Offshore weather

[bill99]

Hi,the answer to my question is probably in here already,but being new here, I do not know where to look.
Going offshore in a sailing boat.What is the cheapest,most reliable way to get weather information.Thank you in advance.

[Sailmonkey]

a ssb receiver and a a tablet computer with some flavor of weather fax software are the cheapest method when out of cell range of land.

[sailjumanji]

Not even close. A delorme inreach with a weather and wave forecast subscription from ocens spotcast is the cheapest, plus allows you to send text messages 24/7. And takes up a hell of a lot less space than an ssb. We are cruising Bahama with this system. Also a Sony portable ssb ($125) to get Chris parked weather forecast but it is typically similar to ocens. And ovens forecast is for 72 hours at six hour increments.

Delorme is about $200. The subscription for unlimited texting and 10 minute position reports is about $60 per month, and ocens is $10 per month.

[Stu Jackson]

Add: WX on your VHF.

NOAA also has reports on their websites which are typed copies of what they transmit on ssb.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by sailjumanji

Not even close. A delorme inreach with a weather and wave forecast subscription from ocens spotcast is the cheapest, plus allows you to send text messages 24/7. And takes up a hell of a lot less space than an ssb. We are cruising Bahama with this system. Also a Sony portable ssb ($125) to get Chris parked weather forecast but it is typically similar to ocens. And ovens forecast is for 72 hours at six hour increments.

Delorme is about $200. The subscription for unlimited texting and 10 minute position reports is about $60 per month, and ocens is $10 per month.

Are you telling me that a handheld SSB (world band radio) and a $100 android tablet are not cheaper than a subscription service?

And not all that much larger.

[goat]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

Are you telling me that a handheld SSB (world band radio) and a $100 android tablet are not cheaper than a subscription service?

And not all that much larger.

I think he missed the ssb 'receiver' part of your post.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by goat

I think he missed the ssb 'receiver' part of your post.

I hope so.......

[barnakiel]

Here are some options:

- a Navtex receiver, (limited range and coverage)
- a ssb receiver (voice),
- a sbb receiver + laptop or tablet (for radiofax, where exists),
- Sirius wx (I think this is US only)
- a sat messenger, two way, (yellowbrick style), + friends onshore,
- a sat phone + friends onshore,

Pretty much depends on where you are, not all methods are global, not all are hands free.

Nearly all my clients use either sat phones or other sat comms.

In our own boat we only have a ssb receiver and fax software.

b.

[conachair]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

a ssb receiver and a a tablet computer with some flavor of weather fax software are the cheapest method when out of cell range of land.

+1
Something like a degen 1103 is about 50ukp. And an offshore boat will almost certainly already have a laptop/tablet or both onboard. I would put a ssb reciever well up the must have list for a bluewater boat in addition to any other devices like sat phone etc.

Sent from my SGP511 using Tapatalk

[barnakiel]

I would step lightly considering the cheapest.

A cheapo NASA ssb receiver plus a tablet kit is only 20% off an Iridium Yellobrick messenger/tracker. There are other two way trackers around, e.g. DeLorme, Spot, etc., possibly cheaper yet than Iridium.

So for that 20% extra you get two ways communication, global tracking, DC independence, emergency alerting, IP67 waterproofness, handsfree operation, ...

An inexpensive ssb receiver may be nominally the less expensive option but it is good to see what the 'second best' option offers for the extra outlay, prior to actual commitment.

This may be of use to some sailors and completely irrelevant to others.

b.

[wrwakefield]

Originally Posted by bill99

Hi,the answer to my question is probably in here already,but being new here, I do not know where to look.
Going offshore in a sailing boat.What is the cheapest,most reliable way to get weather information.Thank you in advance.

Hi Bill,

Earlier this year there was another discussion along this line on this forum.

Cheap and reliable can be mutually exclusive sometimes- depending upon how you define each...

You have already received some qualified feedback regarding some of the cheapest methods available- several of which are reliable if defined as works [almost...] every time...

Depending upon where you will be voyaging, and for how long, and also whether you have other communication needs [e.g., two-way] the next logical step might be a satellite phone.

We have an ICOM M802 transceiver onboard, but rely on our sat phone for daily weather, email, etc.

If you might consider a sat phone, here is our detailed post regarding what we chose, the services we use, and why- in case it is of interest. [It also contains links to a variety of other resources.]

Best wishes finding what is best for you, and safe travels.

Cheers!

Bill

[conachair]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

I would step lightly considering the cheapest.

A cheapo NASA ssb receiver plus a tablet kit is only 20% off an Iridium Yellobrick messenger/tracker. There are other two way trackers around, e.g. DeLorme, Spot, etc., possibly cheaper yet than Iridium.

So for that 20% extra you get two ways communication, global tracking, DC independence, emergency alerting, IP67 waterproofness, handsfree operation, ...

An inexpensive ssb receiver may be nominally the less expensive option but it is good to see what the 'second best' option offers for the extra outlay, prior to actual commitment.

This may be of use to some sailors and completely irrelevant to others.

b.

The nasa offering really isn't their finest moment, it's rubbish
Given that it's fairly certain an offshore boat will have probably both tablets and a laptop onboard the cost for an SSB reciever is less than a tank of diesel, having one in addition to whatever else you go for isn't a hard decision to make, plus you get to listen to cricket or various religious nutters offshore
I'm off across biscay in the morning so will try to save some images from a degen 1103 against a good ham radio for comparis.

Sent from my SGP511 using Tapatalk

[Stu Jackson]

Panbo: The Marine Electronics Hub

There's also a sticky on the electronics section of this forum.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by conachair

The nasa offering really isn't their finest moment, it's rubbish
Given that it's fairly certain an offshore boat will have probably both tablets and a laptop onboard the cost for an SSB reciever is less than a tank of diesel, having one in addition to whatever else you go for isn't a hard decision to make, plus you get to listen to cricket or various religious nutters offshore
I'm off across biscay in the morning so will try to save some images from a degen 1103 against a good ham radio for comparis.

Sent from my SGP511 using Tapatalk

Congrats on the size of your diesel tank ! ;-) Ours is only 35 liters deep (some 7 gallons I think then) - and I can't buy a ssb receiver for 35 bucks ;-(

I like the Eton / Grundig unit heaps, mostly because of the looks, but I did not know it existed when we bought our kit.

http://www.etoncorp.com/sites/defaul...?itok=yXMeSaiW

We have a NASA one. I wish I had bought the audio out version but our Portuguese or Spanish dealer messed up the order ... it still gives usable radiofax via the mic though. What I truly do NOT like is that I have to operate it. I am firmly in the 'no touching' club. Hence my future is likely a two way sat messenger too. Maybe a phone, if I am that filthy rich.

Anyways, our "cheap" NASA ssb unit went mute on the first crossing then got dried out (with a hair dryer) by a skilled French servicemen in le Marin. Ever since, it has been working fine churning out news and radiofaxes in every ocean (except the South Atlantic, which had no coverage).

As re the religious freaks with HUGE ssb masts everywhere in the world ... they must have very very big diesel tanks ;-) I frankly listen only to the Muslim ones (and only when they chant) - I have no idea of what they are singing about, but they make me think of Cockeau Twins twice.

Many happy faces of cheap ssb receivers ;-).

Cheers,
b.

[barnakiel]

BTW:

If any of your ssb receivers has an auto-record function that can be 'set and forget' ... PLS let me know which model you have.

Getting up 04:35 to receive that wefax is only romantic when viewed from the shore.

THX
b.