To SSB or Not to SSB . . .

sunchaser said:

That makes a lot of sense. As an aside, many SSB users, especially sail boaters, use these devices as a verbal Facebook. Think of them as party lines from the very old days.

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Offshore or simply coasting one advantage to a SSB is they are built very frequency stable.


That means the gov. weather forcasts can be fed to a computer .


Great fun sitting in FL and watching the wave heights in the North Atlantic, and then there are practical uses too.

U don’t even need a computer for fax read outs. Just hold your phone near the speaker, and run the “hf fax” app.

On the question of ssb vs epirb. When u pull the pin on an epirb offshore, either a helo or a ship will eventually show up. They will want to take you off your boat, leaving it to drift. This story I heard play out one time via ssb. An older couple got caught in rough seas in GOM in a sailboat. He got incapacitated by seasickness, and she was unable to sail on. The mayday got transferred to USGC Norfolk. The options were get picked up by a passing ship, abandoning the boat, or carry on. Since the boat contained all their possessions, they agreed to carry on. These kinds of conversations cannot be done by epirb. Although not highly likely, if the conversation is heard by others close by, additional options may become available.
Bahamas has morning weather nets via HF that are entertaining and add to socialization. Interesting to announce an anchorage that none have heard of.