Weather Fax on SSB

[Hoghead]

Is this the mono to stereo adapter?
Do you use one of the two available sockets with a mono to mono cable?

https://packetradio.com/catalog/inde...k9kibe8s58cgi1

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by Hoghead

10 pages + my other Googling and now more confused than ever

Let's see if we can get you sorted out.

Since you talk about the speed of Sailmail (shoreside service) it appears you have Airmail (client software on your computer) running on the ship's PC and have successfully connected to Sailmail. You won't need any additional cabling.

With your 802 running, the Pactor modem turned on, and Airmail running on your PC click on the little icon that looks like a fax machine - third from the right. A new window (called GetFax) will open. The first time you will have to click an icon toward the left to tell GetFax that you want to receive fax (as opposed to RTTY or morse code). From the drop down menus pick the weather fax shore station most appropriate for you (US and I think UK ones are on the list - I can help you add Pacific and Indian Ocean stations if you can't figure it out from the Airmail help files) and then the frequency you plan to use. GetFax will start automatically at the beginning of a fax and stop when it is done. Leave it running and it will collect all the faxes on that frequency.

Google for rfax.pdf and download it. Rfax.pdf is the listing of all weather fax stations, frequencies, schedules, and products worldwide. Read page 4 - Airmail and GetFax automatically account for the 1.9 kHz frequency offset but you'll need to know about it if you ever tune manually (see below).

You may find weather fax coverage in the South Pacific is mediocre and you have no option but gribs over email which means maintaining your Sailmail account.

Originally Posted by Hoghead

I want to receive weather faxes on both the PC and Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 (Android 5.0)

The tablet is a little more challenging. First you have to get audio to the tablet. That means ground and audio (two wires) from the 802 to the tablet. The 802 radio end is easy - it is a conventional 3.5 mm mono plug into the headphone jack. Your tablet takes a 4-conductor plug. You are going to have to buy a male mono to male mono cable, cut one end off and attach a 4-conductor plug.

Here are the magic instructions. The 4-conductor plug is often referred to as a TRRS for tip ring ring sleeve. The second ring is ground and the sleeve is the microphone input. That means the tip of the 3.5 mm mono plug (audio) gets connected to the sleeve of the 4-conductor plug (mic in) and the sleeve of the 3.5 mm mono plug (ground) gets connected to the second ring of the 4-conductor plug (ground). If you find a commercial version of this cable please let me know because I'm tired of building them for people.

I know there are a number of weather fax programs for Android. I haven't used them so I have no recommendations. The volume knob on the 802 radio will have to be set to the best level for the software. Most software has a level indicator to help you.

When you tune the radio manually you need to make the 1.9 kHz offset referred to on page 4 of rfax.pdf. For those that care the reason for the offset is that weather fax is transmitted FSK (listed frequency is center frequency) and you are receiving using USB (dial frequency is carrier frequency).

Originally Posted by Hoghead

JVComm seems the software of choice but it looks a bit geekey and I would prefer a simple solution if available - I do not mind to pay for KISS

JVCOMM32 works fine and is pretty simple. Given that you already have a Pactor modem (which has a built-in weather fax demodulator) and Airmail (which has GetFax) there is little reason to use JVCOMM32.

Neither GetFax nor JVCOMM32 have auto-scheduling. I generally just turn everything on after dinner and off in the morning. For the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean there are two complete sets of products each day and my experience with the overnight set is better. I can't speak to your cruising grounds.

If for some reason you decide to use JVCOMM32 on your laptop there are one of two possibilities for the interconnecting cable. Both need a 3.5 mm mono plug at the 802 radio end. The laptop end depends on the jacks. If there are two (one for headphones and one for microphone) just plug a 3.5 mm mono plug into the microphone jack. Good news - you can buy that off the shelf. If the laptop has a single combi jack you need a 4-conductor plug. Good news - you can use the same cable you built for the Android tablet.

Originally Posted by Hoghead

Is this the mono to stereo adapter?
Do you use one of the two available sockets with a mono to mono cable?

No. This one is the mono-to-mono referred to above. Get two, one for mono-to-mono and the other to modify with a 4-conductor plug. I get 4-conductor plugs from DigiKey but I think you can get them from Amazon in small quantities. I'm not sure about sourcing in Fiji.

https://packetradio.com/catalog/inde...k9kibe8s58cgi1

[Hoghead]

This adapter looks this what is needed for those of us intimidated by making a special cable for the Android App:

https://packetradio.com/catalog/inde...k9kibe8s58cgi1

4 conductor TRRS jack split into line in and line out

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by Hoghead

This adapter looks this what is needed for those of us intimidated by making a special cable for the Android App:

https://packetradio.com/catalog/inde...k9kibe8s58cgi1

4 conductor TRRS jack split into line in and line out

Perfect. Run a 3.5 mm (1/8") male mono to 3.5 mm male mono cable (link in a previous post) from the 802 radio headphone jack to the red mic jack on the adapter you found and the TRRS plug to a laptop combi jack or your Android tablet.

Are you feeling more confident now?

[Hoghead]

Originally Posted by Auspicious

Perfect. Run a 3.5 mm (1/8") male mono to 3.5 mm male mono cable (link in a previous post) from the 802 radio headphone jack to the red mic jack on the adapter you found and the TRRS plug to a laptop combi jack or your Android tablet.

Are you feeling more confident now?

Confident enough to buy the Andriod app with these cables

Here is another, nore expensive adapter cable with attenuator.
iPhone 1/8 inch line-level audio input adapter - 3.5mm 4 conductor TRRS Male to 3.5mm TRS Microphone Input Jack with built-in Attenuator

This was referred to many pages ago - needed or not?
https://packetradio.com/catalog/inde...k9kibe8s58cgi1

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by Hoghead

Confident enough to buy the Andriod app with these cables

Great. When you get back to Fiji I'll be happy to help you if you run into a snag.

Originally Posted by Hoghead

Here is another, nore expensive adapter cable with attenuator.
iPhone 1/8 inch line-level audio input adapter - 3.5mm 4 conductor TRRS Male to 3.5mm TRS Microphone Input Jack with built-in Attenuator

I don't think that will help - TRS is a stereo jack and that can be problematic.

The Y-adapter you found previously is your answer. Once you have everything working I suggest slipping some heat shrink over the connection to keep the plug in the jack and avoid having the unused audio jack floating around.

Originally Posted by Hoghead

This was referred to many pages ago - needed or not?
https://packetradio.com/catalog/inde...k9kibe8s58cgi1

Maybe. So much depends on the specifics of your laptop and tablet. Ground loops can be a bear to track down and can indeed lead to hum which reduces the legibility of weather fax. Similar problems exist with VHF and satellite phones. Some laptops have isolation built in to the sound card. Your tablet probably does not.

You might want to pick up a number of type 31 ferrite beads (Google for it) - make sure you get snap-on and not slip-on. Those will solve a lot of other RFI problems (although not ground loops) and can easily make you hero of the anchorage.

[Ribbit]

Update on my Tecsun 880 purchase. It's arrived.

Excellent service from TECSUN PL-880 with fast, tracked delivery (though make sure you look for the email from them for a phone number at the delivery address - I almost missed it, and they won't ship until they can give that to the courier), and the 'extra' package (including import duties and sales taxes) included a mains charger (USA plug) with a UK mains adaptor plug, plus an extra 18650 2,000 mah battery (another 2,000 mah 18650 battery is in the Tecsun box).

I have a good stock of these 18650 batteries for my LED torches, so popped in an already charged 4,000 mah to check the radio out.

The Tecsun 880 is a very impressive radio for the money. Rotary switches (tuning and volume) are smooth in operation and push button switches feel good. Receive sensitivity with the telescopic antenna is good, and along with it, signal to noise seems very good too.

Audio quality via average quality cheap earbuds is excellent (I am substantially deaf and this is important to me, and as such, it would be unrealistic for me to give an assessment of the built in speaker - all I can really say is I could hear it). I found several weatherfax broadcasts with no problem on their advertised frequencies.

I downloaded JVComm32 and installed it with no problems on a Windows 10 installation, and had it receiving in no time.

I'd bought several 3.5mm to 3.5mm mono leads of various lengths, but unfortunately even the 3 metre lead couldn't get far enough away from all the electronics interference associated with my desktop PC installation. No worries though, it looks like getting it up and running once I have the boat and a new laptop (I'll pick one up in America after I arrive), should be a piece of cake.

Heartfelt thanks once again for the recommendation, I am well chuffed.

eta: To get to the low frequencies (LW), which could easily be missed perhaps by some, press the AM button, then press it again, to switch between AM and LW. The USB, LSB, and Normal then work fine on LW down to 100 kHz.

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by Ribbit

eta: To get to the low frequencies (LW), which could easily be missed perhaps by some, press the AM button, then press it again, to switch between AM and LW. The USB, LSB, and Normal then work fine on LW down to 100 kHz.

Helpful, as Navtex is on 518 kHz.

[Ribbit]

Originally Posted by Auspicious

Helpful, as Navtex is on 518 kHz.

Indeed, with secondary transmissions on 490 kHz as well (I found that one ok too).

[Sailor_Hutch]

There's a ton of interest in WEFax here! It's such a nice adjunct to the weather tracking repertoire. Occasionally, the coast guard solicits responses from WEFax users as to how (and whether or not) their systems are being used. They can use these reponses to lobby for monies to keep their systems going. Recently, there was even talk of discontinuing the service due to budget constraints.

So, it may be prudent to let them know how much the service of their transmitters is appreciated! You can send your input directly to the stations (Boston, New Orleans, etc). They've mentioned in the past that a lot of the transmission equipment they use is from the 60s/70s. Recently I read that it's not been easy for them to keep it running!

On another note, I see that most of this thread revolves around Windows and Apple users. For those few Linux users, I'll say that I've had pretty good luck with the freebie fldigi program for WEFax. I think it runs OK on Android too...

[WindwardPrinces]

Originally Posted by Ribbit

Update on my Tecsun 880 purchase. It's arrived.

Thanks for the update! I just ordered one of these as well, after debating over the slightly less expensive 660. Glad to hear of your success with weatherfax...

[wsmurdoch]

Originally Posted by Sailor_Hutch

For those few Linux users, I'll say that I've had pretty good luck with the freebie fldigi program for WEFax. I think it runs OK on Android too...

I have Fldigi, JVComm32, and SeaTTY all on my Windows PCs. I've gravitated to SeaTTY. To me, it seems easier to use because it does not have the transmit ability which I do not need and because it seems to be better at decoding weak NAVTEX transmissions. Try them all. See which one suits you best.

[roberto11]

Wich station (s) broadcast weather fax for the route from panama to french polinesia?

Thank you
R

[ka4wja]

Roberto,
There are a few stations that will work for you....

Originally Posted by roberto11

Wich station (s) broadcast weather fax for the route from panama to french polinesia?

Thank you
R

Your primary will be the USCG out of Honolulu....

The 4000 watt broadcasts from the USCG station KVM70, Honolulu, with their US NWS/NOAA charts covering the Central, SouthEast, and North Pacific, would cover you all the way across the Pacific....including Panama to French Polynesia...

Have a look at their schedule here:
Honolulu Radiofax Schedule with Links



Secondarily, you have coverage for most of the Pacific (North and SE Pac) from USCG station NMC, Pt. Reyes, CA....
Pt Reyes Radiofax Schedule with Links

And some of the Pacific (SE Pac), from USCG station NMG, New Orleans, LA....
New Orleans Radiofax Schedule with Links




Thirdly, should you miss a chart from KVM70, etc., you can get good Pacific coverage from Chile (CBM and CBV)...


And, when West of 170E or 180E, approaching Papua / New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, etc. etc.
You will have excellent coverage from VMC and VMW (Australia), and ZKLF (New Zealand), as well as Thailand, etc.

Have a look at the worldwide schedules here:

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/marine/rfax.pdf


Be sure to look at the US NWS Marine Weather Home Page, where you will find all of these links, as well as just about everything you could ever need to know about offshore / hi-seas marine weather forecasts...
National Weather Service Marine Forecasts

Including these pages...
Marine Radiofax charts

USCG HF Voice
U.S. High Seas Marine Text Forecasts by Area




And, finally....
Please have a look at these Youtube Videos, where you'll see this all put into action....LIVE real-world demonstrations, on-board a real cruising boat...NOT some simulation!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...zdjTJjHlChruyY



I hope this helps...

Fair winds...

John