SSB Question

[Kojiro]

I was thinking about buying a portable radio with sw/ssb capability. I have read about one (Kaito 1121) which has a dedicated NOOA weather channel....is that channel going to be any use to me at all in say Greece/Turkey?

Also, apart from being able to listen to transmission on SSB I hear (or I think I hear) talk about interfacing SSB to PCs and the like. Can anyone tell me what that is all about?

[Hydra]

Kojiro,
You will probably find all the information you need about weather bulletins on radio in this document: Maritime Safety Information

And yes, there is some software to decode weatherfax or Navtex on a PC. For example, look for SeaTTY.

Alain

[barnakiel]

Grrece and Turkey you can access Internet via a mobile. Why bother with SSB there?

b.

[Kojiro]

Just exploring the options....haven't been to sea for 22 years and things were a bit simpler then.

SSB options surely reduce data loads via the internet.

[s/vPainkiller]

I bought the Kaito 1121 and it is a piece of junk. The manual is worthless, and the revised version that they released because of negative feedback is a joke. I'm a pretty saavy tech person and it was unintelligible to me. I gave up on using it. In fact, if you want mine, I'll send it to you for the shipping cost. No really, I'll pay you $10 to take mine.

If anyone knows of an actual SSB receiver that works let me know.

Scott

[Kojiro]

That's bad news as the reviews that I read were pretty positive. Maybe you have one with some kind of defect?

[IslandHopper]

Originally Posted by s/vPainkiller

I bought the Kaito 1121 and it is a piece of junk. The manual is worthless, and the revised version that they released because of negative feedback is a joke. I'm a pretty saavy tech person and it was unintelligible to me. I gave up on using it. In fact, if you want mine, I'll send it to you for the shipping cost. No really, I'll pay you $10 to take mine.

If anyone knows of an actual SSB receiver that works let me know.

Scott

I've got one of these and it seems to be ok.....

New DEGEN DE1103 DIGITAL RECEIVER & W31MS LOOP ANTENNA | eBay

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by s/vPainkiller

I bought the Kaito 1121 and it is a piece of junk. The manual is worthless, and the revised version that they released because of negative feedback is a joke. I'm a pretty saavy tech person and it was unintelligible to me. I gave up on using it. In fact, if you want mine, I'll send it to you for the shipping cost. No really, I'll pay you $10 to take mine.

If anyone knows of an actual SSB receiver that works let me know.

Scott

I have a Grundig Yachtboy I keep aboard as a back-up. Works fine.

[Mike OReilly]

Does anyone have a weather fax receiver tied to a Macintosh? Which radio? What hardware/software?

[s/vPainkiller]

Originally Posted by Kojiro

That's bad news as the reviews that I read were pretty positive. Maybe you have one with some kind of defect?

It's possible I got a lemon. Unfortunately, by the time I figured out that I couldn't get it to work, the distributor didn't want to talk to me about returning it. However, don't expect the user manual to be of any help in figuring it out.

Scott

[medicrene]

I purchased a sangean SSB receiver and connected it to a weatherfax demodulator with good results. But to get good results, you need to build a good and large radio antenna on the boat and connect that to the external radio antenna port. These days, I have a used Icom m700 for transmit and receive and I get weatherfax as well as long range communications. I hope that helps.

[Tia Bu]

Originally Posted by Kojiro

Just exploring the options....haven't been to sea for 22 years and things were a bit simpler then.

SSB options surely reduce data loads via the internet.

I, too, had not been to sea much in the past twenty years. So I started out by outfitting my boat with a SSB radio. After a couple of summer's cruising, I've gotten rid of the SSB and use cell phones to access to the Internet and a satellite phone for offshore. To me, it's just easier, not really more expensive, and more reliable. I also have a long-distance Wifi antenna, but find I don't use it much.

[bobconnie]

there are a bunch of good receviers out there! ya just have to look !stay away from off brands, unless you have personal knowlage of them.There are a couple of new copys of the old Mulitiband world wide receivers being made that work well for ssb or ham and most all weather stations! also good for time setting ect. ya might try a google on receivers, then look on e-bay-craigs list for them maybe ya can get a transcever for a price ya can afford just a thought

[bobconnie]

With the prices for a GOOD sat phone and the service costs per year, you can geta ssb and a modem and use it for years ! all my kids have ssb's and we can talk most anytime we wish ! we get all the weather info we could ever use, and we have had the same radio for 10 yrs (took it off the last boat we sold and kept it) I too have wifi, but only use at marinas or sometimes in anchorages with wifi around. but the ssb is also a companionship tool !! for you who don't know about that theres no way to explain it !! ya gotta be there ! just a thought

[goboatingnow]

My iridium phone cost 600 dollars and I pay 150 a year. Can I get a GOOD SSB setup for that including antenna and a digital modem ? ( like hell I can )

Dave