Why are ssb radios so big?

[AllanR]

There are reasons a HAM radio should not be modified to work on the marine radio service:

1. A modified HAM radio can no longer be licensed as a HAM radio. HAMs get very special treatment by the communications authorities so they can carry out the educational, testing and learning that can often lead people into an interest or career in radio and communications. HAMs have created a lot of significant communication advances because of what they learned and the interest created by being a HAM. Abusing the special dispensations given to HAMS by modifying HAM radios to use on the marine band is a way to damage the special allowances given toe HAMs.

2. A HAM radio for HF/SSB use uses a wider bandwidth than the marine radios service frequencies/channels. Basically, the marine service is setup to have more conversations by using a narrow bandwidth. A HAM radio used on the marine service will splatter a conversation over a what could be a number of marine conversations. Not very considerate if you happen to be the person using a marine radio on an adjacent frequency/channel and trying to get some advice, waypoints, the weather etc. This is why it is illegal to use a HAM radio on the marine service. It will cause interference to other mariners and that could be dangerous. It is legal to use a Marine radio on the HAM frequencies (if you are a HAM or if it is an emergency) because the narrow bandwidth used in a marine HF/SSB radio will not cause adjacent channel/frequency interference in the HAM service.

3. HAM radios have a lot of features that are particular to the valuable experimentation and education goals of HAM radio. All these adjustments are great when you are in a stable building, but can be a nuisance at sea in a bouncing boat when you really just want to get some urgent communication about a critical topic. Marine radios have less dials, buttons and adjustments which can be in the wrong setting, preventing important communication from occurring. Scroll down the page of the SailMail Primer on the not-for-profit SailMail service website (www.sailmail.com) for a relevant comment. The guys who created SailMail are very experienced HAMs and yacht sailors and this is what they say:

"The Icom IC-718 and most other ham radios work with Sailmail if they are equipped with a High Stability Crystal Unit, and if the radio is modified to transmit on all bands. For Icom ham radios you need to select "Icom-CIV" as the radio type in Airmail's radio settings. Ham radios are not type accepted for use on marine frequencies and their use may not be permitted by your country's radio regulations. For US-registered vessels, the US FCC requires marine type-accepted radios (e.g. Icom M802, M710, M700Pro etc).

There is another reason why it is a bad idea to use a Ham radio... Ham radios are much more complicated to operate than marine radios because they have many features that marine radios don't need. If these options and features are set incorrectly the radio will not work. Often on a cruising boat there is only one knowledgeable ham onboard. If that person is injured and others need to use the SSB, they will be much less likely to be able to operate a Ham radio than they would a marine radio. Note that it is perfectly legal to use Marine radios such as the Icom M802 on Ham frequencies. This is a better approach."

Modern DSC equipped marine HF/SSB radios - eg M801(E) or M802(DSC) - are certainly more expensive than a HAM radio. But they are designed for the rigors of the marine environment. Many HAM radios are designed to be cheap so entry to the world do HAM radio is easy and cheap. The M801 is especially so, with it's sealed radio unit and fanless operation, so there are no vent holes to let in water or coffee, and no salt laden, high humidity and possibly dusty air being sucked through the components to precipitate a failure when you least need it.

Many people who work in places like the communications and marine authorities and who set the specifications and regulations about marine communications are HAMs. But they also have access to the reports of failed radios, lost lives and marine safety related incidents. Their technical radio knowledge as HAMs, and the information from incidents are applied to establish the marine radio regulations and requirements so there is a high degree of certainty the equipment will work when it is really needed.

Being smart enough to save some money - or space - by modifying a HAM radio to work in a boat might not be so smart in the long run. The money saved by using a HAM radio is small change compared to boat repairs, the cost of a commercial tow or the loss of a yacht. The DSC equipped marine HF/SSB radio can facilitate immediate contact with a nearby vessel to get advice, a low-cost tow from another yacht, or some equipment to prevent a sinking. The extra cost of that modern marine HF/SSB radio with DSC - designed to get immediate response and assistance - is suddenly very insignificant.

A modern marine HF/SSB radio with DSC is a one-off insurance premium. And it opens up the opportunity for other valuable communication and information services at sea or in that wonderful isolated anchorage distant from the ever intrusive mobile phone. Options such as email (for METAREA and coastal forecasts, GRIB weather charts etc), NAVTEX, and weather fax reception, when combined with a Pactor controller.

 

[ffiill]

The Vertex VX1700 is about the size of a car radio-open programming-and delivers as I recall 120 watts. Oh and costs around about the £600 mark.Is it road legal so to speak -well that is debatable though probably officially not in UK waters.
As to legalities you will find that any radio used by anyone in an emergency is considered acceptable which in my opinion is the only time you may have need to access Maritime frequencies.
As had been said on other posts if you go the Ham direction there are various maritime Ham nets where you can chat to other like minded individuals including some ships radio ops who as a hobby run a ham set from onboard a commercial vessel.
Personally it would seem pointless running a road legal marine ssb with only commercial ships to talk to if they are listening-another problem that has been highlighted on other threads on this subject.It has also been hinted at that SSB emergency frequencies will disappear sooner rather than later.

 

[GHA]

There are reasons a HAM radio should not be modified to work on the marine radio service:

1. A modified HAM radio can no longer be licensed as a HAM radio.

Not so, ham radios are not licensed at all, ham radio operators are, you can use a biscuit tin with some valves if you want to so long as you know what you are doing and put out a well behaving signal within the appropriate bands. It's technically the other way around, marine ssb radios are no longer type approved if they have been altered to transmit on ham frequencies. Though in the real world a soft key upgrade won't affect the radio in any way. In many areas of the world ham will be of much more use to get into fisherman's nets etc and marine ssb will be of little use, it's not as cut and dried as you make out.

 

[ALPHORA]

Is it possible to modify the Icom 801E to operate on Ham frequencies and use winlink?

 

[mattonthesea]

Thanks ,Alan , for typing all that out, one of the best posts I've seen on this forum! 73 Jerry M6HTH

+1

 

[haydude]

Rather than a Marine SSB which is a rig with limited possibilities, I recommend a Ham SSB that would have also a Variable Frequency Oscillator. Marine SSB in general are limited to programmed channels and lack a VFO, Ham Radios instead can do every frequency through a VFO and also can have pre-programmed channels to mimic the Marine Channels of a marine SSB.

Ham Radios however are not built for the marine environment and thus require to be fitted in a dry place. But I guess you would not fit your SSB in the cockpit anyway.

If that is your choice I recommend an unlocked Yaesu FT-857 that:
1) has the size of a car radio
2) the front panel also can be detached and installed remotely using a simple RJ45 cable (the same used for Ethernet networks).
3) it is designed as a portable/car radio and thus it is compact and more rugged than a desk rig

An FT-857 has max 100W power output versus 150W of an Icom 801, however 50W aren't a big deal when mostly communications depend on good propagation. With the right propagation I have managed UK to US using a 10W rig like the Yeasu FT-817. Since it does not have a cooling fan the FT-857 must be installed in a space that allows air circulation to allow the necessary passive cooling.

Be careful that you would not be allowed to transmit on Ham Frequencies from your boat without a full Ham License and call sign, so if you are not licensed, from your boat just stick to Marine frequencies. Unfortunately ITU do not allow common Marine/Ham frequencies. I believe it is stupid, but that is the law.

 

[pteron]

Same reason a pocket calculator is a whole lot smaller than a CNC milling machine. they are orders of magnitude apart in terms of content, design, capability and power requirements, as far apart as a roller skate and a range rover. An I phone is a short range communicator that will reach a mile or three with milliwatts output on essentially a single frequency and has a memory chip big enough to allow it to do clever looking things with info it accesses off the Internet. Lose the Internet connection and just how clever Is an iPhone? It can't do much at all.

Anyway, it's not really comparing like with like.

Are there no HF sets with a seperate control head and the works hidden somewhere else?

The antenna tuners a bit of a lump too.

If you want to have a world-girdling self contained multi freq hundred(?) watt comms set it isn't going to come in a matchbox.

An iPhone has more computing power in it than the whole of the USA had 50 years ago. It is far from useless without a connection to the internet.

The only reason your SSB set is big and bulky is that the millions of dollars spent on miniaturising the iPhone has not been spent on the SSB. The only part of the SSB set that couldn't be done by the iPhone right now is the PA to antenna path - the processing power to do GSM/3G/CDMA is orders of magnitude higher than anything needed by SSB. A modern RF chip set will operate from the hundreds of MHz to several GHz, way more than the few bands used by SSB.

 

[haydude]

There are reasons a HAM radio should not be modified to work on the marine radio service:

1. A modified HAM radio can no longer be licensed as a HAM radio.

2. A HAM radio for HF/SSB use uses a wider bandwidth than the marine radios service frequencies/channels.

Please could you qualify the above pointing to the relevant documentation? My understanding is that neither points are correct because:

1) ham radios can be also DIY built and thus are not individually licensed. The ham operator is licensed. The legislation regulates only the frequencies and powers at which the operator can transmit and depend on his/her license.
2) the bandwidth used under SSB is always 3KHz, if there is a rig that DOES NOT splatter, that is a proper Ham rig.

however happy to learn.

I agree that an SSB radio requires the operator to be able to use the rig which is not quite straightforward without training, whilst a Marine SSB is pre-programmed and almost as easy as a Marine VHF when one just pre-selects a channel, press on tune and talks.

 

[MM5AHO]

Rather than a Marine SSB which is a rig with limited possibilities, I recommend a Ham SSB that would have also a Variable Frequency Oscillator. Marine SSB in general are limited to programmed channels and lack a VFO, Ham Radios instead can do every frequency through a VFO and also can have pre-programmed channels to mimic the Marine Channels of a marine SSB.

Ham Radios however are not built for the marine environment and thus require to be fitted in a dry place. But I guess you would not fit your SSB in the cockpit anyway.

If that is your choice I recommend an unlocked Yaesu FT-857 that:
1) has the size of a car radio
2) the front panel also can be detached and installed remotely using a simple RJ45 cable (the same used for Ethernet networks).
3) it is designed as a portable/car radio and thus it is compact and more rugged than a desk rig

An FT-857 has max 100W power output versus 150W of an Icom 801, however 50W aren't a big deal when mostly communications depend on good propagation. With the right propagation I have managed UK to US using a 10W rig like the Yeasu FT-817. Since it does not have a cooling fan the FT-857 must be installed in a space that allows air circulation to allow the necessary passive cooling.

Be careful that you would not be allowed to transmit on Ham Frequencies from your boat without a full Ham License and call sign, so if you are not licensed, from your boat just stick to Marine frequencies. Unfortunately ITU do not allow common Marine/Ham frequencies. I believe it is stupid, but that is the law.

A Yaesu FT857 does have a cooling fan.
I've used one for years maritime mobile. Works well.

 

[haydude]

A Yaesu FT857 does have a cooling fan.
I've used one for years maritime mobile. Works well.

Does it? Thank you.
MM5AHO must be your call sign.

 

[funk-an-bord.de]

The marine radios have in general no fan who can transport the heat from the inner parts of the radio.
Marine radios are sealed and the metal box is out of heavy aluminium to transport the heat to the outside,
Thats the reason for the big size.
The GMDSS radios licensed for the EU market have a built in DC/DC converter and can operate down to 10.8 Volt.
That means extra heat, extra volume,
Inside the sealed box the temperature is high and therefore some of the components are selected to withstand the temperature,
That is on reason for the high price.But asealed electronic will last longer.
The ICOM M802 has a fan, and the radio inside is a modified HAM radio. So the resulting price is less.
Thanks, Wilhelm

 

[MM5AHO]

It took me about 10 minutes to enable my FT857 for marine use. Actually it now is capable to transmit almost anywhere!
(That doesn't make it legal to use it on any frequency)
Even VHF, though having a frequency readout instead of chanelised makes it very cumbersome to change channel.

 

[AllanR]

Not so, ham radios are not licensed at all, ham radio operators are, you can use a biscuit tin with some valves if you want to so long as you know what you are doing and put out a well behaving signal within the appropriate bands. It's technically the other way around, marine ssb radios are no longer type approved if they have been altered to transmit on ham frequencies. Though in the real world a soft key upgrade won't affect the radio in any way. In many areas of the world ham will be of much more use to get into fisherman's nets etc and marine ssb will be of little use, it's not as cut and dried as you make out.

Dear GHA, you are correct in that I should have used the term Type Approved rather than licensed. My understanding is that a HAM radio which is modified to operate on frequencies that are not approved for the HAM radio service is no longer Type Approved as a HAM radio and is therefore - strictly speaking - illegal to use as a HAM radio. And it has never been Type Approved to operate on the marine service, and is therefore - strictly speaking - illegal to use as a marine service radio.

My understanding - from HAMs in this side of the world and in the USA - is that - because the marine service radio will not create interference for other users on the HAM service - it is OK to add HAM radio frequencies into the User Programmable frequency slots available in an M801 or M802 ICOM marine radio and use these for calling, if you are a licensed HAM and/or there is an emergency.

My purpose in raising this matter is to alert people considering cruising beyond their European /UK shores that:

1. A HAM radio is not configured to send a DSC alarm, which is the basis of the calling system in the maritime safety network. All vessels - yachts, fishing trawlers, commercial ships, superyachts etc - are required to maintain a 24/7 watch for DSC alarms. As do most MRCCs around the world. On this bigger, emptier side of the world, where there are no RNLI lifeboat crews on 24/7 standby, and MRCCs can be thousands of miles away, a nearby vessel is most likely to be your best source of prompt assistance.

2. Since the advent of GMDSS, it is no longer required that commercial vessels monitor 24/7 for voice Mayday etc calls. Like all yacht crews, they also do not like the constant background noise and other conversations of a HF/SSB radio with an open speaker. The DSC feature overcomes this problem. The radio scans the emergency calling frequencies for DSC alarms, with the speaker muted. It's now very easy for a crew - on a yacht or commercial or government vessel - to monitor for emergency calls from any other mariner.

3. Hands up all the yacht owners or crew who would normally leave their non DSC HF/SSB radio scanning the emergency frequencies for Mayday calls from other mariners when they are on passage or in an anchorage. Most of us would either turn down the volume or turn off the radio to get rid of the intrusive noise. Which means we are no longer satisfying the fundamental requirement of all mariners to make themselves accessible to assist others at sea.

3. A yacht rally, race fleet or cruising yachts over the horizon but nearby to a modern day Titanic could save a lot of lives if they all maintain a 24/7 watch for DSC alarms on their modern marine HF/SSB radio. The crew of that sinking ship simply needs to press one button to alert any vessels in their vicinity. If you are carrying a HAM radio - or an old marine radio without DSC - you will probably have it turned off. And you will not be able to receive a DSC alarm. You will not know that people need your help.

4. The very first rule in the international rules of sailing is Fundamental Rule 1.1 - Helping those on Danger. It reflects the age-old tradition for all mariners to assist each other. The DSC feature of a modern marine HF/SSB radio really makes it a lot easier for us to ensure we are accessible to help other mariners, like we'd hope they can help us if we have a problem.

5. Skeds have developed as an answer to the problem that most yacht crews do turn of their radios at sea and when relaxing in their anchorage. The DSC feature overcomes the problem of needing to wait for the next sked if you need urgent advice, or have an urgent issue. Radios like the M801 or M802 can be setup with DSC call-groups, so it is possible to press one button to alert all the yachts in a rally, race or cruise-in-company group to ask information, share a warning about a semi-submerged obstacle or summon nearby help. About 2 months ago a yacht in the HK to Vietnam race hit an obstacle that damaged the rudder post and hull so the yacht was sinking. The race requires DSC marine HF/SSB radios. The crew were collected by other yachts in the event before any official S&R response could reach them.

6. Unlike the UK and Europe, there are very few S&R services on this side of the world, in the middle of most oceans, or around the world's popular cruising areas, which we go to because they are not overcrowded and congested. In these regions, yachts need to help each other. The DSC HF/SSB marine radio facilitates that requirement, quietly doing the job of monitoring 24/7 while we relax.

7. Most MRCCs on this side of the world monitor only for DSC alarms. If you do not have a DSC equipped radio you will not be able to initiate contact with the MRCC.

8. A satphone is not the answer. It does not have the broadcast feature of the HF/SSB radio - either for initiating contact or managing an incident. And you will not know the satphone numbers of the other yachts, commercial or government vessels that happen to be in the region at the time you need assistance. And they will not know your satphone number - or location - if they need your help. And they may not be a HAM or have a radio to call on HAM frequencies or know the HAM frequencies to use or it could be 24 hours till the next sked. The DSC equipped marine HF/SSB radio is designed to address these issues.

9. If you consider venturing away from the great 24/7 VHF(DSC) based communications services around Europe and the UK, backed up by professional S&R crews on 24/7 standby, have a read of the websites for MRCC Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand. They all say they need to divert other vessels to help in an incident, because they do not have access to dedicated S&R resources. This can take days to arrange and arrive. If they have these limitations, you can imagine what it is like with smaller and less organised places. Many incidents have demonstrated that nearby yachts or commercial vessels are the best option for quick response. Some Pacific islands don't do rescues on the sabath, or when the fuel bill for the last S&R incident has not been paid. Yachts supporting each other with immediate response communications become very important. The DSC equipped HF/SSB radio can be always on, so you are accessible to assist others, like you will need them to assist you if a problem occurs.


HAMs do a lot of great work, and a lot of my knowledge comes from my HAM friends. But they cannot be around 24/7 or be expected to keep a 24/7 listening watch for distress calls with a noisy radio speaker disturbing the tranquility of the sunset at sea or the peaceful tropical island anchorage.

But the DSC equipped marine HF/SSB radio is quite happy to do that job. It listens constantly, without sleep or being distracted by meals, jobs on deck, or navigation tasks. It only disturbs our concentration or peaceful relaxation when someone actually needs help.

 

[GHA]

Dear GHA, you are correct in that I should have used the term Type Approved rather than licensed. My understanding is that a HAM radio which is modified to operate on frequencies that are not approved for the HAM radio service is no longer Type Approved as a HAM radio and is therefore - strictly speaking - illegal to use as a HAM radio. And it has never been Type Approved to operate on the marine service, and is therefore - strictly speaking - illegal to use as a marine service radio.

My understanding - from HAMs in this side of the world and in the USA - is that - because the marine service radio will not create interference for other users on the HAM service - it is OK to add HAM radio frequencies into the User Programmable frequency slots available in an M801 or M802 ICOM marine radio and use these for calling, if you are a licensed HAM and/or there is an emergency.

Sorry but I think you still have that the wrong way round, you don't get type approved ham radios, the onus is on the operator to make sure any transmissions are not annoying anyone else;

In most administrations, unlike other RF spectrum users, radio amateurs may build or modify transmitting equipment for their own use within the amateur spectrum without the need to obtain government certification of the equipment.^[36][37]Licensed amateurs can also use any frequency in their bands (rather than being allocated fixed frequencies or channels) and can operate medium to high-powered equipment on a wide range of frequencies^[38] so long as they meet certain technical parameters including occupied bandwidth, power, and maintenance of spurious emission.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ham_radio
And technically if a marine ssb radio has been opened up to transmit on ham frequencies it is altered and is no longer a type approved radio so shouldn't be used on marine frequencies, but doubt if that actually means much out in the real world.
Personally I went for a ham radio, a dry boat and an Epirb for emergencies, mainly through budget and having an interest in the ham side of things.

Merry Christmas

 

[AllanR]

Sorry but I think you still have that the wrong way round, you don't get type approved ham radios, the onus is on the operator to make sure any transmissions are not annoying anyone else;
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ham_radio
And technically if a marine ssb radio has been opened up to transmit on ham frequencies it is altered and is no longer a type approved radio so shouldn't be used on marine frequencies, but doubt if that actually means much out in the real world.
Personally I went for a ham radio, a dry boat and an Epirb for emergencies, mainly through budget and having an interest in the ham side of things.

Merry Christmas

Dear GHA,

There are no doubt more things for me to learn. Perhaps the HAM regulations in the UK are different to the USA, Australia and around SE Asia, where Type Approval or equipment is required. And modifying the HAM radio means it will no longer satisfy the regulations to be a HAM radio.

Conversely, the ICOM M802 and M801 radios have over 100 open frequency/channel slots specifically designed (and Type Approved) for users to enter frequencies. This is to allow for circumstances where perhaps the radio is used by someone with legitimate access to business or government licensed frequencies, or a HAM who is also a sailor can enter their legitimate voice and Winlink frequencies, or where an MRCC (eg Indonesia) uses a specific voice frequency that is not on the marine frequency plan. Adding these frequencies does not constitute modifying the radio and compromising it's Type Approval. It's designed and approved for this purpose.

In my experience, on this side of the world, people with only a non DSC radio on-board can encounter serious problems when they need to initiate contact with an MRCC, because most MRCCs only monitor for DSC alerts. And because without the ability to send a DSC alarm, the yacht crew cannot tap into the existing maritime distress service, and open up the (DSC radio) speakers on perhaps hundreds of commercial vessels within range to assist them.

Calling Mayday to get help from a commercial vessel disappeared about ten years ago, when GMDSS allowed them to monitor only for DSC calls. And most MRCCs around the world have also followed that change. Many coast radio stations around the world - which maintained a voice watch for distress calls as part of their licence requirements - closed their operations because GMDSS caused the large users of telephone interconnect traffic - commercial vessels, cruise ships, navy vessels - to shift their traffic, and money, to INMARSAT.

One of the significant advantages - for small-craft and those with a limited budget - of this change was that the marine HF/SSB frequencies/channels became relatively silent and available for the little people - with relatively low powered radios - to use. It's now so much easier for yachts to establish a sked frequency and time for a daily or twice daily roll-call and chat. But we all know that on-board demands, such as a sudden squall, can cause a short handed crew to miss the sked. With everyone maintaining a 24/7 DSC watch on their marine HF/SSB radios, this is not so significant, because people can still call each other to get anything they missed. But those people without a DSC equipped marine radio will have switched off their radio, or turned down the volume, so they cannot be contacted for advice or assistance.

Cruising and racing sailors come from a wide range of backgrounds and have an immense depth and breadth of experience. Their knowledge, skills, experience and spare parts create a massive resource that other yacht crews can access if they have a problem or need urgent help. This becomes a very important resource once you move away from the high density shipping traffic and remarkable support services around Europe and the UK. The DSC equipped marine HF/SSB radio helps create the ready access network among yachties to gain quick access to this resource, and gives cruisers the opportunity to be more self-supporting and self-sufficient; important requirements for cruising on this much bigger and much emptier side of the world.

The cost and size of a modern DSC equipped marine HF/SSB is a relatively minor one-off insurance premium. Compared to the cost of boat repairs, the loss of a yacht or the stress of a difficult situation, it's a small expense.

Because many countries that provided NAVTEX or weather fax services have closed or run-down those services following the introduction of GMDSS - because most commercial vessels get the information via their compulsory INMARSAT system, adding email capability to the on-board HF/SSB radio has become more important to get weather charts and METAREA or coastal forecasts.

 

[GHA]

Dear GHA,

There are no doubt more things for me to learn. Perhaps the HAM regulations in the UK are different to the USA, Australia and around SE Asia, where Type Approval or equipment is required. And modifying the HAM radio means it will no longer satisfy the regulations to be a HAM radio.

Sorry, but I think you'll find that's just wrong, home build and modifying radios is a major part of ham radio, certainly in Europe, USA, Australia etc. You might find some regs around Asia, not sure, maybe you can find some links? . Which is not to say hams transmitting outside ham bands is allowed, it's not, but hams can do What they want to their radios as long as the transmitted signal doesn't bother others or stray outside the ham bands.
Building low power transmitters is an obsession for some (qrp)

https://www.google.co.uk/#q=Homebrew+ham+radio

 

[AllanR]

Sorry, but I think you'll find that's just wrong, home build and modifying radios is a major part of ham radio, certainly in Europe, USA, Australia etc. You might find some regs around Asia, not sure, maybe you can find some links? . Which is not to say hams transmitting outside ham bands is allowed, it's not, but hams can do What they want to their radios as long as the transmitted signal doesn't bother others or stray outside the ham bands.
Building low power transmitters is an obsession for some (qrp)

https://www.google.co.uk/#q=Homebrew+ham+radio

Well, it could be that I have learnt something new about Type Approval for HAM radios.

Nevertheless, I do hope I have managed to help anyone planning to cruise beyond the UK/Europe to understand what my experience has proven to be the importance of a DSC equipped marine HF/SSB radio for:

1. Initiating contact in an emergency with MRCCs, nearby commercial shipping or yachts, or any other vessel or shore station maintaining a 24/7 watch for DSC alarms.

2. Maximising the opportunity for mutual self-help by yachts for other yachts, be it a Distress situation or advice, spare parts or information to make the cruise more convenient and/or safer.

3. Making you, your vessel and your capabilities accessible to any other mariner - yacht, commercial, tourist or government - who might be in need of assistance. Like you hope they will be available/accessible to help you if the situation arises.

This modern, marine HF/SSB radio capability, is available to all yacht crews, with or without a HAM license.

Any radio without a DSC facility cannot provide the same capability, convenience or safety communications. And it does not allow each of us to honour our obligation to play a reciprical role in the maritime safety network, for the benefit of all other mariners.

The very effective VHF (DSC) communications and S&R resources available around the UK and Europe simply do not exist in the popular cruising and ocean areas of the world. The modern marine HF/SSB radio with DSC helps to fill that gap, by linking yachts - and other mariners - into a network for mutual self-help. All these very extensive resources, capabilities and safety support are available simply by allocating some cash and a little space.

 

[jerrytug]

Yes thanks again Allan, your posts are very informative.
Personally I would never lose any sleep over type approval anyway.
I do not have a cavalier attitude to my ham privileges, but I don't mind ignoring distant faceless beaurocracy, so lacking ATIS in Europe, or using a DSC H-H outside UK waters for example, is fine.
I agree about the responsibility to leave a DSC set listening, in case someone is in trouble. IF you have the spare amps!
cheers Jerry

 

[AllanR]

Yes thanks again Allan, your posts are very informative.
Personally I would never lose any sleep over type approval anyway.
I do not have a cavalier attitude to my ham privileges, but I don't mind ignoring distant faceless beaurocracy, so lacking ATIS in Europe, or using a DSC H-H outside UK waters for example, is fine.
I agree about the responsibility to leave a DSC set listening, in case someone is in trouble. IF you have the spare amps!
cheers Jerry

Hi Jerry,

I share your regard for distant faceless bureaucracy. When GMDSS - which on this side of the world we understood was a UK/Europe creation - was introduced for vessels over 300 tonnes, it created serious negative consequences for the millions of mariners in vessels under 300 tones, which were not required to comply. FOr example:

1. Around Australia, most existing marine VHF services disappeared. Australia (like the USA) decided officially not to provide the integrated network of VHF coastal hilltop towers to create a continuous and linked network covering their entire coasts, and for some 20 to 100nm offshore (depending on the height of the hill). There was an excellent - almost continuous - VHF network along the entire populous east coast, providing talk-through repeater, phone-interconnect (VHF marine radios in Australia had unique IDs so could be phoned direct from a normal phone, and vice versa), weather and MSI broadcasts etc. It served people fishing in coastal bays in a small dinghy (with a handheld radio), coastal yacht racing, cruising yachts, fishing trawlers etc. It was immediately dismantled when GMDSS arrived.

2. All the coast radios stations that provided HF/SSB services around the Australian coast - and into Australia's S&R responsibility area -closed down. Their broadcast of coastal and METAREA forecasts stopped. It was replaced by two automated broadcast stations providing GMDSS services only; broadcast of automated METAREA weather information (no coastal forecasts), and DSC only contact for emergencies only. The previous system - based on operators with open frequencies for distress and general calling - that allowed for logging daily position reports, broadcasts of actual weather conditions at reporting points along the coast, telephone interconnect via the HF/SSB radio, etc, disappeared.

3. In SE Asia, Singapore Radio closed, with similar consequences for small-craft for which the GMDSS service was not intended to apply.

4. Big ships were no longer required to maintain a 24/7 watch on the voice distress frequencies for distress calls by voice.

5. Many countries chose to stop making their high seas forecasts available via any means - including direct request - to small craft under 300 tonnes. Presumably they were selling these forecasts to INMARSAT and did not want this nice money generator to stop by giving out the forecasts in a website etc. In this region, this included France (Mauritius) - Southern Indian Ocean, India - northern Indian Ocean, China - NW Pacific, and Japan - NW Pacific. I understand there were similar problems with South American and African creators of METAREA forecasts.

I, like a lot of private yacht owners and small commercial vessels on our side of the world, thought this GMDSS system - imposed it seemed by a distant bureaucracy in the UK/Europe - had created a very serious and dangerous decline in distress and general communication services for non GMDSS vessels.

But, over time, we adapted:

1. Some smart HAMs in Europe and the USA developed a combination of software and hardware which gave us the not-for-profit SailMail service of over 20 integrated stations around the world, and a similar WndinLink system, which still works to extend the technical and cost boundaries. So yachts could send emailed position reports, get weather forecasts, update relatives, request support etc.

2. After initiating a lengthy - 18 month - project of calls, visits and emails, efforts to recreate access to METAREA forecasts bore fruit. Highlighted by some near fatal incidents, a website was created with all the METAREA forecasts for the world, so services like WinLink and SailMail can harvest these and email them via HF/SSB radio. (There is still no system I know of which gives non-SOLAS vessels access to MSI warnings.)

3. Attempts were made to develop lower cost (and more compact) marine HF/SSB radios with DSC, so those of us with a lower budget and in smaller vessels, could regain access to the marine safety network of MRCCs and commercial vessels. At this stage of evolution of the DSC calling system, recreational and other small-craft can now buy into the advantages of the system, without needing to go through the cost and inconvenience associated with the last ten years of technical upgrades and system refinements. Adopting DSC in our yachts also creates all the self-help and convenient communication advantages for cruising, racing and rally use. And it allows us to contribute to the broader maritime community; so they are more willing (rather than only obliged by bureaucratic legislation) to help us too.


A friend of mine in Darwin - who's business includes fitting HF/SSB radios to fishing trawlers and other small commercial vessels - says the DSC radios have largely eliminated the search from S&R, because the DSC distress alarm includes the precise GPS position. Unlike the past when positions were either imprecise or incorrectly sent/heard, the DSC radio has resulted in a big saving in search activities. Instead of multiple vessels being called from their regular routines - either recreational or commercial - to first locate the yacht or trawler or barge in distress, the MRCC now just assigns one or two suitable vessels to go to the exact location to assist.

So, while the distant bureaucratic imposition of GMDSS for commercial vessels worldwide initially had disasterous consequences for small craft on this side of the world - local yachts, and those from UK/Europe and North America passing through on circumnavigations - the situation has improved significantly, so that a DSC HF/SSB radio in recreational vessels now provides a far better communication service - for safety and convenience - then existed previously.