Offshore Communications

[Shaun]

Hi Top 'atters,

What options are available nowadays in communications when offshore or out of range of VHF & mobile phone coverage?

HF radio > Is it really an easy option, seems complicated??, costly also? And are they a large unit to accommodate on a 25ft yacht...?

Satelitte phones > Just from a quick search on the internet, they seem ridiculously expensive... Is there a cheap way to go with this option?

Email > How does this work while offshore ? via HF or sat phones somehow or ?

Would just be nice to keep in touch with family,
Anyone know much about these comm's or any other options?

cheers

[scott]

Hi Shaun,

This is a how long is a piece of string type of question really. For safety as a priority, I'd go with the satphone, reliable, but as you say, quite expensive. You can hire them, so perhaps that is the best option to have on hand, just in case. For chatting with family or just other yachties, HF is good, but not as popular these days as it used to be.

HF can be expensive if you go with the 'proper' units (Kodan, Barrett etc) and the antenna system can be a little tricky to install. There are other radio options, but these are not necessarily built for a salt water environment. But as a temporary system, as good as any (and half the price, if not more). Powering them is another consideration.

The most effective antenna is a backstay antenna, which ideally means a hole in the hull to mount a copper ground piece for an earth. A whip antenna may also be an option, but again, you need to consider a ground path, so again, something into the water. Others have told me it won't work, but I believe a thick wire into the water off the back will give you the ground path. I'm in the middle of setting this up myself, so can let you know how I go. As a permanent installation, it would probably be a regular maintenance issue too.

My HF system is simple with a portable radio about the size of a small bag of carrots (sorry, the best I could do for a size comparison...) and the antenna is a wire antenna which uses the main sheet halyard to lift it in the air and works a treat. I've also partly installed a whip off the back which is 9ft long and will run through an tuning unit. I should finish it this weekend. I'm not expecting this to work well though on the lower 8mhz frequencies in common use, but should work well on higher frequencies.

I could go on and on....if you'd like to know a little more, feel free to message me and I'll pass on what I can.

Scott.