Quote:
Originally Posted by Dockhead
3 year payback even considering the SailMail subscription? The numbers don't look like that for my use case
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This may be another induction v. gas discussion. *grin*
When I did the comparison I used the following information: a new 802, 140, Pactor III
modem, alternate backstay
antenna, KISS-SSB
counterpoise, grounding to thru-hull (10-24 machine screw for the copper. I did include Sailmail. Prices came from Dockside
Radio in Punta Gorda FL. For comparison I used a 9555, car kit, upgraded ("real") coax, and a data package based on the minutes one can get from the rolling time
budget of Sailmail with whatever voice minutes came along for the ride. Prices from Global
Marine Net in Knoxville TN. Both estimates included an allowance for bits and bobs for mechanical
installation. Not a lot, and more for HF/SSB than for satellite. I did NOT include
installation as there are too many variables. Both are amenable to
DIY installation by a knowledgeable person with access to someone who bends sufficiently well to fit into small spaces and can then get out.
The break even point was right around three years.
If you've found a way to transfer data from GO! to a real computer I'd be grateful for insight.
I have a thing about Bluetooth. I'm still getting used to even the
concept of Bluetooth for mission critical applications. Printers, ear buds - sure. Mice and keyboards or Pactor modems worry me. Pairing does drop. I still like wired connections (and lots of ferrite beads) for mission critical. I'm conservative.
I feel strongly that synoptic
charts are much better
weather information than gribs, and you can't get synoptics over GO! without burning through prodigious amounts of data.
The GO! is rated IP65 but I don't know how. Under the spray
hood it is going to get wet, probably very wet. I take issue with your statement that one doesn't need the external antenna. You'll get much better low angle coverage and more even path loss from horizon to horizon (antenna gain drops at higher angles where distance is less (remember inverse r-squared)). Performance is noticeably better with the external antenna than out on
deck, much less below. Below the
reliability and availability will be better. Definitely upgrade the coax. A little waveguide would be nice. *grin*
To digress, my installation approach for
electronics is to hook everything together and get it working. Often this happens in my lab but sometimes onboard or on a
dock. Then I do mechanical installation and
fish cables one at a time and test between. This belt and suspenders approach means that if/when something stops working I know it is whatever I last touched. This saves a lot of time. This is why I can say with assurance that the external antenna makes a noticeable difference.
It is my opinion, which I have expressed to the Winlink Development Team (WDT) that their reaction to curmudgeons in the amateur community to rigorously define third party traffic was
overboard. That makes Winlink irrelevant except for coastal cruising the country in which one is licensed (assuming third party traffic is allowed there at all). It's sad. I do use it for Saildocs (although I didn't account for that in the trade-off that started this dissertation).
73 es sail fast es eat well de dave KO4MI