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TRAWLERS & TRAWLERING LIST

Use of Ham Radio By Yachts (and the move to no -code)

nunas@nunas.com

Thu, Aug 11, 2005 9:26 PM

First, we doubt that there will be a flood of riff-raff polluting the bands
to the point of uselessness (although some undesirables will no doubt
appear). HF ham radio is not cheap to set up; it requires (relatively) big
antennas and is prone to causing audio rectification in neighbours'
electronic equipment. And, it simply isn't 'sexy' any more. The rabid
technology hounds have nearly all moved on to computers and the Internet.
The current problem of the ham clubs is attracting people to the service,
not keeping them away. We would argue that the greatest effect of dropping
the Morse code requirement would not be a flood of undesirables but rather
the making available of HF radio spectrum to additional legitimate users,
including yachties.

Aboard AKAMA, we have two HF stations, one for ham radio (an Icom 756-PRO-II
and before that a Kenwood TS-450) and one for marine radio (an SEA 322).
There is an A-B switch to connect the HG antenna system between the two. We
rarely use the marine radio and, frankly, would never install one on another
boat. We constantly use the ham radio. Even a simple ham radio, like our
TS-450 is vastly superior to most marine radios. There are more and better
filters and noise reduction circuits. The Icom 756-PRO-II, a 'Cadillac' in
comparison is hands down better. The only advantage that the marine radio
has it that it is nearly as easy to use as a VHF radio and it meets a marine
specification.

The majority of ham radio use is for email. We are on the Winlink-2000
email system, using the free software program 'Airmail' on a laptop. The
only other ting you need is a radio modem (ours is a rather expensive SCS
PTC-IIe). This allows us to run a protocol called Pactor-III, which gives
reasonable speed and reliability. We tried Iridium for email, but did not
like it. When used in its native mode, it is slow (2400 bps) and
sufficiently unreliable to cause connection problems to the email ISP. One
can, however, subscribe to Iridium's own email service, which runs at 10k
bps. It is faster and much more reliable, but not free. In the end we went
back to Airmail on ham radio.

The next most important use for ham radio is for the radio nets, which we
use sporadically when we are planning a passage and almost daily when we are
at sea. One has the choice of maritime nets or ham radio nets. Most of the
time we have found the ham radio nets to be more plentiful and sometimes
superior in operation, at least in the waters where we have been operating
(Asia and Oceania). An exception is New Zealand, where the maritime mobile
service is exemplary, due to a network of volunteer operators operating
private marine stations.

We also use HF radio for ship-to-ship communication. Although we generally
use the maritime mobile simplex frequencies for this, more often than not it
is the ham radio equipment that we use on these frequencies (yes, this is
not kosher). It works simply better, as noted above.

Finally, we do use our ham radio station once in a while for recreation; but
these days mostly on RTTY (radio teletype) and other digital modes, as my
cancer operation has left me with a speech impediment that results in most
people thinking our radio is defective! My voice is a bit like badly-tuned
SSB.

We estimate that among the yachties that we have met, mostly sail, far fewer
than half are bona fide ham radio operators. On the other hand, these same
yachts are nearly all equipped with ham radios, and use most of the
applications listed above. Frequently they simply make up a call sign and
act like a ham. If it waddles like a duck and quacks like a duck nobody
seems to question whether it really is one. The exception is Winlink-2000,
which we have been told does check the call book listings. But these
non-hams have an alternative, Sailmail, which is functionally identical to
Airmail, but which uses marine frequencies and which requires a (modest) fee
to be paid.

73 & 88
Calm seas and fair winds
Maurice & Louise-Ann Nunas
M/Y AKAMA, VE0MN

The requirement to test for Morse code was enshrined in the international radio regulations (ITU). Years ago the code stipulation was lowered from 144 MHz to 30 MHz which has allowed greater use of lower frequencies by hams that did not have code testing. During this time, most individual telecommunication administrations have likewise lowered requirements, to the point where the requirement to know Morse code is nearly no longer a barrier in some countries. Dropping the requirement to test for Morse code, we would argue, was predictable and inevitable. So, access to the ham bands will get easier. So what is the impact on us as trawler owners and wannabes? First, we doubt that there will be a flood of riff-raff polluting the bands to the point of uselessness (although some undesirables will no doubt appear). HF ham radio is not cheap to set up; it requires (relatively) big antennas and is prone to causing audio rectification in neighbours' electronic equipment. And, it simply isn't 'sexy' any more. The rabid technology hounds have nearly all moved on to computers and the Internet. The current problem of the ham clubs is attracting people to the service, not keeping them away. We would argue that the greatest effect of dropping the Morse code requirement would not be a flood of undesirables but rather the making available of HF radio spectrum to additional legitimate users, including yachties. Aboard AKAMA, we have two HF stations, one for ham radio (an Icom 756-PRO-II and before that a Kenwood TS-450) and one for marine radio (an SEA 322). There is an A-B switch to connect the HG antenna system between the two. We rarely use the marine radio and, frankly, would never install one on another boat. We constantly use the ham radio. Even a simple ham radio, like our TS-450 is vastly superior to most marine radios. There are more and better filters and noise reduction circuits. The Icom 756-PRO-II, a 'Cadillac' in comparison is hands down better. The only advantage that the marine radio has it that it is nearly as easy to use as a VHF radio and it meets a marine specification. The majority of ham radio use is for email. We are on the Winlink-2000 email system, using the free software program 'Airmail' on a laptop. The only other ting you need is a radio modem (ours is a rather expensive SCS PTC-IIe). This allows us to run a protocol called Pactor-III, which gives reasonable speed and reliability. We tried Iridium for email, but did not like it. When used in its native mode, it is slow (2400 bps) and sufficiently unreliable to cause connection problems to the email ISP. One can, however, subscribe to Iridium's own email service, which runs at 10k bps. It is faster and much more reliable, but not free. In the end we went back to Airmail on ham radio. The next most important use for ham radio is for the radio nets, which we use sporadically when we are planning a passage and almost daily when we are at sea. One has the choice of maritime nets or ham radio nets. Most of the time we have found the ham radio nets to be more plentiful and sometimes superior in operation, at least in the waters where we have been operating (Asia and Oceania). An exception is New Zealand, where the maritime mobile service is exemplary, due to a network of volunteer operators operating private marine stations. We also use HF radio for ship-to-ship communication. Although we generally use the maritime mobile simplex frequencies for this, more often than not it is the ham radio equipment that we use on these frequencies (yes, this is not kosher). It works simply better, as noted above. Finally, we do use our ham radio station once in a while for recreation; but these days mostly on RTTY (radio teletype) and other digital modes, as my cancer operation has left me with a speech impediment that results in most people thinking our radio is defective! My voice is a bit like badly-tuned SSB. We estimate that among the yachties that we have met, mostly sail, far fewer than half are bona fide ham radio operators. On the other hand, these same yachts are nearly all equipped with ham radios, and use most of the applications listed above. Frequently they simply make up a call sign and act like a ham. If it waddles like a duck and quacks like a duck nobody seems to question whether it really is one. The exception is Winlink-2000, which we have been told does check the call book listings. But these non-hams have an alternative, Sailmail, which is functionally identical to Airmail, but which uses marine frequencies and which requires a (modest) fee to be paid. 73 & 88 Calm seas and fair winds Maurice & Louise-Ann Nunas M/Y AKAMA, VE0MN

Will Standley

Fri, Aug 12, 2005 1:05 AM

At the risk of getting piled on I'll put in my 2-cents worth on this
subject...

There are good reasons to learn how to transmit and receive CW (Continuous
Wave) or Morse Code...

And there are very good reasons for blue water cruisers to have a small CW
Rig (Transmitter and receiver) on board...

CW (transmission using the unmodulated keyed signal generated by a simple
radio frequency generator... a transmitter) is the a very reliable
transmissions method. It can works when nothing else works.

The transmitter circuitry is incredibly simple and thus less likely to have
problems and easier to fix when it does. It consist of a simple rf
oscillator and, maybe, a simple rf amplifier and tuning circuit. (It
requires only a couple of transistors and a hand full of parts.)

Using CW allows you to have a very simple emergency radio that will work at
very low power and on a lousy antenna.... Almost any old wire tied up any
old way... It can be received quite reliably in high interference and high
noise environments. It works even when the transmitter power is very low.
This means you can use a smaller battery or make a regular battery last much
longer. 12 volts at 100 ma of current will create 1.2 watts... at 200 ma 2.4
watts... at 1 amp 12 watts. And since the current is only drawn when the key
is depressed... when the transmitter is keyed on... average current draw
will be less.

The presence or absence of the tone that is created in the receiver as the
transmitting carrier is keyed on and off is akin to digital vs analog...
Digital is either on or off... exactly like a CW or Code transmitter. All
you have to do is detect the presence or absence of the signal. You don't
have to worry about any of the gray area as you do when receiving analog
transmissions. AM, SSB or FM are analog systems and have all the in-between
states. Decoding the data (in the ear and brain) in high interference and
noisy conditions... or when the signal is very weak... can be very difficult
and sometimes impossible.

The issue of diminishing ham radio operators is a legitimate concern
relative to continued justification for maintaining spectrum, but lowering
the bar too far has consequences that can have the same result, the spectrum
space becomes virtually useless for meaningful communication... Like CB.

It only takes a few hours of practice to learn the code. This is a very
small investment to make to distinguish the serious from those with a
passing interest or alternately less than sincere interest in the hobby.
Regardless of what smart remarks may be made CW is still has a serious roll
in communications.

Keep the Code - Delete the Theory:
I would suggest that the most useless part of the ham radio licensing
process for the modern ham operator is probably electronic theory. Since so
many hams today are basically appliance operators, why do they need to know
anything about electronic circuits? In fact, I'm not sure they even require
any theory on today's ham radio test. Do they?

Finally, any moderately industrious person can build a simple CW radio from
scratch. Or, you can buy such for a very modest price. Google QRP Rigs or
Ham Radio CW Transmitter or Ham Radio CW Transmitter Schematics... Or check
some of the books in the ham radio stores... Or with your local ham radio
club for more info.

73's

K4BDA
Will

PS Here are a few random links for simple CW Rigs

http://www.qsl.net/k4msw/rigs.html
http://www.fix.net/~jparker/wilderness/sst.htm ($90 ham radio that will run
on 9 volt battery) http://www.sanda.gr.jp/mitsu/QRP/
http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/qrpheath.html
http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/3586
http://bas.thoen.info/gallery/QRP-trx-1320
http://www.discovercircuits.com/T/transmitter.htm
http://www.mnsi.net/~bektrek/3-WATT%20CW%20TRANSMITTER.htm
http://cs.okanagan.bc.ca/ve7ouc/eng/kc6wdk-mirror/transmitter2.html
Google for many more.

At the risk of getting piled on I'll put in my 2-cents worth on this subject... There are good reasons to learn how to transmit and receive CW (Continuous Wave) or Morse Code... And there are very good reasons for blue water cruisers to have a small CW Rig (Transmitter and receiver) on board... CW (transmission using the unmodulated keyed signal generated by a simple radio frequency generator... a transmitter) is the a very reliable transmissions method. It can works when nothing else works. The transmitter circuitry is incredibly simple and thus less likely to have problems and easier to fix when it does. It consist of a simple rf oscillator and, maybe, a simple rf amplifier and tuning circuit. (It requires only a couple of transistors and a hand full of parts.) Using CW allows you to have a very simple emergency radio that will work at very low power and on a lousy antenna.... Almost any old wire tied up any old way... It can be received quite reliably in high interference and high noise environments. It works even when the transmitter power is very low. This means you can use a smaller battery or make a regular battery last much longer. 12 volts at 100 ma of current will create 1.2 watts... at 200 ma 2.4 watts... at 1 amp 12 watts. And since the current is only drawn when the key is depressed... when the transmitter is keyed on... average current draw will be less. The presence or absence of the tone that is created in the receiver as the transmitting carrier is keyed on and off is akin to digital vs analog... Digital is either on or off... exactly like a CW or Code transmitter. All you have to do is detect the presence or absence of the signal. You don't have to worry about any of the gray area as you do when receiving analog transmissions. AM, SSB or FM are analog systems and have all the in-between states. Decoding the data (in the ear and brain) in high interference and noisy conditions... or when the signal is very weak... can be very difficult and sometimes impossible. The issue of diminishing ham radio operators is a legitimate concern relative to continued justification for maintaining spectrum, but lowering the bar too far has consequences that can have the same result, the spectrum space becomes virtually useless for meaningful communication... Like CB. It only takes a few hours of practice to learn the code. This is a very small investment to make to distinguish the serious from those with a passing interest or alternately less than sincere interest in the hobby. Regardless of what smart remarks may be made CW is still has a serious roll in communications. Keep the Code - Delete the Theory: I would suggest that the most useless part of the ham radio licensing process for the modern ham operator is probably electronic theory. Since so many hams today are basically appliance operators, why do they need to know anything about electronic circuits? In fact, I'm not sure they even require any theory on today's ham radio test. Do they? Finally, any moderately industrious person can build a simple CW radio from scratch. Or, you can buy such for a very modest price. Google QRP Rigs or Ham Radio CW Transmitter or Ham Radio CW Transmitter Schematics... Or check some of the books in the ham radio stores... Or with your local ham radio club for more info. 73's K4BDA Will PS Here are a few random links for simple CW Rigs http://www.qsl.net/k4msw/rigs.html http://www.fix.net/~jparker/wilderness/sst.htm ($90 ham radio that will run on 9 volt battery) http://www.sanda.gr.jp/mitsu/QRP/ http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/qrpheath.html http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/3586 http://bas.thoen.info/gallery/QRP-trx-1320 http://www.discovercircuits.com/T/transmitter.htm http://www.mnsi.net/~bektrek/3-WATT%20CW%20TRANSMITTER.htm http://cs.okanagan.bc.ca/ve7ouc/eng/kc6wdk-mirror/transmitter2.html Google for many more.