communications - Ocean Navigator

11 Jul

SSB whip antennas

Bill MorrisMarine Electronics Newslettercommunications, HF antenna, HF SSB, HF whip antennas, marine ba, radio communications, SSB, Whip antennas

by Bill Morris If you have chosen to install a single-sideband (SSB) transceiver with an automatic tuner on your vessel, you will also need to install an antenna system capable of transmitting and receiving from 0.5 to 30 MHz, come rain or shine anywhere on the world’s oceans. On sailing vessels less than roughly 50 feet LOA, the common practice is to install a backstay antenna. This requires removing the backstay, cutting out a long piece of the wire and reinstalling it with insulators to ensure transmitted power is kept safely above the heads and hands of crew. Another approach…

Starlink opens to recreational vessels

Ann HoffnerHome Page Hero, Ocean Voyagingcommunications, ocean voyaging, satcom, Starlink, voyaging communications

In late June the FCC authorized SpaceX to offers its Starlink satellite internet network for moving vehicles. Starlink, which aims to sell internet connections to almost anyone on the planet however remote their location, has been providing inexpensive service for rural land-based communities since 2019, but this gives the go-ahead to serve RVs, ships, airplanes, and boats. Earlier in the spring I wrote an article for this magazine on communications for high seas boaters, including options for accessing the internet. Satellites were and still are the ticket; what has changed in a few short months is that this veritable giant…

Nordhavn owner tests Starlink satellite system

Tim QueeneyVoyaging Tipscommunications, FCC, GEO, LEO, Nordhavn, Nordhavn 60, satcom, satellite communications, Starlink

For years we’ve seen satellite domes multiply on boats like so many plastic mushrooms. Now, a new player in the satellite market, Starlink, is making its way into the marine world. Even though Starlink is not officially for marine use, some enterprising boat owners have installed the system on their boats, with some undertaking informal testing of its effectiveness while underway. Among these is Alex Dickinson, the owner of the Nordhavn 60, Cherry, based in Dana Point, Calif. An electrical engineer by training, Dickinson has had two Starlink antennas installed on Cherry. They occupy mounts that once sported sat…