... these licenses are required for international voyages to signatory countries of the IMO (International Maritime Organization).
The ITU (International Telecommunications Union) sets operating and licensing standards.
The IMO is concerned only with who must hold a radio license on a ship, and what radios a ship must carry.
We got Sirius everywhere we went last year. Were not in the far north latitudes.For offshore weather forecasting and pulling up GRIB files I'm not sure Sirius/XM is the tool of choice. For near onshore/coastal work the marine VHF broadcasts when combined with Sirius/XM is a pretty good combination. In the far reaches of the PNW Sirius/XM sometimes cannot be received.
......Try tuning to 14.300 MHZ for the Marine Mobile Service Net during daylight hours Maritime Mobile Service Network to get an idea of the wonderful free service these volunteers provide.
Yes we are going to get Sat Tv. Who would've know the sat domes on N4712 were purely there for aesthetics (there both empty).The services provided free by volunteers on 14.300 (HAM frequency) is invaluable. If you have satcom and can receive the Weather Channnel on your TV then you probably wont have a need for their services. Otherwise, they are great folks. They will relay weather info to you from ships in your area, they will relay phone messages and whatever from your family and friends and if they have someone handy with a patch, they will patch a phone line through for you. They will also phone people for you. If you want, they will also add you onto shiptrac.org where they will post your position, course, eta, etc and any notes you would like posted. All your friends and family have to do is get on shiptrac.org and look up your call sign number and all that info will be available. Came in handy one time during a gulf crossing. We hit a really bad storm and our antennas were down. We lost communications with everyone for a few days and we knew everyone on land would be worried. I strung up a wire when I could and got on 14.300 and left message. Hit storm, lost communications, everything and everyone is OK just lost radio for a few days. When everyone saw the message they were relieved. On that trip I was about 59 years old and I was the 'kid', so you could see the concern. Last time I knew of, the maritime net on 14.300 was not on 24 hours a day, but were regularly scheduled throughout the day. Oh, and when we were one day out and knew our ETA they called family members to meet us - myself and 3 friends, one from St. Louis, one from Dallas and one from Slidell, La. I stayed with my boat in it's new home in Kemah, Tx.
Yes we are going to get Sat Tv. Who would've know the sat domes on N4712 were purely there for aesthetics (there both empty).
Yes, I believe the M5 by KvH is 24" dish, I'll have to check.If you are going past the Northern Bahamas, make sure you get a 24" antenna or larger. Also you will need to swap out the LNB once you leave the Bahamas. Latin American Directv (assume same for Dish) uses a different LNB. Marty
But if you turn them all off before you start, you'll never which ones, if any, cause interference.
Bob
Oh I failed to mention the boat came with a skymate have to check that out.
........ Thankfully I can't screw up airwaves!