Ham radio equipment

Anyone on the forum operating amateur radio equipment on their vessel? If so what is your set up? I Just renewed my license and thought this might make an interesting thread. I currently do not have any Ham equipment on board but have thought of installing some a few times.

Duvie said:

Anyone on the forum operating amateur radio equipment on their vessel? If so what is your set up? I Just renewed my license and thought this might make an interesting thread. I currently do not have any Ham equipment on board but have thought of installing some a few times.

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Used to do it when we were cruising, but the internet has pretty much made it obsolete (IMHO).

AF4WM

Universal in the Eastern Caribbean, if by ham equipment you include the Icom SSB units opened up for ham use.

Our morning, afternoon and evening nets are all on the SSB/Ham frequencies. Most inter-island communication is done over the same radios, usually with a appointment made over one of the nets.

Almost all weather is SSB.

The popular unit now is the Icom 802 with a A140 tuner. A trawler would use a 21/27? whip antenna whereas the sailboats all use the backstay.

On my old sailboat I used a nice, compact Icom 735 with a backstay antenna. Probably lots more modern stuff out there now. That one was easy to "Snip" for marine use..

Silly question to the Hams, and I think there were some hints given above: Are Ham transcievers limited to transmit on Ham bands or can you use the whole 1.6 to 30Mhz range?

Ski in NC said:

Silly question to the Hams, and I think there were some hints given above: Are Ham transcievers limited to transmit on Ham bands or can you use the whole 1.6 to 30Mhz range?

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Ski....many can be simply modified.....sometimes as simple as clipping a jumper.
Legal?........well....

We had good communication while cruising: ham mail, phone patch, nets etc. Now, inshore, I have the license but haven't invested in any equipment yet. When we sail under the bridge I'll have one.

I just installed my ham station on our trawler. I had it storage since we moved off the dirt. Glad to have it back!

WAY back Icom read the cards from new ham radio purchasers and discovered many were not Hams!

Investigation found their radio was stable enough to be used with Ma Bell offshore , IF a certain blue wire was clipped.

This saved 3 or 4 boat bucks for their customers.

ICOM did the best for their customers ,

they made the blue wire really long , so it could not be missed.

Ski in NC said:

Silly question to the Hams, and I think there were some hints given above: Are Ham transcievers limited to transmit on Ham bands or can you use the whole 1.6 to 30Mhz range?

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I'm not sure who still makes HF radios that are marine ready other than Icom. Their IC-M802 comes with all the frequencies, including Ham already programed, you just need the appropriate license to broadcast.

If you have a particular ham radio model in mind, a quick google search for (example), "Yaesu ft-897 mods" should show you if any modifications are available for your radio.

Of course, I did not recommend this. ?

Back in the day I ran a couple of MARS stations while on deployment. Packet mail and land line links from NNN0COC sure made for a lot of happy sailors.

In the 60s we stole the call sign from the radio club and would use the radio operator would tune the ham bands to make pstch calls home for the crew.

The receivers always wanted to know what equipment we were sending with ,

the USN 1000W unit with an antenna tuner and trailing long wire must have blasted their ears off!

I ran a 3kw Drake on a Log Perodic (Yagi) with a tuner. We could blast away when needed!

Yup. Rules are rules but if I am in the middle of the Atlantic and need some help there ain't no rules as far as radio goes. I just wanta be heard!

I run an Icom 718 on my sailboat with a backstay antenna and an Icom AT-130 tuner. Works fine. I mostly work low power (< 5w). I haven't set up anything on my trawler because I don't really have enough battey capacity. If I did I would run a vertical antenna of some sort.

AA1ZS

TDunn said:

I run an Icom 718 on my sailboat with a backstay antenna and an Icom AT-130 tuner. Works fine. I mostly work low power (< 5w). I haven't set up anything on my trawler because I don't really have enough battey capacity. If I did I would run a vertical antenna of some sort.

AA1ZS

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On my trawler I installed a Shakespeare 390, 23' vertical. It gets the job done but verticals are so noisy. I just ordered a DSP speaker to try and cut back on the received noise. Probably also time to install about a hundred ferrite beads on every lead in the boat!

When my boat was built the PO supplied a Yaesu System 600 HF Transceiver and a very long antenna.The factory installed a grounding system. A few questions:

1. Is this a Ham or SSB or both?

2. Should there be an antenna tuner somewhere on the boat? If so what do they look like?

3. Is the Ham hobby useful and enough fun to get a license?

seasalt007 said:

When my boat was built the PO supplied a Yaesu System 600 HF Transceiver and a very long antenna.The factory installed a grounding system. A few questions:

1. Is this a Ham or SSB or both?

2. Should there be an antenna tuner somewhere on the boat? If so what do they look like?

3. Is the Ham hobby useful and enough fun to get a license?

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1. Is this the radio you have?


The compact Yaesu FT-600 combines the straightforward, practical layout of a commercial radio with the most-often-used features on the front panel. This radio receives from 50 kHz to 30 MHz and transmits on the amateur bands from 160-10 meters in USB, LSB, CW, AFSK RTTY and AM modes. Power output is 100 watts (30 watts AM). The simplicity of the front panel design includes two Up/Down buttons for frequency, memory, and band stepping, while four knobs control Clarifier, Volume, Squelch, and Tuning. Popular features include Direct Frequency Entry Keypad for quick QSY.It meets the MIL-STD 810 standard for rugged commercial-grade construction.

2. Yes, you need a tuner. Ought to be one tucked away there somewhere. Follow the antenna lead back and you'll probably find it. In my case, my antenna lead to tuner is not over two feet long. That is all up on flybridge. From the tuner I have regular coax that runs down to the radio inside the salon.

3. I love Ham radio. For me it is a lot of fun. There is a nice Marine net run everyday all day by Hams on 14.300MHZ. Maybe give it a listen

Yes, that's it. It looks to be a quality radio...for all I know, that is.

I'll look inside the bridge console for the tuner.

I've got the book so maybe I can figure out how to tune to 14.300MHZ. It's all a little intimidating.

Ham radio is an interesting hobby. It can be lots of fun. One thing I have noted is that amateur radio operators tend to be older. I am 63 and often feel like the youngest guy out there. There don't seem to be many young people getting into the hobby. I suspect the cost and the easy of communication via cell phone and internet are factors.

The only thing I have seen done that helps to attract more young people is dropping the code requirement for the General class license. The tests are pretty easy, but it can be a bit difficult to find a place to take them.

You'll get it. Just be sure and not transmit without a license. FCC seems to cracking down here lately.

You'll need a General class license for SSB but it is not hard. No more morse code required!

When I sat for my licenses the local ham group was delighted to see new blood, disappointed when they found our I was another boater who would use the license on the boat but not locally.

Only time this century when I was considered new blood.

I heard that Morse Code was no longer a requirement. That would help.

The strange thing about Morse Code is that I learned how to read it on a flashing light when I was in the Navy. I was so good that it looked like a steady light to others...but I never could do it by sound. Go figger.

Our boat came with an Icom M-800. I haven't explored its capabilities or potential uses yet. It does take up a bit of real estate I could reclaim on the lower helm, so I'll need to decide if. It's worth keeping.

frgeorgeh said:

...You'll need a General class license for SSB but it is not hard. No more morse code required!

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A General Class license is only required to operate/ broadcast on certain (ham) frequencies not to operate a SSB. All that's required for SSB, is a valid Ship Station license (no testing) and a restricted radiotelephone license. You can apply for a license at FCC: Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.

There are 3 different ham licenses, technician, general, and amateur extra, and you have to pass the tests in order. Once you have your license (s) they're good for 10 years and you can renew without testing.

I've been told that I need a General license to operate an AIS A....and I also need something to operate my SSB. Is this correct, and how do I get them. I visited the site on the previous post, but not sure where to go from there.

angus99 said:

Our boat came with an Icom M-800. I haven't explored its capabilities or potential uses yet. It does take up a bit of real estate I could reclaim on the lower helm, so I'll need to decide if. It's worth keeping.

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We use our SSB/Ham radio daily. We added a Pactor modem so we can get emails, weather forecasts, grib files and send position reports. When there's no internet, it's nice having the ability to stay in touch with friends and family.

wyoboater said:

I've been told that I need a General license to operate an AIS A....and I also need something to operate my SSB. Is this correct, and how do I get them. I visited the site on the previous post, but not sure where to go from there.

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You no not need a General License to operate an AIS transponder.

FCC: Wireless Services: Ship Radio Stations: Licensing

And that if for an "A" AIS? ie: one the both transmits and receives and goes to foreign countries such as the Bahamas?