cburger,
Well, I sorta' skipped over your thread, as I was just going to send you a link to this:
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...da-184267.html
BUT...
But, then I read past the title of your thread and went "opps"...
So...
1) So, first off....Good Luck tonight, on your ham exams!!
I'm sure you'll do well!!
And, welcome to wonderful world of ham radio!!
{BTW, if you don't mind, I'd like to remind everyone of the selfless nature of the Amateur Radio
Service ("Ham" radio)....
You see, while most hams do get a lot of fun out of radio communications, we should never forget the real purpose.....by int'l agreement the 5 basic purposes of the Amateur Radio
Service....
Quote:
An amateur radio service having a fundamental purpose as expressed in the following principles:
(a) Recognition and enhancement of the value of the amateur service to the public as a voluntary noncommercial communication service, particularly with respect to providing emergency communications.
(b) Continuation and extension of the amateur's proven ability to contribute to the advancement of the radio art.
(c) Encouragement and improvement of the amateur service through rules which provide for advancing skills in both the communication and technical phases of the art.
(d) Expansion of the existing reservoir within the amateur radio service of trained operators, technicians, and electronics experts.
(e) Continuation and extension of the amateur's unique ability to enhance international goodwill.
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}
2) As I wrote above, good luck on your exams....and welcome to ham radio...
Here are some FYI's that should help you (and others)....and a few blunt pieces of
advice (please accept my apologies in advance for being so blunt, but I do hope to save you both
money and frustration...)
a) Please remember that when in US waters (and Canadian waters) and international waters, you are governed by the US FCC Part 97 Rules and Regs (ham radio rules/regs)....
but, when in territorial waters of other countries, you are governed by their radio rules and regs!!
Many nations (most 1st world nations, and those with close traditional ties to the US) have "reciprocal" operating authority / licensing agreements with the US, making it fairly easy for US ham licensees to gain amateur radio operating privileges and/or licenses in their countries...BUT...
BUT, this is almost exclusively for US Extra Class Amateur Radio Licensees....these reciprocal privileges for HF operations are not granted to "Technician Class" nor "General Class" licensees!!
Further, there are countries (without seamless reciprocal
license agreements) where you will need to apply for a license and wait and wait, etc....
So, just be forewarned that having a US license is good for US waters and int'l waters, but in any other country, there are other criteria / rules that will need to be followed....and, you'll need to have an Extra Class license to make things
work well for you...
Please see these pages for more info...
International Operating
http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Regul...0Operating.pdf
b) The use of ham radio, if you have no other options for emergency, is fine....and, in all my years inn ham radio, there is no ham that I've heard of that wouldn't spend 24hours-a-day and any effort they could, to help a mariner at sea in an emergency....and that is unlikely to change any time soon...BUT..
But, please understand that the Maritime Mobile Service (which is another int'l radio communications service) is specifically designed for just this application....and there are both dozens (actually 100's) of Coast Stations and 1000's of ships at sea, that all have trained personnel that are familiar with both general maritime terminology / operations, as well as search-and-rescue, etc....and they are all standing-by waiting for a
safety, urgency, or
distress call (monitoring
DSC....VHF-DSC, MF-DSC, and HF-DSC....)
Definition and purpose of the Maritime Mobile Service:
Quote:
The Maritime Mobile Service is an internationally-allocated radio service providing for safety of life and property at sea and on inland waterways.
Together, shipboard and land stations in the marine services are meant to serve the needs of the entire maritime community.
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So, while it might seem like there is "always someone on the air, on the ham bands", and some get the impression that there is nobody on the marine bands.....this is because the marine bands / channels are not used too much these days for chit-chat (and most "ship's business" is now done by sat comm), but rather mostly for
weather, safety, and
distress communications!!
(which by "coincidence" is just what most sailing offshore need from their radios!
)
c) I really don't want to overwhelm you at this point....I want to encourage you!!
So, I won't delve deeply into Marine HF comms, HF-DSC, the GMDSS, etc....
I'll just say Good Luck on your exams tonight....and before you buy ANYTHING, please watch these Playlists...
HF-DSC Comms
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...ga2zYuPozhUXZX
Maritime HF Comms
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...ZDo_Jk3NB_Bt1y
And, later some others....
https://www.youtube.com/user/captain...able_polymer=1
d) Finally....please forgive my bluntness...
But, please buy just about any other radio rather than the FT-857....it is not a good choice here, and you will be disappointed...
(I will go into details later, if you desire....but, again, don't wish to discourage you....just save you some $$$ and frustrations!)
And, NO....you do not want an HF vertical antenna on top of your mast!!!
There is a LOT more to all of this, and a LOT more to post....but luckily, I've already posted it (as have others)...
Please read these stickies, and the links there....as well as the Sailmail Primer....
If you follow all of the
advice / recommendations in these stickies and links, you'll have a great HF communications set-up, and if you learn more about HF radiowave propagation and
HF radio operations (mostly Voice and DSC), you'll be better off than a majority of your fellow sailors!!
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...tc-198305.html
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...tc-133496.html
https://sailmail.com/wp-content/uplo...2/smprimer.htm
Fair winds, and Good Luck on your exams!!
John