12 Volt SSB Scanner

[cburger]

Is there such a thing as a 12 volt scanner for marine frequencies?

[Seymore]

O sure. On eBay etc, search on Tecsun 680/880, Sangean 909/909X, Sony 7600GR, Radio Shack DX-392./ Sangean ATS-818cs.

These are all SSB receivers, some with scanners. They all operate on batteries. If you want a 12v SSB scanner, get a 12v cigarette lighter plug.

My favourite SSB marine scanner is the Radio Shack DX-392./ Sangean ATS-818. They;re the same thing. But I haven;t tried them all.

[cburger]

Very interesting will check them out. Thought it might be a good way to see who is communicating on different frequencies and save a lot of time searching. Thinking it would be a good Idea to be able to hook my vessels antenna through a portable unit like this.

[SoonerSailor]

Scanners don't work very well on HF, the SSB frequencies, because of high background noise. Your best bet is to monitor frequencies where activity occurs on a schedule, like the cruising nets. There is information on this forum to send you in the right direction. Check out the stickies at the top of this forum. Also there is information at docksideradio.com

Chip

[cburger]

I have found an Icom R75 receiver wonder if anyone has any thoughts on this unit appears to be powered by a 12 volt power source, thinking I might be able to scan marine ssb frequencies through my boats antenna, and will scan large band sections without having to program individual channels into memory?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv8R5TfD800

[Pizzazz]

The R75 is not a bad SSB receiver but it is obsolete. Put it simply, HF radios have a few major components that define their capability:

1. Simple receiver, such as the Sony 7600 or the Tecsun 660. These radios are inexpensive, easy to use and if you are in a low noise environment, they perform very well. $150

2. The next level up is to add a DSP and various filters that allow you to improve the signal you hear. The R75 has a DSP but you have to pay extra for the filters. The new thing is SDR or software defined radios. Once you get the signal in the digital domain you can perform sophisticated signal processing on a PC/tablet and there are some very good free software apps that do that. Search for SDR.

3. The next level up is to get a transceiver which usually has a DSP (if post 2005 or there abouts). For example, the Icom 706 is the same price as the R75 but it can transmit at 100W. It is a popular ham radio. By the way the DSP is optional on the 706 I believe.

4. Lastly, you can get a proper HF rig with a DSP and if you will use it on a boat, preferably a marine unit. I am a big fan of the SEA-235 which has a built in DSP, some nice filters and good computer control. Most people go for the Icom 802 which adds DSC capability.

You decide where you want to start. I suggest with a simple receiver.

SV Pizzazz

[SoonerSailor]

R75 should do very well for casual listening. If you are happy with the price, go for it

[cburger]

My sea SSB will only scan a couple of frequencies that have to be programmed into the radio, my thoughts with the R75 is to be able to scan and entire band through my boats backstay antenna

[El Pinguino]

To the best of my knowledge none of the Tecsun, Sony, Sangean ssb capable receivers will scan the marine or ham ssb bands... at least none of mine do. Only the broadcast bands.

You want one of these ELAD SDRs.... I think the cheaper SDM - S1 is still available and they have a US dealer.

ELAD - Australian amateur radio dealer, RF Solutions

Good kit. They run on 12V.

[wsmurdoch]

I have an Icom R75 receiver (with the DSP option and with synchronous AM) and used it on the boat for several years before replacing it with a Icom IC-m710 transceiver. It is a nice little receiver being the best of the four different table top HF receivers I have owned. We used it daily in the Bahamas over several years for weather and entertainment. I would rate it as a better radio for HF listening than my m710's receiver primarially because of its twin passband tuning that is useful for removing off channel interference.

The receiver is indeed obsolete in that after a 16 year production run Icom no longer manufactures it. Speculation is that the model was dropped because some of the ICs (MC 13022A among others) became unavaliable and because of the disappearance of broadcast SW stations. The built in (standard) filters are more than satisfactory for AM and SSB listening especially with the twin passband tuning. The receiver does have scanning capability scanning either a range of frequency or a set of channels, but I never found it especially useful on HF.

IC-R75 Downloads - Icom America

Bill Murdoch
AK4PO

[TreblePlink]

Unlike VHF FM, Scanning and SSB / HF do not go well together.

With very strong signals, you can set the squelch tight enough so that it stops on a frequency only when a real transmission is present, BUT often the signals are not strong enough to allow this, and either the squelch is relaxed enough so random noise is constantly breaking through the squelch, OR to prevent that, it is so tight that scanning fails to stop on real transmissions.

[cburger]

Originally Posted by wsmurdoch

I have an Icom R75 receiver (with the DSP option and with synchronous AM) and used it on the boat for several years before replacing it with a Icom IC-m710 transceiver. It is a nice little receiver being the best of the four different table top HF receivers I have owned. We used it daily in the Bahamas over several years for weather and entertainment. I would rate it as a better radio for HF listening than my m710's receiver primarially because of its twin passband tuning that is useful for removing off channel interference.

The receiver is indeed obsolete in that after a 16 year production run Icom no longer manufactures it. Speculation is that the model was dropped because some of the ICs (MC 13022A among others) became unavaliable and because of the disappearance of broadcast SW stations. The built in (standard) filters are more than satisfactory for AM and SSB listening especially with the twin passband tuning. The receiver does have scanning capability scanning either a range of frequency or a set of channels, but I never found it especially useful on HF.

IC-R75 Downloads - Icom America

Bill Murdoch
AK4PO

I am very new to the radio communication world. The particular R75 I am considering has the DSP and SSB filters installed, (Whatever this beans) and is being sold for about 200 dollars. I can see a benefit to being able to scan a wide frequency range through the same antenna that my current Sea 222 is utilizing to see who may be communicating and potentially reachable by my vessel. Can you tell me if you think the R75 would receive typical marine ssb frequenciesl through my backstay antenna?

Thanks All!

[TreblePlink]

The R75 receives virtually all the Marine SSB frequencies you are interested in, along with good filtering. BUT you are still using the word "scan," and are most likely to be very disappointed with scanning ssb.

[wsmurdoch]

As TreblePlink said, the R75 will receive and scan the marine MF/HF channels, but on MF/HF automatic scanning is not as effective as it is on VHF or UHF. It will work with strong signals in quiet conditions. But, with weak signals on a noisy day, you are as likely to lock onto a lightning crash as a station.

$200 sounds like an attractive price to me. I would not sell mine for that.

DSP when turned on clears up the audio some removing "noise" at the expense of hurting the sound quality. DSP on the R75 operates in the audio stage.

The filters limit the range of frequencies that the pass through the radio to the speaker. Some are are inserted in the first IF stage other in the second IF stage. Some are standard, and some are optional. The filters range from 500 Hz wide for CW to 15 kHz wide for broadcast AM. Much of what they do can be accomplished with the twin bypass tuning and automatic notch filter.

[cburger]

Gentleman thank you for the replies. The SSB that came with the boat is all push button with no tuning knob, programed Itu marine channels and as such difficult to search bands, was thinking this may be a good faster way to see who make be speaking on frequencies. I understand that in SSB scaning may only pull in strong signals, wouldn't these be more likely be able to be contacted than the fainter signals?