Making a Mayday Call on Marine SSB Radio
For more than a decade, the Digital Selective Calling (DSC) distress call has been the digital-age equivalent of the familiar Mayday call and the preferred means of making initial contact with rescue agencies in the U.S. and around the world. DSC allows users to make a distress call by pushing a dedicated red button on the front panel of an SSB radio. Instantly sending rescue agencies your boats identity, GPS location and more, the DSC distress call is at heart of the Global Marine Distress and Safety System.
PS Tests Farallons Pactor-4 Modem, SailMail
As email access is a big draw for many potential (and current owners) of single-sideband systems, we decided this was a good opportunity to see how our easy-install system performed in that area as well.Farallon Electronics, a Sausalito, Calif., company specializing in the design, sale, and distribution of gear for marine, commercial, and emergency service organizations, provided us with an SCS DR-7400 Dragon modem for testing.
Professional Versus DIY SSB System Installs
Terry Sparks, author of the book A New Ham I Am, Made Simple For Cruisers, has seen plenty of HF radio installations-both SSB and HAM-and he noticed that even some expert installations fell short of those installed by pure amateurs. He offered this advice on how to avoid common pitfalls, whichever route you take:
Ships Log Goes Digital
Almost every sailor keeps some sort of logbook-from totally minimalist to absolutely exhaustive-and now, they have the option of keeping a digital logbook. We recently tested two digital logbook apps for the iPad: Logbook 2.5, from German company 2K Yachting, and WaveTrax from a British company of the same name.
Digging into the SSB Radio Kerfuffle
Bear with us here. Before you get too far into this months report on single-sideband radios beginning, youll find it is incomplete. There are a lot of unanswered questions that we hope to address. Answers don't always come easy or fast in the work we do, but at the end of the day, we have to put out a magazine that reports our efforts.
A Second Look at Marine SSB
To many sailors, single-sideband radio falls into the black arts category, those mysterious nautical skills (like anchoring or bleeding air from your diesel engine) that are discussed in hushed, reverent tones among bowed heads at most any dockside potluck or tiki bar where cruisers tend to congregate.
Deciding Between Marine SSB or Ham, or Both
Both the marine radio and ham radio services use the same type of modulation, called single sideband. So when a fellow sailor says they have a single sideband on board, you need to ask, marine, ham, or both? At some point, any cruiser getting ready to make the jump into high-frequency radio communication will want to ask himself the same question.
Im with the Band: Fidelity and Frequencies
Audio is transmitted via radio waves, with audio being impressed on a radio signal using a method called modulation. The two types of modulation that most everyone is familiar with is AM (amplitude modulation) and FM (frequency modulation). This is where the name of these broadcast bands are derived from.
The Birth of the Cable Tamer
These high-tech times present a whole new challenge for us cruising folks. How does one cope with the multitude of cords, chargers, headphones, and adaptors that accompany every new device that comes on board? Add two gadget-hungry teenagers, a few Kindles, several cameras, and you have cable mayhem. Reader Jessica Rice Johnson wrote us with her solution to the cord chaos aboard her familys 62-foot catamaran.
EV-1 System Check
After the roller-furling jib, the most valued piece of gear aboard for many sailors is the autopilot. So fond of autopilots are skippers and first mates, many even name their units-Otto the autopilot, Joshua (after infamous sailor Joshua Slocum), Amelia (after historic female pilot Amelia Earhart), and WTF are a few that weve met during our cruises.
Lithium Batteries on Sailboats: The 3 Mistakes Everyone Makes
Lithium batteries are one of the most popular sailboat upgrades today—but they’re also one of the most misunderstood. In this Practical Sailor Saturday episode,...
Latest Sailboat Review
Island Packet Estero Used Boat Review
Florida-based Island Packet targets a relatively narrow niche, so the toughest competitors to its new boats are often older Island Packets. Introduced in 2010, the 36-foot, shoal-draft Estero is the company’s latest attempt to introduce a distinctive model that doesn’t stray too far from the company’s proven formula for success: moderate displacement, full-keel cruisers designed to be lived on, sailed far and in comfort, and endure the bumps, scrapes, and storms that cruising boats inevitably encounter. After sailing the Estero on Florida’s Sarasota Bay and inspecting its interior, construction, and systems, Practical Sailor testers noted that the shoal-water cruiser will appeal strongest to Island Packet fans who’ve been waiting for a shoal-draft, easy-to-sail boat that compares to the IP37 in terms of interior space. These strengths will be most apparent on intracoastal or riverine adventures like the Great Loop.