HAM HF Radio on Boats

[TheBigWhit]

Great discussion and great explanations for the newbies.
Here are some pics for ya of my "floating ham shack".

Icom 7100 radio itself is mounted under the seat in the fly bridge. Good quality 1/2" coax was used to the AH4 Coupler and to the 2M-440 antenna mounted on rail. This control head pictured can be quickly stored and quickly pulled out and hooked up... ready to go in 30 seconds. With a longer CAT 5 cable, I can operate this downstairs in the temperature-controlled salon (if the Admiral isn't around).

AH4 Coupler/Antenna Tuner. Push button tuning between bands. Normally has a 20M "Ham Stick" hooked up as shown. It will tune to any of the marine ssb or Ham bands on the 20 Ham Stick. Works best on 20 & 40M at this point in the sunspot cycle, other bands when they are open.

KISS-SSB - This counterpoise seems to work very well here on the western rivers and Great Lakes. I'll be comparing it to salt water when we make it to the Gulf of Mexico in a month or so. I'll also try "all combinations" of salt water + railings + KISS-SSB. Watch blog for those test results when the time comes. (www.shellerina.com).

I also have this fiberglass extension pole that can support a long wire (which gets hooked up the AH4 Coupler with OR instead of the Ham Stick.) When I really want to "get out" I'll rig this long wire up the pole and then down to the bow pulpit. Kinda like an Inverted-V Long Wire. Hose clamps to a vertical railing support hold it up nicely. (It also serves as a flag pole for my favorite burgees or football teams! as shown under the AH4) <wink>

Ray - N1RY
our blog: www.shellerina.com

Thats great stuff! Thanks. How do you handle grounding and bonding? Looks like your boat is FRP. Do you have a bonding plate on the bottom? Do you use a zinc "fish" in lightning storms for added protection of the antenna? How is the noise level on 20M while sitting in fresh water? I would think noise would reduce and propagation will improve as you move into sea water. Interesting stuff. Thanks.

 

[TheBigWhit]

Exactly, it was good in its time, now oudated and more a hobby for very few. ...

Good Lord, the band activity might prove that wrong. Traffic gets downright packed on 20M and 40M in the evenings. As our summer weather moderates (lightning static) I'm finding 80M and 160M getting very active too. I can't imagine a time when it was busier. Perhaps you meant specifically on boats?

 

[diver dave]

We just returned from a few weeks in the bahamas. Worked the MM net on 20 frequently.
Our signal was booming into 6 land, also the upper midwest and into TX.
Just an M710 RT here barefoot with a 23’ vertical. Having a clear shot over seawater for thousands of yards is a huge benefit.

Mostly dusk tho, not sunny times.

 

[Capt Ray]

No "bonding plate" per se; but the running gear and "everything" is connected/bonded together.

I disconnect the ham stick when not in-use, so it is not the highest point for lightning... I have had losses from lightning strikes in past years at my home. So, I do take precautions to prevent similar equipment loss here!

The AH4 coupler has a single terminal on the top for the radiator, and a single terminal on the bottom for whatever will serve as a counterpoise. From that "box", all kinds of creative things can be tried and experimented with from both of those terminals! I won't get too deep into antenna theory here.

But I will say that salt water is much more conductive than fresh water. So, for a boater trying to get out on HF, one can and should use that conductivity to one's advantage. For example:

1) In theory, Salt Water has to help as a counterpoise/ground plane. Although the KISS-SSB guy says it isn't necessary, I disagree with him in theory. However, I have not tested our assertions out to have first hand knowledge [yet!]

2) Inbound low angle DX propagation from the ionosphere (skywave) will "skip" off of Salt Water (much better than off of fresh water or land,) hitting the antenna in-phase, greatly enhancing one's reception. This obviously helps on transmit as well. Skywave signals bouncing off of land or fresh water get "slowed down" so they hit one's antenna system slightly out of phase... which doesn't help... it actually hurts. The joke among some contesters is that "They seek a tower location with gently sloping salt water going out in all directions!" LOL

 

[clyde]

i had ham radio on my WESTSAIL 32, used the back stay for my antenna, and my power boat too! grounding is important! also had 2 meters also on our power boat! works great from Seattle to Sitka! clyde

 

[diver dave]

….,also had 2 meters also on our power boat! works great from Seattle to Sitka! clyde

FM or SSB?

Curious about the level of activity these days on 2.

 

[Capt Ray]

Ham License

Technician (level 1): 35 multiple choice questions, gotta get 26 correct to pass.
Academically about a 10-12 year old can pass... but one needs to study the material for a few hours.

General (level 2 - needed for most HF (shortwave) bands: 35 questions, gotta get 26 correct to pass. Same academic level, but admittedly requires more study of more content.

Extra (level 3): For the purposes of this post, forget about it.
As indicated by others, no Morse Code needed for any of these.

The word "Amateur" does not mean someone who does not know what they are doing. It actually means someone who does it for the LOVE of it, and not for money. It comes from the same roots as: Amore, Ami, Amigo. "We do it for the love of it, not as a profession." Like many Amateur Photographers, many Amateurs actually know more than the Pros!

As covered by many: Amateur Radio is not for everyone...

 

[SHASA III]

Back in ther 80 and 90's ham radio was very usefull on boats. Not so anymore, its ok for a hobby but no use in an emergency. Nets are shutting down and the few that are left do not copy CW, and operate on restricted times ands format.
I enjoy my ham radio on the boat, I have an advanced licence with morse code.
My son just finished a two year cruise from Canada to Grenada and has his ham licence.
He used A satellite device that sent his position constantly and allowed short text message such as "arrived safely". He had people tracking him including a safty watch group. Weather is now available on line so weather fax is obsolit too.
Enjoy the hobby but if its for safty think about the satellite option.

I guess it depends on where you operate. Here, on the West Coast, Ham HF SSB is very popular with the blue water sailors all over the Pacific...the nets on 14.300 operate daily and provide terrific service.

I'm not a blue water sailor, so my boating is restricted to the mostly protected waters from Olympia, WA to Alaska. 2M/70cm is available in most places and provides much better service than marine FM...we've used it on several occasions to obtain local information, local real-time weather reports, and a couple of emergencies locating parts for boat repair. The entire length of Vancouver Island is connected by a backbone.

The Great Northern Boaters Net on 3870 KHz each morning runs 365 days/yr, and also provides useful information and a nice way to stay in touch. The Alaska segment starts at 0730 AM local and the southern section starts at 0800 AM local time. This net has wide coverage, with check-ins from southern Alaska to Brookings, OR. A station from Lake Tahoe also frequently checks-in.

So, for us out here, ham radio is much more than a novelty -- it provides a great way to stay in-touch, as well as providing invaluable local information (restaurants, bakeries, etc) not easily available from other sources.

It doesn't replace things like Marine Channel 16, GPS, Garmin InReach, Wx Radio, etc., but is rather an excellent enhancement. And, it's a lot of fun! It gives me a way to chat with friends I'll never meet while sitting at anchor in a rainy cove, rather than just listening to the Wx broadcasts.

My $0.02

73, KB7GL

 

[Davil1]

enjoying this thread enormously, lots of excellent information in plain usable text.
Thinking to re-install my I 710 (non-ham) as an added layer of safety to all my "new" gizmos like IridiumGo,etc.
SSB has 4 dedicated channels for the USCG monitored 24 hs a day.
Does the Ham community offer a 24 hs monitoring frequency?
With the understanding in a life-threatening situation, a non licensed person may use it.
thank you
I sail a Cape Dory 30 ft on coastal and 200 to 300 miles offshore passages.

 

[diver dave]

The folks running the maritime mobile net on 14.3 love the opportunity to talk to boats. All the land based chatter stops when a boat calls in.
But they clearly are a middle man in a true emergency. But they have many independent, and geographically diverse operators. Very important to have on HF.

 

[Davil1]

Thank you diver dave

nice to know
as mentioned, planning on adding another layer of safety

 

[diver dave]

Its worth mentioning too, that “casual” radio checks from licensed operators are encouraged on the ham bands.
Not sure tho that i would make a habit of calling USCG/Norfolk on 8MHz to check my voice audio, propagation, new antenna, etc. I suspect they will tire of that quickly.