# Looking for HF Radio Forum for Sailors



## Rick00000 (May 23, 2008)

Hi,

I am restoring a Pearson Triton and plan on sailing offshore in the near future. I have my Ham License and will be purchasing a HF (high frequency) radio soon that I will use on land and will eventually install in the boat. I would like to communicate with cruising sailors all over the globe that are using their HF radio. 

Thx,
Rick


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## texomobile (May 17, 2008)

*HF Frequencies*

Hi Rick,
I am also looking for used frequencies. I seem to scan the ssb freqs but seldom hear anything. I do know there is a active net on 14.300mhz usb that is called the maritime service net. But other than that not much heard. If you find anything let me know!
w1luc


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Hereare some weather nets for the Atlantic..both sides and the Caribe Often, conversation and discussion between cruisers is held before and after the nets...making contact on these frequencies and shifting to others for conversation.
http://www.sailnet.com/forums/seamanship/40645-weather-radio-stations-offshore.html#post266718
## link is not working...go to seamanship forum and advanced search function for SSB as keyword and MY screen name and you'll be able to navigate to the post. 
Marine and amateur radio net details, times and frequencies on SSB, Ham, HF and VHF for cruising yachts.


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## windward54 (Apr 12, 2000)

Hey Rick0000 and Texomobile. Saw your post while doing a search. There are a lot of nets on both sides of the country. On the east coast they are mostly in the Caribbean, and on the west coast they are mostly in Mexico. There is a mix of SSB and ham. The people at Dockside Radio has an excellent list on line. Just plug the name into your favorite search engine and their website will come up.

I have found that I get more contacts via ham then SSB. If you have your general license and have access to ham (like the ICOM M802 allows), you may want to give 20 meters a try.


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## Plumper (Nov 21, 2007)

Where are you? I can provide the times and freqs for the PNW boaters net.


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## windward54 (Apr 12, 2000)

Plumper, are you on SSB or Ham? Seems like I get more contacts on the ham frequencies.

I grew up in Federal Way, and moved out of the PNW years ago to California. Sailing is a lot drier down here.


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## westerly (Dec 5, 2005)

*hf radio channels*

regarding the channels most used by cruisers for listening, etc. i suggest you go to Caribbean Compass Homepage as they often publish a list of current frequencies popular with those at sea. to get started let me suggest 8104 at 8-9:00am ast or 12359 at 9am or 4pm.


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## westerly (Dec 5, 2005)

*hf (ssb) radio installation*

preparing to install an ssb on board my sailboat & the information i am coming up with is very controversial. 
i have accessed articles from gordon west, west marine, icom, on sailnet, etc. & spoken to an icom factory authorized marine engineer. the more i read the more confussing it becomes. one article says to run ground via 3" copper foil to the keel, prop strut. rear railing, & engine. another says to avoid all those items & run to the through hulls. another says to use only one ground to water such as a single through hull. one says it is best if through hulls, etc are bonded whereas another says to avoid them. the engineer says to never run ground to any item people might contact as electrical current is generated at ground when the mic is keyed. sgc does not recommend ground plates (dynaplates) as they loose effectiveness when coated by marine growth. i would prefer to avoid drilling holes to mount dynaplates if i can figure out proper proceedure for grounding otherwise. can anyone shed some light on this? 
[email protected]


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## btrayfors (Aug 25, 2006)

Westerly, et. al...

It is confusing, isn't it? Lots of opinions, some from "experts", which seem to conflict with one another.

A few notes.

1. There are TONS of posts on these issues on the SSCA Board and on Cruisers Forum, among others.

2. I have done a lot of these on the subject of RF grounds, antennas, appropriate radios, licensing, etc., etc. (I do this for a living these days). In particular, you may want to see my posts on "RF Grounds in the Marine Environment" and on inexpensive ham radio setups.

3. Just a word of caution: be very wary of anyone who tells you the very tired stuff about "100sq feet of copper", or that you need external ground plates. It just ain't so. There are lots of ways to fashion an effective RF ground system; some are referred to in the post noted above.

4. There's LOTS of activity on both the ham and the marine SSB nets. I participate every morning on the Waterway Net on 7268LSB at 0745. This net provides offshore weather and other services for boats from NovaScotia to the Caribbean, and it's been on the air every day for forty years or so. See the website: Waterway Net Web Site

The MM net on 14300USB is active much of the day. The Cruisheimers Net on 8152USB (marine SSB) begins at 0830 EDT every day. There are many others. The lists on Gary Jensen's website is very good: Pactor-II/III Radio Modem sales/support, FCC License filing, Marine SSB & HAM Radio Net schedules/frequencies.

5. IMHO, it's well worth it to get your ham ticket, since it opens a world of fun and utility, not just when afloat but wherever you are. There are over a million hams worldwide, so there's always someone to talk to. English is the lingua franca in ham radio, though you'll sometimes hear other languages. As was suggested, 20 meters is the workhorse band for long-distance communications, year in and year out. If you take some pains with your installation and if you practice your radio skills a bit, you'll be able to reach out and touch someone a long ways away with regularity, even when propagation sucks.

Bill


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## SVAuspicious (Oct 31, 2006)

I concur with Bill's points. There isn't a huge amount of overlap on the 'net between ham radio and sailing. As Bill noted, there is a good deal of discussion on SSCA and Cruiser's Forum boards, but it tends to be people asking "what do I DO...?" with a range of answers that aren't all equally well-based.

Bill is one of the bright spots in terms of competent counsel. I like to think I make the odd contribution from time to time as well.

Gary Jenson's Dockside Radio web site ( Pactor-II/III Radio Modem sales/support, FCC License filing, Marine SSB & HAM Radio Net schedules/frequencies. ) has a quite complete list of nets on both marine and ham frequencies. The HF Radio site ( Welcome to H.F. Radio On Board ) also is a good resource.

There is lots of room for experimentation and creativity with antenna and grounding systems. Unfortunately there is a lot of opinion without much basis as well and it can be difficult to sort out truth from wishful thinking. Even Gordon West, great as his contribution is, has been known to stray from technically based recommendations in this area.

Do get your ham radio license, at least General class. You will find it makes a dandy complement to your marine SSB.

sail fast, dave


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## windward54 (Apr 12, 2000)

Westerly, I was confused as well when it came to installing my SSB. I was lucky in that I signed up for Gordon West's class to upgrade my tech license to a general license. He walked me through the installation, including running the copper foil to a through hull. I didn't believe it would work, but I figured, what the heck! It is easy to do and if it didn't work, I'm not out a lot. Darned if my first contact wasn't about 2500 miles away, and I have had good signal reports over to the east coat from the Los Angeles area. So it does work.

SVAuspicious has a good list and I also got a chance to chat with Gary Jensen. Gary had the best list I've found on the net yet and a great guy to talk to if you get a chance. And I'd be happy to email the list of frequencies that Gordon West downloaded to my ICOM M802. They include the most frequently used marine SSB as well as some ham frequencies.

The best contacts have been on ham though so get you general! There are a lot more hams out there than sailboats with SSB radios. And they all like to make contact and talk. They get a kick out my signals from Catalina Island.

73's
Karl
KI6CZP
WDE4472

Ps. If you buy the ICOM 802, Gary has the best premade GPS line to hook your GPS line in for the DSC function


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## oceanbreezer (Aug 17, 2008)

*CQ CQ CQ de KC8SIL*

Hi Rick, I just joined today (Sun17Aug08) and also am a ham, check out the usual ham sites as well as waterwayradio.net 73, John KC8SIL


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## N0NJY (Oct 19, 2008)

Hey guys,

I can set up schedules with anyone in the ham bands that wants to try.

I'm licenses as an Extra so I can go anywhere in the ham bands.

I'll be applying for a ships station license next month or so, when I start some other projects with the boat (including some antenna work after I get the electrical stuff worked out).

So, I should be able to get to Marine HF as well in a few weeks.

But for now, you can send me an email direct to my email address at [email protected] if you want to set up a schedule to chat.

See you guys on HF

73

RickD


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## aa3jy (Jul 23, 2006)

Rick00000 said:


> Hi,
> 
> I am restoring a Pearson Triton and plan on sailing offshore in the near future. I have my Ham License and will be purchasing a HF (high frequency) radio soon that I will use on land and will eventually install in the boat. I would like to communicate with cruising sailors all over the globe that are using their HF radio.
> 
> ...


Rick-

You didn't mention your call nor your location.

Clay 
AA3JY
Kimberton,Pa.

member of the Waterwayradio.net(7.268)


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## N0NJY (Oct 19, 2008)

aa3jy said:


> Rick-
> 
> You didn't mention your call nor your location.
> 
> ...


Ummm.... read further down than the bottom of my message. LOL.

Also, look at my alias.

The Call Sign is N0NJY and I'm in Colorado Springs, CO.

hehehehe

Or doesn't my signature block show for you guys?


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## aa3jy (Jul 23, 2006)

N0NJY said:


> Ummm.... read further down than the bottom of my message. LOL.
> 
> Also, look at my alias.
> 
> ...


Thought I was referring my question to the original poster RICK00000..unless your him..?????


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