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Old 02-17-2017, 09:38 AM   #15
dhays
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City: Gig Harbor
Vessel Name: Kinship
Vessel Model: North Pacific 43
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 9,046
Quote:
Originally Posted by ranger42c View Post
Some contrarian analysis...

What would be the consequence of dropping SPOT and doing nothing else?

-Chris
Great questions Chris.
Quote:
When you're out of cell range, are you also out of VHF range to likely shore stations or USCG facilities?
No. Marine VHF coverage is much better in the Puget Sound and BC areas than Cell service.

Quote:
You have a DSC-capable VHF connected to a GPS for location info?
Yes. This is a great emergency tool. So far I have not found the DSC all that useful for ship to ship communication since it seems as if most of the folks that have it, don't know how to use it.

Quote:
Do you have an AIS transmitter?
No. Receive only. I have considered adding an AIS transceiver but have not done it yet. It would obviously give me the tracking ability, but not add any communication ability. It would increase safety in certain waters under certain conditions however.

As I mentioned initially my interest is primarily for communication with family. We would like them to know where we are and to be able to reliably communicate with them. With our first grandchild on the way, my wife really doesn't want to be out of touch.

SPOT gives location information but no two-way communication. Delorme Inreach would do both but at a huge cost. Marine SSB would give communication via email and provide long-range radio communication but no location tracking.

This is what sparked my interest in the VHF/UHF ham radio utilizing APRS. I am not all that interested in a roll-your-own solution, unlike most of the Ham community. The other advantage (if I understand it correctly) is that the APRS capable units with built-in gps and TNC can send and receive text messages even without a computer. While not as convenient as a keyboard, the mic can be used to compose text. Even so, it would be easy to connect a laptop to use with it.
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Regards,

Dave
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