Which Pactor & whip antenna on aluminum arch

[Dream Maker]

Which Pactor modem should I buy to go with either an Icom M802 or M710?

Also, I am considering a whip antenna. I have an aluminum arch on the transom. I am told that I should not brace the antenna against it or put it near the arch. Any comments?

Thanks in advance.

I have the PTC-IIex and have had no problems using it with an ICOM-706MkIIg. If you are using a fairly new laptop, I would suggest the PTC-IIusb. Same as the other but with a USB interface. A bit more convenient as standard RS-232 ports are becoming scarce on laptops these days.

I like the M802 because it has transmit on HAM bands (the 710 only has receive, though there may be some hack to enable transmit). You cant go wrong with ICOM equipment. Good quality stuff and their support is pretty good.

Lots of people have had good luck with whip antennas these days. If you get a good tuner I would think you would have no problem.

Mounting the whip atop the arch might not be a bad thing. Keeping it away from other electronic antennas (GPS, radar, etc) is desireable. Lots of people mount them on the stern pulpit. You want to keep the antenna close to your ground plane (in this case, the ocean). So, high atop a mast, or an arch may reduce performance. The nice thing about a whip antenna, is you can easily move it around to get an idea of where it will perform best. Then you can make the installation permanent.

[Sunspot Baby]

Pactor III is the fastest and lot of people use them with the ICOM models you list. I don't know where you are located but there is a listing of agents world wide at SCS - the PACTOR creators - news

I see you are a sailing vessel. Why not an insolated backstay antenna?

George

[Sunspot Baby]

Learningcurve says keep antenna close to ground plane but, if you do, try to place it so crew can't touch it while transmitting. RF burn is possible. Also, in general, the higher it is, the better for performance. Why do you think all those Ham operators build the tall towers?

George

I was referring to a whip antenna installation, which is what the poster asked about!yes, for a long wire antenna, height is a good thing.but on a boat, whip, backstay, or whatever, you want the antenna close to the tuner and the tuner close to the ground plane.And yes I am a hamw6slc

[btrayfors]

Correct! Vertical antennas on a boat should be mounted as LOW as feasible, not as high. This is to take advantage of their low vertical angle of radiation ("takeoff angle") which is lost if you raise them much above the water.

It's correct that horizontal dipoles, beams, quads, log periodics, long wires, etc. are best mounted as high as you can get them, but these antennas are not practical on a boat.

Also, of course, VHF antennas should be mounted as high as you can get them since they are basically line-of-sight.

Bill
WA6CCA

Originally Posted by Sunspot Baby

Pactor III is the fastest and lot of people use them with the ICOM models you list. I don't know where you are located but there is a listing of agents world wide at SCS - the PACTOR creators - news

I see you are a sailing vessel. Why not an insolated backstay antenna?

George

Don't waste your money III series Modem. The II series are just as fast. The only thing the III's give you is more fancy lights and unattented operation when your computer is off.

[btrayfors]

LearningCurve,

Apparently, my friend, you're still on the upward slope of the learning curve :-)

Pactor III is 4-5 times faster than Pactor II. It has a much wider bandwidth (which, if used improperly, tends to get some folks pissed off), but there's no doubt at all about its speed: right now, it's the KING of the digital protocols.

Bill
WA6CCA

[Radio University]

Originally Posted by btrayfors

LearningCurve,

Apparently, my friend, you're still on the upward slope of the learning curve :-)

Pactor III is 4-5 times faster than Pactor II. It has a much wider bandwidth (which, if used improperly, tends to get some folks pissed off), but there's no doubt at all about its speed: right now, it's the KING of the digital protocols.

Bill
WA6CCA

Plus it is the SAME modem! You get the same lights you get when you buy the pactor II as you do with the pactor III version. It is just a modem firmware upgrade not a modem (hardware) upgrade.

Originally Posted by btrayfors

LearningCurve,

Apparently, my friend, you're still on the upward slope of the learning curve :-)

Pactor III is 4-5 times faster than Pactor II. It has a much wider bandwidth (which, if used improperly, tends to get some folks pissed off), but there's no doubt at all about its speed: right now, it's the KING of the digital protocols.

Bill
WA6CCA

Um, no, my friend, maybe YOU are the one with the steep learning curve. At the very least, in need of glasses, go back and re-read the posts.

The poster asked about pactor MODEMS (not protocols).

If you are talking protocol, yes, the PACTOR III protocol is much faster than the PACTOR II.

but...

ALL PACTOR MODEMS SUPPORT THE PACTOR III Protocol.

But I wouldnt know. I only own a Pactor IIex modem and have made numerous Pactor III contacts with my ICOM-706 and longwire backstay antenna, as well as numerous emails via winlink. My PACTOR IIex modem does pactor III protocol just nicely thank you. Or maybe I am dreaming.


Dream Maker, don't get confused by other's misinformation/misunderstanding in the previous posts. Dont waste your money on a Pactor III modem. The II series are already expensive enough and they support pactor III protocol just fine. The III doesnt give you much more unless you do lots of commumnication offshore, want more unattended automation and are concerned about power consumption. Above all, IT IS NOT FASTER than the Pactor II modems (it may have a faster internal processor, but does not give anything more on transmission speed).

Robert
W6SLC

Follow up. I was just up at the SCS site (been a long time) and noticed they no longer make/sell the old PTC-III modem. So the argument of II vs III modem is moot since you cant buy one anymore.

Looks like they replaced it with the PTC-IIpro according to the features. So, to rephrase my previous statement "Dont waste your money on a PTC-IIpro (or PTC-IInet for that matter) unless you really want to play with the gadgety features."

[btrayfors]

Jeez, Robert...

I hate to disagree with a fellow ham, but you're ALL WET ON THIS ONE. Maybe too much of the local sauce???

There is no such thing as a PACTOR III modem. They're all called Pactor II-something: Pactor II, Pactor II Pro, Pactor IIusb, Pactor IIe, Pactor IIex (the one you have).

As Radio University says, Pactor III is a PROTOCOL UPGRADE...a firmware upgrade which can be done to any of these modems.

And, it's a VERY GOOD THING TO DO, since Pactor III is much faster than Pactor II.

Once again, you cannot just buy a Pactor IIex or IIusb or II Pro and expect it to work with Pactor III. It won't. Unless you buy the Pactor III firmware upgrade with it.

See ANY Pactor reference. Pactor-II/III Radio Modem sales/support, FCC License filing, Marine SSB & HAM Radio Net schedules/frequencies. has a good sampling of available modems and options.

As to whether or not it's worth the extra bucks to buy the usb or the Pro version, it may well be. These have computer control of your radio...a VERY handy feature...and the usb version doesn't take up the single serial port on older laptops, and it works with the new laptops which no longer have a serial port.

73,

Bill
WA6CCA

[Sunspot Baby]

PHP Code:

"ALL PACTOR MODEMS SUPPORT THE PACTOR III Protocol. " 


At the risk of being sniped, I believe some of the older Pactors are not capable of being upgraded to Pactor III protocol. Be cautious if you buy used. they are not all created equal.

Come on kids, lets play nice. We can disagree without being disagreeable.

George

Originally Posted by btrayfors

I hate to disagree with a fellow ham, but you're ALL WET ON THIS ONE. Maybe too much of the local sauce???

Don't think it is me.

Originally Posted by btrayfors

There is no such thing as a PACTOR III modem.

There use to be at least until a couple years ago. I researched these modems quite a bit before I bought one. At the time there was the PTC-IIex, PTC-IIcx and PTC-III.

Originally Posted by btrayfors

Once again, you cannot just buy a Pactor IIex or IIusb or II Pro and expect it to work with Pactor III. It won't. Unless you buy the Pactor III firmware upgrade with it.

I dont think anyone asserted that (at least not me). Again the question was modems, not protocols. Yes you need the firmware license to communicate pactor III, but the PTC-II modems are NOT incapable of talking pactor III.

I dont think I am being all wet. The thread immediately diverged to apples vs oranges (modems vs protocols). I was trying to get it back to apples vs apples.

The poster (looks like a newbie) asked for information. Just trying to keep it straight. It can get confusing easy (this thread is case in point). Maybe that is why SCS renamed the PTC-III to PTC-IIpro, to avoid confusion.

Originally Posted by Sunspot Baby

PHP Code:

"ALL PACTOR MODEMS SUPPORT THE PACTOR III Protocol. " 


At the risk of being sniped, I believe some of the older Pactors are not capable of being upgraded to Pactor III protocol. Be cautious if you buy used. they are not all created equal.

Come on kids, lets play nice. We can disagree without being disagreeable.

George

That is a good point. If so, such modems were before my time. Definately want to buy a late model.

I dont see evidence of disagreeance, just misunderstandings .

(is that a snipe?)