Hi
Lake Superior,
In my experience, the HF/SSB radios are robust and reliable. What might be failing your
radio and causing operational problems is the
installation. For example:
Is the existing earth actually functional? I've seen some very creative but unserviceable earths. Reports about the KISS-SSB conterpoise/earth have been very positive. It's
cheap and easy to install. And it works. No more external earth plates, copper strapping from the earth terminal on the ATU to the earth plate bolts, or internal copper foil system. Definitely worth a try.
Is the wire from the
radio to the ATU co-ax? It should be and it needs to be the correct 50 ohm resistance, and the plugs on each end need to be correctly installed. Test the
core and the shield for continuity and that they are not contacting each other.
Is the wire from the ATU to the backstay
antenna co-ax? It must not be. This is actually the
antenna. The less of it running around inside the
boat the better. So the ATU should be close to the base of the backstay antenna.
Is the ATU working? When it receives
power, do you here a lot of click clack noises as it checks its electromechanical relays? If not, make sure the
power is getting to it. The ATU is probably the most likely item to have a problem, because it has a lot of moving
parts.
There are other points that I'm sure others can explain. In the past, I've found a little checking often finds a simple and easily rectified problem. Like most things on a
boat, some routine
maintenance - in the case of the HF/SSB antenna system that means removing wires and connections to clean contacts -which is something you can't do with a
satellite or their earth station.
When the tsunami his SE
Asia the SailMail traffic leapt; because the shore
communications services were damaged or overloaded.
After 9/11 and the
New Orleans tragedies, the
USA implemented a natural disaster HF/SSB radio
email service; because it keeps working when the other stuff is broken. They did not choose
satellite.
Those big antennas seen on military vehicles are there because - despite having the
money for far more sophisticated technologies - it keeps working when the other stuff is broken. And someone in a tank can probably fix what might not be working on the HF/SSB system.
And after the fire disaster in Victoria (Australia) a few years ago, HF/SSB rados are being fitted to rural fire trucks and fire stations; because a lot of people learnt the hard way that the sophisticated terrestrial and satellite systems fall over without something as simple as a plentiful power supply. And despite lots of competent technicians and spared
parts, it took over 8 days to get the simplest of communication started again. Exactly at the time when communication is so important.
These and other reasons are why maritime authorities keep saying that
boats need a
HF radio. And why the principle
marine safety communications network around the world is still HF/SSB radio. It works in a manner that benefits all mariners and they do not need to pay to take to each other to share information or offer assistance.
In my experience, it's worth a little effort to get that HF/SSB working. Usually it's quite simple to address the likely problems.