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HF Radio for Crui=
sers
Pros, Cons and O=
ptions
Why Fit HF?=
•Fre=
e or
nearly free email anywhere, anytim=
e
•Free
weather information ranging from analogue
weather faxes and text weather foreca=
sts to
satellite images and Grib files
•Acc=
ess to
weather routing services such as
‘Herb’
•Acc=
ess to
maritime radio nets
•…..and its fu=
n!
What about Satelli=
te?
•<=
/span>Satellite coms is generally more
expensive
•<=
/span>Satellite phone contact is point to p=
oint
– there is no
equivalent of a satellite ‘net’
•<=
/span>Once the equipment is installed sat. =
coms.
Puts less o=
f a
technical burden on the operator – a sat. phone is very like a mobile phon=
e
•<=
/span>Sat. Coms. Let you into the phone net=
work, HF
used to let you in=
but
many shore stations are now closed so that with HF you can only use <=
span
lang=3DEN-US style=3D'font-size:88%'>voice with others with the same equip=
ment
Two types of ship=
board
HF
•<=
/span>Commercial HF gives access to specifi=
c parts
of the r=
adio
spectrum normally through sets designed specifically for that use.
•<=
/span>An operator license is required taking
between 3 and 5=
days
for the course depending on which modules are chosen.
•In addition a ship license is require=
d for
the equip=
ment,
normally with the same call sign as your VHF.
•<=
/span>In Commercial HF you use your ship ca=
ll sign
or ship =
name.
Inmarsat C<=
span
style=3D'mso-special-format:lastCR;display:none'>
<=
span
style=3D'font-size:88%'>•Text only, expensive, 1c per characte=
r
<=
span
style=3D'font-size:88%'>•Part of GMDSS all MRCC have the kit&#=
13;
<=
span
style=3D'font-size:88%'>•Full proof communications anywhere
anytime
<=
span
style=3D'font-size:88%'>•Back up GPS using different satellite=
s
<=
span
style=3D'font-size:88%'>•Red panic button
•They used to email ‘store and
forward’ but now you only receive if logged in
<=
span
style=3D'font-size:88%'>•You get free ocean Navtex (called EGC=
)
Ham Radio
•Ham Radio is also very popular on cru=
ising =
boats
•<=
/span>There are three levels of operator li=
cense
– Foun=
dation,
Intermediate and Full. A Full license is normally required for ship board use
•<=
/span>There is no ‘ship license’=
; with
HAM – it is the operator
who is licensed, he/she uses their call sign normally with a ‘maritime mobile’
suffix. So I would
use MM0MBH/mm – often the suffix is called ‘Mickey Mouse’
=
;
Commercial Radio
Equipment
•<=
/span>In the past commercial radio equipmen=
t was
strictly controlled. Since the equipment would connect to the telephone network a=
nd be
used by relat=
ively
inexperienced operators safeguards had to be in place in the equipment design itself to stop inter=
ference
to others . Such equipment was ‘Type Approved’ and generally
expensive.
•
•<=
/span>Now that there is little HF telephone
traffic, and since the HF telephone capability in the UK has disappeared, the certific=
ation
requirements have been
relaxed and rather than manufacturers having to submit their =
equipment to a government lab. for
‘Type Testing’ they now self-certificate. The result is that the whole issue of=
fitting
a commercial radio to a boat is now much more relaxed.
•
•Commercial radios can be ‘opened
up’ or ‘broad banded’ which then gives them the ability to receive and trans=
mit on
the HAM bands as well. In the old days of ‘Type Approval’ such a thing w=
ould
invalidate the certificate but now that things are more relaxed it is very common.
Commercial Radio
Equipment
•<=
/span>Commercial radios have one particular=
feature
that on the one hand make them easy to use but on the other limit them ̵=
1;
they are channelised, very much like your VHF set. So if your list of radio s=
ignals
says ITU channel 1601
and that is what you dial up – that is what you get. If may be hard =
though for you to know what frequency=
you are
listening on, what you are transmitting on and even if you are transmitting o=
ver
the top of someone else.
All these ITU channels were meant to be under the control of shore =
=
stations which now simply do not exis=
t.
For ITU frequency listing se=
e : http://www.naval.com/hf-freq=
.htm
•
•<=
/span>Channels make it easy to find people =
if they
are on the agreed channel but if it is occupied then finding them on another cha=
nnel
is very complex unless you have a pre-agreed program of alternates
•<=
/span>Commercial radios also have alarms and
defaults so that if everything goes wrong they default to the international MF distress
frequency of 2182 and there
is a recessed tone button to press and grab attention – if there was=
anybody listening which now generally=
there
will not be!
![](3D"slide0015_image003.gif")
Marine Distress Frequencies (Radio Telephone (R=
/T)
& DSC)
30 nm
30 nm
156.525 MHz (Ch 70)
156.800 MHz (Ch16)
VHF
16804.5 kHz
16420 kHz
HF16
2500 nm
12577 kHz
12290 kHz
HF12
2000 nm
1000 nm
8414.5 kHZ
8291 kHz
HF8
1500 nm
600 nm
6312 kHz
6215 kHz
HF6
1000 nm
300 nm
4207.5 kHZ
4125 kHz
HF4
500 nm
150 nm
2187.5 kHz
2182 kHz
MF
Night Time Range
Day Time Range
DSC Frequency
R/T Frequency
Band
![](3D"slide0016_image004.gif")
2000
12359 kHz
1215
8104 KHz
=
Yachtsmens calling channel Caribbean =
Net Safety Net
0530
8122 kHz
Mediterranean Net
Times GMT
frequency
Net Areas
![](3D"slide0017_image005.gif")
Amateur band frequencies
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28675 - 28685
28200 - 29200 USB
28050 - 28150
28000 - 28199
10
24931 - 24990 USB
24920 - 24929
24890 - 24920
12
21335 - 21345
21151 - 21450 USB
21080 - 21120
21000 - 21080
15
18111 - 18168 USB
18100 - 18109
18068 - 18100
17
14225 - 14235
14112 - 14350 USB
14070 - 14112
14000 - 14070
20
10140 - 10150
10100 - 10140
30
7045 - 7200 LSB
7035 - 7045 kHz
7000 - 7035
40
3730 - 3740
3620 - 3800 LSB
3580 - 3600 kHz
3500 - 3580
80
1842 -2000 LSB
1838 - 1842 kHz
1810 - 1838
160
SSTV
Phone
Data
Morse
B=
and
Commercial Radio
Equipment
•<=
/span>If you buy a new commercial radio it =
will
almost certainly feature ‘DSC’.
•
•<=
/span>DSC is the ability to call another st=
ation
using their MMSI number and, in the call, to nominate a working frequency.=
•
•<=
/span>Unlike in a VHF DSC set where DSC is =
actively
used by the coast=
guards
and there is only one band of frequencies to work with =
HF DSC is hardly used by any coastgua=
rds at
all and there are at least
9 bands of frequencies to work with. DSC complicates the set with features that you are probably n=
ever
going to use. If you have to press the alarm on a communications set do not =
rely
on the DSC alar=
m on
your HF – it very probably will do nothing for you at all, it is =
just a case of technology moving on e=
ven
before agreed designs had
made it to the marketplace.
Commercial Radio
Equipment
•Icom Marine Radios<=
/span>
![](3D"slide0009_image006.jpg")
=
![](3D"slide0009_image007.jpg")
Yaessu VX-1700
•₤460 contact Robin, Martin Lynch<=
/span>
![](3D"slide0031_image009.jpg")
HAM Radio
•More technical knowledge is required =
to
operate a HA=
M set,
many of the safeguards are removed so it is easier to damage the set or cause =
=
interference
=
•HAM is not channelised – you ha=
ve a continuously variable frequency tuning
control so
‘searching’ is easier
•HAM users follow a band plan so that =
you know
what you are allow=
ed to do
at what frequency
HAM Radio
•W=
hereas
commercial bands are now very quiet t=
here
are still lots of amateurs about –=
you
will always find somebody there
•A=
mateur
is free so services you may have to pay=
for
in commercial radio are free for HAMS&#=
13;•HAM
sets can generally be opened up for commerc=
ial
frequencies
![](3D"slide0021_image011.jpg")
Icom
706 HAM mobile radio
HAM – Gettin=
g a
license
•Thr=
ee
levels, Foundation, Intermediate and
Full
•Rad=
io
clubs run courses, there is a practic=
al
build requirement at Intermediate which =
is
easier to do within a club
•There is now no mor=
se
requirement
•I t=
ook my
three licenses in thee months, there =
is an
online course at:
•
•<=
/span>
![](3D"slide0023_image012.jpg")
What
Frequency to Use
What is SSB?
•There are many forms of modulating a =
radio =
signal so that your signal (voice) ca=
n then =
bounce along to a receiver
•<=
/span>A previously popular modulation was a=
nalogue <=
span
lang=3DEN-US style=3D'font-size:88%'>modulation (AM) but this produces pow=
er at
the carri=
er
frequency and at two sidebands. All your signal (voice) information though is in one sideband
•<=
/span>SSB transmits only one sideband makin=
g it much more power efficient
Upper and Lower
Sideband
•A=
ll
commercial SSB transmissions are on the upp=
er
sideband – called ‘USB’ or ‘J3E’
=
•For
historical reasons amateur uses lower sideband
at 7MHz and below so your set will n=
ot
only have to be able to receive these
frequencies but also change sideban=
d
Antennas
•<=
/span>Radio transceivers expect to
‘see’ a 50 ohm antenna. For receiving this is not important but for transm=
itting
it is very
important. You can blow up the output stage of a transceiver by pressing the PTT switc=
h if you
are not conn=
ected to
a 50 ohm load
•<=
/span>It is hard to make a 50 ohm antenna o=
n a boat
so most use a
‘ATU’ a box with coils in it which searches for the best impedances to add to your antenn=
a for
the part=
icular
frequency you are going to use
•<=
/span>Generally you will have to tune this =
box each
time you chan=
ge
frequency
Antennas
•The ‘best’ antennas are b=
alanced.
They have two s=
ections,
the earth of your co-ax is connected to one section and the inner to the =
other
=
•Most of us use an insulated section of
backstay. This =
is
unbalanced, the sea we are floating in forms the other half of the antenna. A good connection to the sea for the
‘earth’ is therefore important for long distance communication
Balanced Antennas<=
/span>
•The
dipole, consisting of wire ½ wavele=
ngth
long is an excellent all round antenna=
and
requires no ATU
•Nor=
mally
dipoles are fed in the centre – hot
wire to one half of the dipole and screen=
to
the other
•=
www.parelectronics.com make the end- fedz
a dipole fed at one end No earth required and easy to depl=
oy
Radio Email=
•T=
he most
popular way to do this is to use a modem
operating ‘Pactor’. The most popular
supplier is SCS in Germany
‘Winlink’. Airmail does both or either.
<=
span
class=3DBB style=3D'position:absolute;left:-3.98%'>•The
software is free – it is called Airmail
•You
connect to the shore to either a commer=
cial
set of stations called ‘sailmail’ or to the free radio amateur network called ![](3D"slide0029_image014.gif")
SCS
Pactor Modem
Jargon
•<=
/span>And if you listen on the HAM bands, j=
ust to
reassure you that
you haven’t entered some weird ritualistic world:
=
–<=
/span>Operators call each other ‘Old
Man’
–<=
/span>Wives are called ‘XYL’ for
‘ex young lady’
–<=
/span>All they ever talk about are antennas=
–<=
/span>Your signal report is given on a read=
ability
scale of 5 to 1 and a strength
of 9 to 1 so a good report is ‘five by nine’
–<=
/span>An all station call is ‘CQ̵=
7;
–
–<=
/span>Asking who is that is ‘QRZ̵=
7;
–
–<=
/span>The location you are calling from is
‘QTH’
–
–…..and you say goodbye by passi=
ng best
wishes to his whole family
an then saying ‘seventy three’ for reasons I will not even try=
to explain
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