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Old 30-01-2008, 07:56   #1
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XM Weather in the Bahamas

Anyone actually use xm weather in bahamas and know how far southeast it works? At what group of islands it becomes unreliable?

I'm cruising from ST. Thomas to Florida and have xm wx, but between D.R. and florida through the bahamas I'll need to get wx info and need to know where I'll start picking up intermittant xm and reliable xm reports.
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Old 13-02-2008, 15:08   #2
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I'm guessing no one uses xm in the bahamas or it isn't usable in the bahamas?
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Old 13-02-2008, 15:26   #3
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uh oh......... and I'm attending the MIAMI INTERNATIONAL BOAT SHOW in MIAMI this weekend hoping to get some blowout prices on a SIRIUS XM Weather Module for my E80 RAYMARINE, raydome, depth sounder, 12V LCD TV and a few other goodies......

That weather display gets everything via satellite, correct??
I wouldn't think there would be, I'm gonna check out their site and get back to you....
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Old 13-02-2008, 15:54   #4
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Looks like XM coverage is the USA and Puerto Rico, website does not show the radar "footprint", same with SIRIUS........... neither site is very good at specific territories...
I called SIRIUS, due to the fact that I'm going to the MIAMI INTERNATIONAL BOAT SHOW this weekend in MIAMI and plan to shop for the SIRIUS Weather Module for my RAYMARINE E-80, a RAYDOME, depth sounder and a few other goodies, including a 12V LCD TV...... spoke with a tech that was in the DOMINICAN REPUBLIC of all places!!!! He was NO help on coverage, just told me they get the weather radar in the DR!

The BEST prices I've found on some of this stuff is SAILNET, and I've got a PORT SUPPLY ACCOUNT which is supposed to be wholesale, but I'm shopping.....
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Old 14-02-2008, 08:54   #5
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US Coast Guard to Continue HF Weather Broadcasts
US Coast Guard Continues HF Weather Broadcasts
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HF Weather Broadcast Notice - U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center
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Old 14-02-2008, 09:07   #6
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The best Bahamas weather comes from Chris Parker, an experienced Bahamas cruiser (Bel Ami) now based in Lakeland, FL and operating the Caribbean Weather Network. 0630 EST4035 mhz SSB (upper sideband) He also does a later forecast 0930? but I always get the 0630 one. All I've got is a little Sony receiver and it booms in.
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Old 14-02-2008, 09:21   #7
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Nauti,

Found a couple of low-res images of both Sirius' and XM's footprints.

Seems that the Bahamas the Dominican Republic are in fringe areas, and perhaps Puerto Rico and the USVI are just on the bleeding edge. You might need a very good high-gain antenna to pull in the weak signal.

While having weather overlays right on your chartplotter are nice, Gord and Vasco are right - when the chips are down, there's always HF radio "BLOS" (what we who work in darker circles call Beyond Line Of Sight ).

What we plan on doing when we take off in Beausoleil this fall is to get GRIB files delivered via WinLink or Sailmail when not near civilization, and to just download them via WiFi when we are. We have a Raymarine E-120, but the weather overlay function in Maptech's Chart Navigator Pro are nicer...
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Old 25-02-2008, 12:10   #8
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XM Weather

I have a small Garmin chart plotter with XM radio that I've used in the Bahamas and it works quite well although some of the information starts to drop out around the north end of the Exuma chain (e.g., lightening strikes). On the other hand the satellite picture is very good as far south as George Town in Exuma and the wind and wave data extends south from there. Sorry I can't be more specific but at the moment I'm sitting here in Minneapolis counting the days until I can get back to Exuma so I can't turn the thing on to give you a more precise picture. Bottom line: I like it a lot.

P.S. I have a Furano Navtex receiver on board as well and it does a good job covering the Bahamas.
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Old 25-02-2008, 12:57   #9
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Thanks for the info. That's the most I've gotten so far. Good to know I should get good wx data as far as georgetown although I'm hoping to get data as far as T + C.
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Old 25-02-2008, 13:16   #10
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P.S. I have a Furano Navtex receiver on board as well and it does a good job covering the Bahamas.
Yeah, I got the Furuno Navtex as well and it works as far away from the transmitter in Miami as the Exuma Chain.
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Old 25-02-2008, 15:13   #11
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hey David,
You emailed me , but you have email blocked.
Yes I can wait for a report. I'm not going till oct.
What kind of receiver are you using for your trip?
basic garmin xm gear or wxworx?

Let me know how you do.
How far are you going on your trip?
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Old 25-02-2008, 15:23   #12
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It's a Garmin 376 C with the XM Master Mariners weather package. I just went to the XM site to see what was included in the package and I noticed that it included 12, 24 and 36 hour wind speed and direction forecasts. I don't recall having that information available on my Garmin but then I might not have looked for it carefully enough.

Can't understand why my email is blocked.
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Old 26-02-2008, 02:50   #13
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Make sure you get the low resistance marine antenna.
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Old 26-02-2008, 03:20   #14
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elaborate Lynx. As far as I know with the garmin equipment there is no choice of antennas. whichever chartplotter you have-there is only one antenna choice. Do you know something else? On what equipment do you have a choice of antenna?
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Old 29-02-2008, 11:42   #15
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Sirius weather

I just heard from a friend cruising in the Cartegena, Columbia area. While he doesn't have a weather-capable Sirius radio, it does receive a good signal there...
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