Kaito SSB Receiver Reception

[Kenneth Magee]

I recently purchased a Kaito KA1103 SSB receiver. I was hoping to listen in on some cruising nets and maybe get a heads up on weather updates by linking it to a program like WXtoImg, SeaTTY, or Mscan Meteo. I haven't had any luck on tuning into any of the broadcast. I am in Galveston. Any suggestions would be appreciated. i can get BBC and other regular broadcast, but the broadcasts concerning sailing have eluded me. Am I just out of range or do you think that maybe I am goofing this up in some othr way? I'll appreciate any advice that any of you can give.

[SoonerSailor]

When you tune to the frequency you are interested in, do you hear "active" static, like lightning crashes, etc? If so your radio is getting enough signal strength from your antenna, but you just aren't in a good place for propagation to deliver a strong signal to you. If, on the other hand, the radio is just silent, maybe a continuous steady hiss from the speaker, you may need a better antenna to get the signal into the receiver. A long wire attached to the telescoping antenna (or antenna jack if supplied) and perhaps a ground wire might help.

You should at least be able to hear some activity on 14.300 mHz during the day if your receiver and antenna are up to snuf. From my location, I haven't been able to pick up the nets on any of the lower frequencies even with a sensitive ham radio and decent antenna, though I haven't tried very often.

Chip

[Cheechako]

watch out for time zones and daylight savings... it can be pretty confusing if you are trying to listen to nets outside the US. I ran accross a site the other day specifically showing how to make a long wire antenna for receiving only...try googling it. Do you receive the time ticks on 5k mhz, 10k mhz, 15k mhz? should be a "ticking" and vocal on the minute minute...