Quote:
Originally Posted by rebel heart  How much is a HAM, in total, including installation? I've always put it into the multi-thousand-dollar-system category with an SSB. |
A wide range... with the latest and greatest (IC-M802 SSB, AT-140 tuner, existing backstay, tricked-out PACTOR modem, and accessories... assuming no new laptop) you're looking at about $4K not including installation costs. Older radios and avoidance of PACTOR can quickly drop the cost to under $1K... basic ham radio HF operation with a used rig from eBay or a hamfest is not a difficult proposition at all. Adding simpler data modes that are not reliably linked to shore-based servers is then very cheap, with $100 TNCs (terminal node controllers) readily available. The expensive PACTOR stuff is used because it has been adopted as a standard by both the marine-grade Sailmail (any kind of traffic) and ham-grade Winlink (no business traffic). It's also faster and more immune to noise and channel fading.
The 802 is the rig of choice, as it not only provides channelized marine SSB but also conveniently tunable ham operation. Ham-only rigs can be "unlocked" for use on the marine bits of the spectrum, but that violates FCC regs (including the purely technical "type acceptance," involving frequency stability and other specs); marine-only rigs, unlocked for ham use, are quite legal but tend to be extremely inconvenient for the usual ham-flavor operation that involves tuning about, rather than punching up a channel. The Icom 802 does both very well, and legally.
You still need a General-class ham license, of course... and that's not just a formality. It's not hard, and is well worth the effort.
Cheers,
Steve