Am new to Forum and have questions about ssb receiver equipment

[xumacruiser]

We (wife, myself and dog) will be cruising to Crooked Isl Dist in Bahamas this fall in our small , 25' shallow draft special. I would appreciate recommendations and thoughts on weather forecast reception while that far out. We currently have a vhf radio, only. I realize I have to be aware of approaching frontal passages while away from safe anchorages.
Question : Will a portable ssb receiver do the job?
Question: What antenna will be required?
Question: Will I need an antenna tuner?
This is a very simple boat without extensive electronic.
The boat has a 23' wooden mast which could house a wire antenna.

I own a Blackwatch sailboat that's for sale.

[Vasco]

Get a Sony SW7600GR portable and Chris Parker's weather will boom in on ssb. No antenna or antenna tuner required. The built in telescopic antenna works fine. But it does come with an external antenna too. Just a spool of wire but that works fine too.

I'm on my second one, first one lasted over ten years.

You can get the details of the transmissions here.
https://www.mwxc.com/

[Jim Cate]

This subject has been discussed in detail here on CF. A small exercise in the google search engine will disclose a great deal of info, with discussions of many different receivers.

Jim

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by xumacruiser

We (wife, myself and dog) will be cruising to Crooked Isl Dist in Bahamas this fall in our small , 25' shallow draft special. I would appreciate recommendations and thoughts on weather forecast reception while that far out. We currently have a vhf radio, only. I realize I have to be aware of approaching frontal passages while away from safe anchorages.
Question : Will a portable ssb receiver do the job?
Question: What antenna will be required?
Question: Will I need an antenna tuner?
This is a very simple boat without extensive electronic.
The boat has a 23' wooden mast which could house a wire antenna.

I own a Blackwatch sailboat that's for sale.

Question #1 Yes
Q#2. A bit of 'long wire' hung from your flag halyard under the speaders or wherever would be plenty... most radios run quite happily on the whip ( the Sangean 909 being a notable exception) however an extended whip in the cabin of a small yacht at sea isn't my idea of ideal.
Q#3 No.

My radios of choice would be either Tecsun 660/680/880 , Sangean 909X, or the Sony 7600GR.
All work well on SSB. For ease of use the Tecsun 880 can't be beaten and is my 'go to' receiver these days.

Ping

[wsmurdoch]

For a list of currently available radios:
The SWLing Post 2014-2015 Shortwave Radio Buyer’s Guide | The SWLing Post

We carried an Icom R75 for years until I replaced it with a Icom m710 transceiver.

Any bit of wire will work for an antenna.

For a receiver an antenna tuner is only of marginal benefit.

Irish Eyes to the Bahamas

[xumacruiser]

Good radio article and advice. Thanks to all.

[El Pinguino]

And also.... Anon-co are very good people to deal with if buying on Ebay Tecsun PL680 PLL FM Stereo MW LW SW SSB AIR Band Black Color | eBay

[xumacruiser]

They have a good price .
Thanks Ping

[El Pinguino]

No probs.... once you have a radio this will come in handy.. http://www.nws.noaa.gov/os/marine/rfax.pdf

[xumacruiser]

That tecsun 880 looks like what I'll buy. I appreciate your help and info.