuno are still around.


http://weather.mailasail.com/Franks-Weather/Radiofax-Schedules-Northwood-And-Offenbach


Furuno Manual
http://www.furunousa.com/ProductDocuments/FAX207 Operator's Manual F1 1-16-03.pdf

How to use faxes
http://www.furunousa.com/ProductDocuments/How to Use Radio FAX.pdf

thanks again BD,



any idea about the satphone ?
GEOLINK is written on the dome,
hasn't been used for years,
better remove ?

 

[Bilgediver]

thanks again BD,
any idea about the satphone ?
GEOLINK is written on the dome,
hasn't been used for years,
better remove ?

Geolink were agents for Iridium. This is an inexpensive option compared to some.
You might get more info raising the question on the live aboard forum as a few there use these.

Can you detect the actual make of the sat phone or are all items re badged to Geolink

You can get pay as you go sims as well as contracts. Iridium can be used for email and there are software systems for compressing the emails.

 

[BartW]

You might get more info raising the question on the live aboard forum as a few there use these.

good idea thanks !