SSB Receiver ?

[highseas]

What about the Sitex weather fax SSB receiver?have opportunity to purchase slightly used model with Metz antenna for $350.

[s/v 'Faith']

Too funny.....


Someone else just asked the same question about the same reciver on anther thread. Here is the reply I made there;

I have the exact receiver in your post. I took it with me cruising, and never used it (other then to play with it 2 or 3 times).

Take a look at this thread, and get a Kaito 1103. It will do everything that one will do for 1/4 of the cost (and receive other useful bands too).

FWIW,
I was not impressed with the SITEX unit, I still have it aboard as a backup but would not buy it again.

[highseas]

If you can tell me where to buy one of these in Canada,without purchasing from internet,I would go for it.I cant find anyplace that sells them here.

[donradcliffe]

highseas, try Durham*Radio*Sales*and*Service*Canada

[s/v 'Faith']

I continue to be happy with my Kaito 1103 (posted above)

I will buy another now that the Degen 1103 (same radio) is more available in the US. The price is now around half of what i paid for the Kaito.

WRT other radios, if it does not have a ssb detector, it is worthless. There are lots of 'SW' radios out there, but few have the lls/usb switch. Look for that.

I had a SiTex receiver, with the WX fax software. Carried it onboard cruinsing the bahamas for months. I wanted (needed) wx info, but never bothered

Also, many of the little ones have pretty tinny and hard to hear sound. The Kaito is fair in this, better then the Sony, but not as good as larger radios.

I was looking at a Mid size radion from CCrane, it was $250, it was not water resistant, and had that same cheap look as the sansung's do.

I will probably just pick up a spare 1103 as a backup and call it good.

Wish that Kaito would build one that was waterproof. I like to keepmine in the cockpit.

[fourgeau]

After reading your review and others I purchased the Kaito KA1103.
I have to be a simpleton or cannot read the instructions.
I need to access the Radio weather of PORTSMOUTH VA, station NMN on either 4426, 6501, 8764, OR 13089khz when I am offshore out of VHF range
I have not been able to tune to any of these frequencies since when I reach 4500khz the radio jumps to the next band begining at 5500khz.
I also would like to be able to memorize these stations and obviously set an alarm.
Could you help.
Thank you


Shortwave radio review and discussion
One of the things that Rose and I really came to rely on was our shortwave radio. I had researched various brands and read all I could about them, and then bought the Kaito 1103. It’s alarm was set to make sure we were awake to listen to Chris Parker’s weather net every morning it was on.
Kaito 1103 specs from Kaito site;

Now, I do not believe that a ham set, or even an SSB transceiver is a requirement onboard a small boat, but I have to say that a good shortwave receiver, capable of decoding SSB transmitions is an important peeve of gear.
When you are close enough to the US, you can still get NOAA on the VHF, but that was good for about 75 miles on a good day (for us). Others use more advanced methods, some you have to subscribe to, to get their info. I bet that XM weather is nice, but don’t care for the equipment requirements or the monthly subscription fees.
I admit I had not gone much beyond buying the gear before we left US waters… this was not a good idea. While I have a pretty strong background in electronics, especially communication’s I struggled to get the right combination to get a reliable signal.
The ham guys, and most everyone I checked with had nothing but praise for the Kaito 1103. Read some reviews on Ham.net here. It is also marketed as the Degen 1103, and tested against the standards seems to perform well. The Sony’s are great radios, less so the old standard which is the Grundig Yachtboy…. which no longer is much of a contender according to many of the the radio guys, but still seems to be popular talking to other cruisers in anchorages in the Bahamas.
Both cost more then the better rated Kaito which a quick search shows can easily be had online for less then a boat buck. There is also a 1102 model, which many like. Whatever radion you go with make sure it has the SSB (USB/LSB) decoder... I have a YB300 that does nothave this. It is ok for news, but not IMHO a cruising radio. The Kaito also have a solid feel, not like the cheap plastic feel that Grundig has adopted (my Yachtboy YB300 is positively cheap feeling compared to the kaito)
I had great success with my dodger frame as an antenna… which was surprising since I had less success with long (even tuned) antennas I tried to hoist up into the rigging.
One thing I did not try, but do not hesitate to recommend would be following James Baldwin’s advice on his web page. He mentioned this page to me when we visited them, I later wished I had taken the time to put one together before I left. The link is; Aerial Tricks - making a dipole antenna for your SSB radio
(with notes on SSB receivers and RF ground planes)
by James Baldwin[/QUOTE]

[Seahunter]

You might want to look at the Eton/Grundig Satellit 750. We tune ours to the weather under normal conditions, freeing up our VHFs.

[conachair]

Originally Posted by fourgeau

After reading your review and others I purchased the Kaito KA1103.
I have to be a simpleton or cannot read the instructions.
I need to access the Radio weather of PORTSMOUTH VA, station NMN on either 4426, 6501, 8764, OR 13089khz when I am offshore out of VHF range
I have not been able to tune to any of these frequencies since when I reach 4500khz the radio jumps to the next band begining at 5500khz.

Ah, never noticed that before. The 75/90m band stops at 4100Khz and the 49M band starts at 4500kHz. No matter, just push the number buttons 4-4-2-6 then "BAND+" . SHould tune to 4426kHz.

I also would like to be able to memorize these stations and obviously set an alarm.
Could you help.
Thank you

Push and hold "store" and turn the tuning knob to find an empty memory location, then push "store" again to store the freq there. If you push "store" now you can scroll through the memories.

With the radio turned off push and hold either the "m/f" or "store" buttons to set the 2 alarms.



It's a great radio but the operating system is a bit , err, rubbish.

[kaimusailing]

I have the 1102 model and need the user manual to do most of the functions. The SSB function is only available on "Page 9". If you save a SSB freq, it must be saved on page 9 or SSB function won't be available. On marine freqs that are USB, tune 1.9 kHz below the listed frequency. I think these radios pick up both USB and LSB, unless your model has a USB/LSB switch. Use the long antenna and go outdoors. listen with stereo headphones and you will hear a tick, tick, tick when you find the signal. There will be modem signal. Your radio is probably stereo out, so you will need a mini stereo plug on one end of your cable. You have to find out if your mic input or line input connector on your sound card is mono or stereo. Basically the two stereo outputs share a ground wire, tie them together to feed a mono plug. An attenuator resistor might be necessary to match to the mic level input. You'll know this if your software shows the signal getting clipped. Better to have line input.

[gettinthere]

I have the ka1103 and cannot get chris parker, noah, cruiser net, bbc, etc. Am & fm work and I can surf around the dial and pick up a few strange conversations but not the good stuff. Tried battery, ac power tried whip antenna, the long antenna included, made a clip on antenna to clip to the mast stays. Nothing works. Just static. Pushed the ssb button on and off for each variable, nothing.
What did I miss?

[Paul Elliott]

Originally Posted by gettinthere

I have the ka1103 and cannot get chris parker, noah, cruiser net, bbc, etc.

Where are you when you are trying this? I've had good results receiving SSB with my KA1103, using just the whip antenna, but this is in a quiet location. In the marina it's pretty difficult, but you should be able to receive something. Turn off all other electronics, refrigerator, etc, on your boat to see if you have some bad local noise source.

Time of day, location, time of year, 11-year sunspot cycle -- these all matter.

Start with WWV (5, 10, 15, 20 MHz). They broadcast 24 hours a day from both Colorado (WWV) and Hawaii (WWVH). You should usually be able to hear one or both of them at least one of those frequencies.

WWV transmits in AM, but the KA1103 should receive in either AM or SSB mode.

[gettinthere]

Initial efforts were in Marathon. But this morning I'm out miles away from infrastructure, anchored near outer banks nc. A few houses 300 yards away.

[kaimusailing]

I always need to read the manual to do anything with these radios. The operating scheme is nuts! But, they work, you have to check what time your net is up or weatherfax broadcast, also shift your frequency 1.9kH. I do get interference from solar panel charge controllers, LED lights, etc. The battery charger for the radio also seems to cause interference. Try running on battery only. The weatherfax transmission times have to be calculated from universal time to your local time.