Scs Pactor Controller Ptc

[tolly]

I have plans to install a SSB radio system on my boat, being able to download weather fax etc, though I am so far a total amateur in this.

I have the possibility to pretty cheap buy a very little used, though older, "scs Pactor controller ptc", modem.

I understand that it probably is slower than newer ones, but does anyone of you know if it besides the speed will work as well as newer ones?
If so, are there any SSB transcievers better suitable for using with it or can it do with anyone?

Thank you.

[Paul L]

The Pactor II's with the III firmware are fine. The older ones have a serial interface instead of USB (or Bluetooth). You can use a serial-to-USB dongle to get the data into your computer. Be aware that you can spend a fair amount on the cabling too.

[tolly]

Okey, the price is about $100 for the Pactor, which seemes okey to me.
But still, compared with the newer ones, what do I miss?

[AnchorageGuy]

tolly, the availability of Pactor III PMBO frequencies, the connections you need to make to upload and download email, weather, etc., is much greater than the number of Pactor II PMBO frequencies. Pactor I PMBO's are getting pretty much non existant. So you will have much more choices with Pactor III along with faster connection speeds. It's pretty easy to upgrade the older units, PACTOR III , and you can go to Farallon Electronics 415-331-1924 , scroll down the product list until you get to "Pactor Upgrades" . Pactor III is a big improvement and well worth the upgrade. Chuck

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by tolly

Okey, the price is about $100 for the Pactor, which seemes okey to me.
But still, compared with the newer ones, what do I miss?

Maybe you should state what model Pactor you are looking at. $100 seems way too cheap.

[tolly]

It lookes like the attached picture and I believe that it is maybe the first model of Pactor, since it has no special type name on it, except the name in the title of my thread.

[AnchorageGuy]

I would suggest you contact Farallon Electronics to get some definitive answers on that unit. Chuck

[Auspicious]

Since Tolly is in Sweden he should contact SCS directly.

[tolly]

Thank you both for your advice's
I will follow them both.
Rolf

[Krakato]

I would definitely invest in PACTOR III (P3). It is much faster and performs better in questionable conditions.

I have an older SPS modem with a serial port that I now run into a serial/USB dongle and run P3. I used the system as a part of a communications system while working with International Health Services in the back country of Honduras for several years. We were always passing traffic here and there. I found that when I could connect to a P3 PMBO everything was great. It would speed up / slow down as conditions changed. When I could only connect to a P2 PMBO things were not so good. Things typically took 4-5 times longer than with P3. Transferring small images (satellite images, weather maps, ...) that I could get in about 5 minutes with P3 would take 45 minutes with P2. Many times I'd just give up and go searching for a P3 PMBO that I could connect with.

So spend the extra money for P3. Don't go with anything less.

Cheers,
Mike
NW5M