SSB in the UK

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ip485

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SSB seems so little used in the UK.

Having just installed a SSB I wonder whether anyone might want to run an occasional UK net - perhaps at the weekend at a set time.

You can see how little I know about SSB. I am surrounded in the marina by some reasonably tall buildings but I assume that I should be able to transmit and receive over quite reasonable distances. The Icom can produce 150W.

Interested in any thoughts.
 
As far as I know and that is not much (re SSB in UK) to run a net you will have to use Amateur Radio bands ie 3.5 7 14 21 megahertz bands. All of the proper marine channels are for serious communication. To operate on amateur bands you need a licence. (operators and station) Once licenced you can talk to Hams all around the world some may eveen be on boats. However it seems to me as a one time ham that hams are losing interest as gear is commercialised and internet has taken over. good luck olewill
 
I'd join in if I happened to be onboard. But winter's perhaps not the best time to start.

I just discovered this on a website:

'The U.K. MM Net: Held twice a day at 0800 and 1800 GMT on 14.303 +/- QRM. Morning Net controller is G4FRN - Bill and in the evening you will find G4YZH - Bruce, G0IAD - Tony or G4FTO - Rudi and others.'

That looks like something for Radio Hams, which I'm not - I've just got a maritime Long Race Cert. (MM stands for maritime mobile)
 
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Yes that's ham radio, unfortunately you need a ham callsign or they will ignore you. MM means radio hams chatting from vessels at sea. Unfortunately the Long Range and the ham radio licences are completely different things.
If anyone has a hankering to chat on the radio, the ham licence system is now much easier to get in to, they have dropped the requirement for fast Morse code (although you still need to do a bit), and there is a course and exam ( which I have just passed at Felixtowe) called the Foundation, perhaps equivalent to Day Skipper.. this allows you to get a callsign and chat on HF, VHF, and UHF. AND the cost of a short theory and practical course, including the exam is... £50!
Which is about 1/10th the price of your long range cert! Contact the RSGB for your nearest club ( there are lots) cheers Jerry
 
You'll find that HF SSB is a funny thing - for short range communications it is often not as good as VHF. You will often find a "dead ring" around you starting just a few miles away and extending out to several tens of miles, if not more. Then you could find yourself able to talk to people a thousand miles away, if not more.
 
I got my Amateur Licence A in 1982 and haven't been active for a number of years but IIRC, the 14 MHz, or 20m, band is generally considered for long distance communication. These signals will bounce off the ionosphere a couple of thousand miles at a time, ultimately around the world. The signal propagation is subject to time of the day, month and year of the sunspot cycle, to name a few. Proagation predictions from the UK to all points of the compass were published monthly in the RSGB magazine. For UK coverage only, I think that the 3.5 MHz / 80m and/or the 1.8MHz / 160 band allocations would be more approriate.

I suspect that the UK MM Net is for different locations of "Brits abroad".

I don't know much about Marine HF so I'm unsure of their frequency allocations. I'd like to do the LRC but unless you live on the south coast or have plenty of free time availble, it seems to be pretty hard to get from a logistics perspective.
 
jerrytug said:
there is a course and exam ( which I have just passed at Felixtowe) called the Foundation, perhaps equivalent to Day Skipper.. this allows you to get a callsign and chat on HF, VHF, and UHF.
Click to expand...

But not, as I understand it, from a boat. For some reason the hams reserve that for their sooper-dooper top-level license, which seems unfortunate when boaty people are the ones more likely to want to just dabble a bit rather than engage in a full-on hobby. Is there something about operating while afloat that means you're more likely to cause mayhem without higher-level training?

Pete
 
prv said:
But not, as I understand it, from a boat. For some reason the hams reserve that for their sooper-dooper top-level license, which seems unfortunate when boaty people are the ones more likely to want to just dabble a bit rather than engage in a full-on hobby. Is there something about operating while afloat that means you're more likely to cause mayhem without higher-level training?

Pete
Click to expand...

All radio operation is subject to international regulation and the UK Amateur Radio Foundation licence stretches the rules almost to breaking point. Most other countries do not recognise a UK Foundation licence as valid, so the UK Radio Licencing Authority has chosen to restrict the things that can be done under it such as maritime mobile operation in order to minimise the risk of conflict.
 
maby said:
Most other countries do not recognise a UK Foundation licence as valid, so the UK Radio Licencing Authority has chosen to restrict the things that can be done under it such as maritime mobile operation in order to minimise the risk of conflict.
Click to expand...

Fair enough.

Pete
 
Yes I've just looked, you need a full licence to transmit from 'tidal, territorial or international waters', so a Foundation licence holder like me would be be limited to a marina or up the river, and use an 'M' (for mobile) prefix on the callsign, the same as operating from a vehicle.
 
maby said:
All radio operation is subject to international regulation and the UK Amateur Radio Foundation licence stretches the rules almost to breaking point. Most other countries do not recognise a UK Foundation licence as valid, so the UK Radio Licencing Authority has chosen to restrict the things that can be done under it such as maritime mobile operation in order to minimise the risk of conflict.
Click to expand...
Rules were made to be stretched! I have just found out that my next exam, the Intermediate, has a practical test on wiring a household plug...
 
jerrytug said:
Yes I've just looked, you need a full licence to transmit from 'tidal, territorial or international waters', so a Foundation licence holder like me would be be limited to a marina or up the river, and use an 'M' (for mobile) prefix on the callsign, the same as operating from a vehicle.
Click to expand...

You are not allowed to transmit via satellites either, I seem to remember.
 
jerrytug said:
Rules were made to be stretched! I have just found out that my next exam, the Intermediate, has a practical test on wiring a household plug...
Click to expand...

Been on here yet?

http://www.hamtests.co.uk

Very HAMdy site. (HAR HAR, see what I did? OK, sorry)

I found foundation and intermediate exams quite straightforward, the advanced was quite a big step up.

Back to the OP, good list of both ssb and Ham nets here...
http://sailingcamelot.us/ham-nets/
 
I'm not aware of any marine radio nets in the UK, there is a Med net but it was never in use when we were in the Med. Reception in a marina is generally OK but transmission is usually bad because of all the masts and buildings around, that's our experience. The reason there are no marine nets is SSB is used by long distance boats so very few inshore boats would fit it, if any, they only need VHF
 
If you get a Ham license, then there are many nets, and most of them are very inclusive, though some of them are a bit of a club.
I don't know of any specialising in marine chat, but it would be easy to start one.
I remember joining a net on the 40m band (7 MHz) one day while sailing and ended up chatting for about 3 hours in a group of about 8, 2 of us in boats.
I use a variety of frequencies afloat, enabling both short distance and long (Intercontinental). Its all possible, but maybe needs a nudge.
 
Do you need a long range certificate?

I was told for marine channels you need a radio operators licence and the equipment to be detailed on the ships list but no additional qualification to operate on the marine channels. I Am beginning to wonder now albeit it is interesting those companies that sell long range certificates seem careful not to state it is a legal requirement.
 
ip485 said:
Do you need a long range certificate?

I was told for marine channels you need a radio operators licence and the equipment to be detailed on the ships list but no additional qualification to operate on the marine channels. I Am beginning to wonder now albeit it is interesting those companies that sell long range certificates seem careful not to state it is a legal requirement.
Click to expand...

The station license (which, as you say, is the same no matter what kit you have on board) says that you must ensure the equipment is only used by people who have a relevant Operator's Certificate of Competence and Authority to Operate. The Authority to Operate on the back of the modern SRC only gives authority to use VHF and VHF-DSC radios. I would say this means it's not "relevant" for the purposes of the license if you wanted to operate SSB equipment, and therefore it would be a breach of the license for you to do so.

In summary, yes, something more than the SRC is legally required to use marine radios other than VHF.

Pete
 
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