I am looking at getting in to SSB for email and weather primarily. What should I look for in a unit. Also what is the different between a 2m unit or a 6m unit etc. Is there an FAQ around or something? thanks
SSB Radios
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SSB Radio
If you are talking about 2 meters and 6 meters, these are amateur bands (ham bands) and require a ham license. 2 meters is only used line of sight, 6 meters is usually line of sight with infrequent "skips" for greater distances. For e-mail on radio SSB you need a HF (high frequency) radio capable of operating on the shortwave bands (3 - 30 MHz). You can do e-mail and WX with or without a ham license. Google Winlink if you want the ham version, or Sailmail for the nonham version. Sailmail costs about $200 a year for the service, ham is free. Equipment cost for the HF radio and modem will run $1500 - $3000 depending on your ability to buy used and wire it up yourself. We use Winlink several times daily here in Mexico for e-mail no matter if we are in port or sailing. A SSB radio is also handy for many regional SSB nets all over the world. Good Luck. Jack Swords, s/v La Paloma, N1IY
If you are talking about 2 meters and 6 meters, these are amateur bands (ham bands) and require a ham license. 2 meters is only used line of sight, 6 meters is usually line of sight with infrequent "skips" for greater distances. For e-mail on radio SSB you need a HF (high frequency) radio capable of operating on the shortwave bands (3 - 30 MHz). You can do e-mail and WX with or without a ham license. Google Winlink if you want the ham version, or Sailmail for the nonham version. Sailmail costs about $200 a year for the service, ham is free. Equipment cost for the HF radio and modem will run $1500 - $3000 depending on your ability to buy used and wire it up yourself. We use Winlink several times daily here in Mexico for e-mail no matter if we are in port or sailing. A SSB radio is also handy for many regional SSB nets all over the world. Good Luck. Jack Swords, s/v La Paloma, N1IY
Ham Radio
When you say SSB and refer to 2 and 6 meters, i assume you are referring to the Amateur Radio bands (HAM Radio). First off 2 meters and 6 meters are line of sight transmission only and are pretty useless for long range communications. Most rigs are sold as 2 meters only or as 6 meters only.All of the rest are usually from AM radio bands up to about 30mhz. This is the one you need for weatherfax , e-mail and also to keep in touch with other sailors as well as land lubbers. I would suggest that you get in touch with a local amateur radio club and get a license, YOU WONT BE SORRY, because it is a serious hobby in itself. They can give you more info and point you in the right direction toward getting a license which is really easy to get these days. Best of luck Tony B, call sign....KC5SDI
When you say SSB and refer to 2 and 6 meters, i assume you are referring to the Amateur Radio bands (HAM Radio). First off 2 meters and 6 meters are line of sight transmission only and are pretty useless for long range communications. Most rigs are sold as 2 meters only or as 6 meters only.All of the rest are usually from AM radio bands up to about 30mhz. This is the one you need for weatherfax , e-mail and also to keep in touch with other sailors as well as land lubbers. I would suggest that you get in touch with a local amateur radio club and get a license, YOU WONT BE SORRY, because it is a serious hobby in itself. They can give you more info and point you in the right direction toward getting a license which is really easy to get these days. Best of luck Tony B, call sign....KC5SDI
By The Way
The new price of a nice 3 to 30 Mhz unit is about $750 and a used price is about $300 to $400 for a not too old ( Fairly compact ) unit. Make your own wire antenna's for virtually nothing. The newer units of 100 watts , which is all you will ever need, are about the size of a CB or marine radio, which is comparatively small and lightweight. I noticed that Jack and I posted about the same time and seem to agree. GREAT MINDS think alike.
The new price of a nice 3 to 30 Mhz unit is about $750 and a used price is about $300 to $400 for a not too old ( Fairly compact ) unit. Make your own wire antenna's for virtually nothing. The newer units of 100 watts , which is all you will ever need, are about the size of a CB or marine radio, which is comparatively small and lightweight. I noticed that Jack and I posted about the same time and seem to agree. GREAT MINDS think alike.
General ticket now only 5wpm
you will have to take your tests, but now the general class lisc. only requires the ability to use morse code at 5wpm. Good luck, check www.arrl.org This is the home of the American Radio Relay League. Which is a "hub" for all that is ham radio.
you will have to take your tests, but now the general class lisc. only requires the ability to use morse code at 5wpm. Good luck, check www.arrl.org This is the home of the American Radio Relay League. Which is a "hub" for all that is ham radio.
Ham or commercial marine SSB?
you can do email on either. Ham is free and not for commercial use. Marine email use requires a fee ($200/yr) and you can conduct business. Email requires added equipment and so does weather fax. Operators licenses are required for either one and they are very different. Boat license is required in addition to operators license for commercial marine operation. Commercial marine equipment must be type accepted by the FCC and so costs more than ham radios. There are some commercial units which will do either. There are modified ham radios which will work on marine frequencies but not legally. 6 and 2 meters are VHF ham bands. Different frequencies and signal characteristics, antennas, propagation, modes, etc. Weather fax reception does not require any license. SGC, ICOM, Furuno, SEA have a good sites explaining commercial service. ARRL has a site for ham stuff. Google them and follow endless links. Also check archives here. Find a local cruising club and or ham club and talk to them. You have asked a very big question. Edit: I see that it took me over 25 minutes to write this.
you can do email on either. Ham is free and not for commercial use. Marine email use requires a fee ($200/yr) and you can conduct business. Email requires added equipment and so does weather fax. Operators licenses are required for either one and they are very different. Boat license is required in addition to operators license for commercial marine operation. Commercial marine equipment must be type accepted by the FCC and so costs more than ham radios. There are some commercial units which will do either. There are modified ham radios which will work on marine frequencies but not legally. 6 and 2 meters are VHF ham bands. Different frequencies and signal characteristics, antennas, propagation, modes, etc. Weather fax reception does not require any license. SGC, ICOM, Furuno, SEA have a good sites explaining commercial service. ARRL has a site for ham stuff. Google them and follow endless links. Also check archives here. Find a local cruising club and or ham club and talk to them. You have asked a very big question. Edit: I see that it took me over 25 minutes to write this.
Weatherfax
Weatherfax does not require any separate equipment. I bought a program over the internet for i think $25 one time fee. I turn on my SSB radio, and plug my laptop 'mic' cord into the output of the radio and then i print all the info from my laptop .
Weatherfax does not require any separate equipment. I bought a program over the internet for i think $25 one time fee. I turn on my SSB radio, and plug my laptop 'mic' cord into the output of the radio and then i print all the info from my laptop .
SSB = HF
So SSB and HF is the same thing then? What I have found on the net is endless information about each system, I just wanted direction to spend my time researching. I am in the Bahamas so FCC etc. makes no difference here. I don't even think you need to sit an exam you just pay a nomial fee and get a license. What I was going to do is to pick up a cheap used unit on Ebay and have a play at home and learn how to use it before putting it on the boat.
So SSB and HF is the same thing then? What I have found on the net is endless information about each system, I just wanted direction to spend my time researching. I am in the Bahamas so FCC etc. makes no difference here. I don't even think you need to sit an exam you just pay a nomial fee and get a license. What I was going to do is to pick up a cheap used unit on Ebay and have a play at home and learn how to use it before putting it on the boat.
Jack Swords
I would suggest that you do some more research on licenses issued by Bahamian authorities. By international agreement some control over radio transmissions is provided by each government. If you are seeking a marine radio license, it is free of an exam, you just pay your money and get your call letters. If you want to operate in the ham bands you will have an exam of some sort and upon passing get your call letters. Neither Sailmail, nor Winlink will let you operate on their HF e-mail system without some type of governmental authorization. Check around with local boaters. SSB is a way to cause radio waves to carry information. Other methods are television, Amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, etc. HF stands for High Frequency which is a designation of frequencies from about 2 MHz to 30 MHz or 160 meters thru 10 meters. VHF radios for marine use are FM (frequency modulation) and operate on 160 MHz or so. HF radios operate from 2 - 30 MHz and can be SSB, AM, CW, or FM among others. Then there are marine and ham SSB radios depending upon the usage and the user. Confusing? Keep up the research and talk to folks on their radio usage. Jack Swords, N1IY
I would suggest that you do some more research on licenses issued by Bahamian authorities. By international agreement some control over radio transmissions is provided by each government. If you are seeking a marine radio license, it is free of an exam, you just pay your money and get your call letters. If you want to operate in the ham bands you will have an exam of some sort and upon passing get your call letters. Neither Sailmail, nor Winlink will let you operate on their HF e-mail system without some type of governmental authorization. Check around with local boaters. SSB is a way to cause radio waves to carry information. Other methods are television, Amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, etc. HF stands for High Frequency which is a designation of frequencies from about 2 MHz to 30 MHz or 160 meters thru 10 meters. VHF radios for marine use are FM (frequency modulation) and operate on 160 MHz or so. HF radios operate from 2 - 30 MHz and can be SSB, AM, CW, or FM among others. Then there are marine and ham SSB radios depending upon the usage and the user. Confusing? Keep up the research and talk to folks on their radio usage. Jack Swords, N1IY
no: ssb and hf are NOT the same
The 'f' above is for frequency, measured in cycles or Hertz. This is how fast the polarity is changing in the unit: transmitter and antenna. High Frequency is 3 million times per second to 30 million times a second that the polarity changes + to - and back, in a sinosoidal wave. We say three to thiry megahertz. Those are pretty long waves that are one hundred (at 3MHz) to ten (at 30 MHz) METERS long. Figuring each meter is over three feet long, the wavelength is almost four hundred feet long at the lower frequencies. Those radio waves bounce right off of the Kenley-Heavyside later of the ionisphere and skip half-way around the world. Most of the transmitters and uses below 30 MHdz use amplitude modulation, whereby the strength of the signal is what varies (at an audible rate). On standard AM radio, they use almost the whole 10 Kilohertz of bandwidth per 'channel', like 770 on the AM band is licensed to spread from 765 to 775 KHz, and you hear the rants of Rush on your car radio at 770. That is a very, very inefficient use of bandwidth, so most everyone else is made to use just the SIDEBAND of the AM signal, maybe just 767 KHz, and somebody else can use 769, etc. When you get into the very high frequencies (30 to 300 Megahertz) [30 to three hundred million times a second the polarity on the antenna changes], the waves are short enough to go right through the Kenley-Heavyside layer of the ionisphere and don't get bounced back, hence, just used for line of sight communication. Got it? Take care, Joe
The 'f' above is for frequency, measured in cycles or Hertz. This is how fast the polarity is changing in the unit: transmitter and antenna. High Frequency is 3 million times per second to 30 million times a second that the polarity changes + to - and back, in a sinosoidal wave. We say three to thiry megahertz. Those are pretty long waves that are one hundred (at 3MHz) to ten (at 30 MHz) METERS long. Figuring each meter is over three feet long, the wavelength is almost four hundred feet long at the lower frequencies. Those radio waves bounce right off of the Kenley-Heavyside later of the ionisphere and skip half-way around the world. Most of the transmitters and uses below 30 MHdz use amplitude modulation, whereby the strength of the signal is what varies (at an audible rate). On standard AM radio, they use almost the whole 10 Kilohertz of bandwidth per 'channel', like 770 on the AM band is licensed to spread from 765 to 775 KHz, and you hear the rants of Rush on your car radio at 770. That is a very, very inefficient use of bandwidth, so most everyone else is made to use just the SIDEBAND of the AM signal, maybe just 767 KHz, and somebody else can use 769, etc. When you get into the very high frequencies (30 to 300 Megahertz) [30 to three hundred million times a second the polarity on the antenna changes], the waves are short enough to go right through the Kenley-Heavyside layer of the ionisphere and don't get bounced back, hence, just used for line of sight communication. Got it? Take care, Joe
HF is not the same as SSB
Single sideband (SSB)is a modified type of amplitude modulation (AM). HF (short for high frequency) is a reference to a range of frequencies - usually 3 to 30 Mhz. "Radio" can mean either a receiver or a transceiver. It is not precisely meaningful to call a radio an "ssb radio". There are AM or AM/FM broadcast radios, short wave radios, VHF radios, CB radios, ham radios, marine radios, FRS radios, cell phones, etc. None of those descriptions is really precise in that they refer to either modes of modulation, frequencies, functionality, or the type of radio service. Some have transmitter capability and some may not. From the context of this forum, I surmise that you mean a marine HF SSB transceiver. Licensing will depend to some extent on where the boat is registered. Use may be regulated by where the boat is located at the time. In the US, the FCC licenses most radio communications. If your boat is a US boat, I would recommend that you follow the FCC rules. The FCC can fine you even in foreign waters if you break the rules. They will mail you a notice of violation and you will need to respond. A marine HF SSB radio is licensed to the vessel so do not use it to transmit from anywhere except the vessel. IE: do not take it home and transmit to someone. You can take it home and listen though or get weather faxes, etc. You can legally receive marine band transmissions using a short wave receiver or the receiver part of a transceiver - no license needed. A marine SSB radio will often be useful for getting weather reports or faxes. That would not technically require a license. There are dedicated fax receivers and there are systems which use combinations of other equipment. Theoretically and historically, you do not need a license to receive anything. You are however generally legally prohibited from disclosing what you hear to a third party. It is complicated and archaic law. It is rarely enforced especially if you are a liberal democrat senator revealing conversations of a bunch of evil republicans to the NY Times for them to publish. Do not count on politics like that to protect you though. You need two licenses for commercial marine service which come from the same agency. One is for the operator and one is for the boats equipment. For using the ham radio service, you will need another completely different operators license. For you to use all of the possible common HF services, that means that you need three licenses. Marine radio transmissions are regulated by the FCC as a "commercial" service. Thus the licensing is for keeping the frequencies for that purpose only. No one else can legally use them or interfere with those who are licensed to use them. The FCC licenses manufacturers who make marine transmitters so that they are appropriately suited for marine use - IE: stable and do not cause interference to others, etc. The boat is licensed as a station capable of transmitting on marine frequencies and must meet these FCC standards. There are other "transmitters" which are also licensed by the FCC such as radars and EPIRBs. An EPIRB is also supposed to be registered with NOAA but there is no license that I know about with them. That may change. If there is any transmitter aboard your boat, it can be an issue with the FCC and other government agencies like the Coast Guard or local law enforcement as to whether you need a station license to have it aboard. Sometimes they will require it and sometimes not especially in foreign waters. The operator of a marine radio is expected to have a license to ensure that he knows the applicable laws for using it. A person not licensed may operate a marine radio only under the supervision of someone who is licensed. Further complicating the subject are ham radios which often are capable of receiving marine frequencies. Most of them can be modified to transmit on those marine frequencies as well. A modified ham transmitter is not likely to be type accepted by the FCC. Some (very few) transceivers are type accepted for marine use and are also useable on ham bands. It is not legal to transmit on marine frequencies with a transmitter (such as a modified ham radio) which is not "type accepted" by the FCC. Many people have done it though without any consequences. Others have been fined severely. You could be jailed if they wanted to prosecute for not having either an operator license or a station (boat) license. There are some marine radios which will transmit on ham frequencies too. You must have a ham license for that purpose but the FCC does not license ham radios as such. No ham license is technically required if you do not transmit on ham frequencies. Foreign governments will often want you to have all of the applicable licenses (be they marine operator, vessel station, or ham) and they may assess "fees" when you clear customs. I have heard that they will, upon occasion, confiscate unlicensed radios. To further add to the confusion on these issues is that you may transmit on any frequency or service with or without a license in a serious emergency. You may be expected to prove the emergency. Then there is the NTIA - oh well, never mind that.
Single sideband (SSB)is a modified type of amplitude modulation (AM). HF (short for high frequency) is a reference to a range of frequencies - usually 3 to 30 Mhz. "Radio" can mean either a receiver or a transceiver. It is not precisely meaningful to call a radio an "ssb radio". There are AM or AM/FM broadcast radios, short wave radios, VHF radios, CB radios, ham radios, marine radios, FRS radios, cell phones, etc. None of those descriptions is really precise in that they refer to either modes of modulation, frequencies, functionality, or the type of radio service. Some have transmitter capability and some may not. From the context of this forum, I surmise that you mean a marine HF SSB transceiver. Licensing will depend to some extent on where the boat is registered. Use may be regulated by where the boat is located at the time. In the US, the FCC licenses most radio communications. If your boat is a US boat, I would recommend that you follow the FCC rules. The FCC can fine you even in foreign waters if you break the rules. They will mail you a notice of violation and you will need to respond. A marine HF SSB radio is licensed to the vessel so do not use it to transmit from anywhere except the vessel. IE: do not take it home and transmit to someone. You can take it home and listen though or get weather faxes, etc. You can legally receive marine band transmissions using a short wave receiver or the receiver part of a transceiver - no license needed. A marine SSB radio will often be useful for getting weather reports or faxes. That would not technically require a license. There are dedicated fax receivers and there are systems which use combinations of other equipment. Theoretically and historically, you do not need a license to receive anything. You are however generally legally prohibited from disclosing what you hear to a third party. It is complicated and archaic law. It is rarely enforced especially if you are a liberal democrat senator revealing conversations of a bunch of evil republicans to the NY Times for them to publish. Do not count on politics like that to protect you though. You need two licenses for commercial marine service which come from the same agency. One is for the operator and one is for the boats equipment. For using the ham radio service, you will need another completely different operators license. For you to use all of the possible common HF services, that means that you need three licenses. Marine radio transmissions are regulated by the FCC as a "commercial" service. Thus the licensing is for keeping the frequencies for that purpose only. No one else can legally use them or interfere with those who are licensed to use them. The FCC licenses manufacturers who make marine transmitters so that they are appropriately suited for marine use - IE: stable and do not cause interference to others, etc. The boat is licensed as a station capable of transmitting on marine frequencies and must meet these FCC standards. There are other "transmitters" which are also licensed by the FCC such as radars and EPIRBs. An EPIRB is also supposed to be registered with NOAA but there is no license that I know about with them. That may change. If there is any transmitter aboard your boat, it can be an issue with the FCC and other government agencies like the Coast Guard or local law enforcement as to whether you need a station license to have it aboard. Sometimes they will require it and sometimes not especially in foreign waters. The operator of a marine radio is expected to have a license to ensure that he knows the applicable laws for using it. A person not licensed may operate a marine radio only under the supervision of someone who is licensed. Further complicating the subject are ham radios which often are capable of receiving marine frequencies. Most of them can be modified to transmit on those marine frequencies as well. A modified ham transmitter is not likely to be type accepted by the FCC. Some (very few) transceivers are type accepted for marine use and are also useable on ham bands. It is not legal to transmit on marine frequencies with a transmitter (such as a modified ham radio) which is not "type accepted" by the FCC. Many people have done it though without any consequences. Others have been fined severely. You could be jailed if they wanted to prosecute for not having either an operator license or a station (boat) license. There are some marine radios which will transmit on ham frequencies too. You must have a ham license for that purpose but the FCC does not license ham radios as such. No ham license is technically required if you do not transmit on ham frequencies. Foreign governments will often want you to have all of the applicable licenses (be they marine operator, vessel station, or ham) and they may assess "fees" when you clear customs. I have heard that they will, upon occasion, confiscate unlicensed radios. To further add to the confusion on these issues is that you may transmit on any frequency or service with or without a license in a serious emergency. You may be expected to prove the emergency. Then there is the NTIA - oh well, never mind that.
Wow
The research gets better!! Thank to everyone for pointing me in the right direction. What I have been talking about is a Marine SSB Tranceiver. I am trying to sort out what is required here for licensing. We have some strange laws such as 2.4Ghz requires a license (yes technically you need a license for a cordless phone, it costs $10 and you just need a copy of the license)but marine VHFs do not require any licensing. So I will try and find out again on the licensing side, but there is no enforcement here anyway. What I want is to get email through SSB, weather fax and weather satellite images (although this requires a separate receiver). So the SSB is only need for email, and comms in an emergency, although I do want to learn how to use it!! Thanks again
The research gets better!! Thank to everyone for pointing me in the right direction. What I have been talking about is a Marine SSB Tranceiver. I am trying to sort out what is required here for licensing. We have some strange laws such as 2.4Ghz requires a license (yes technically you need a license for a cordless phone, it costs $10 and you just need a copy of the license)but marine VHFs do not require any licensing. So I will try and find out again on the licensing side, but there is no enforcement here anyway. What I want is to get email through SSB, weather fax and weather satellite images (although this requires a separate receiver). So the SSB is only need for email, and comms in an emergency, although I do want to learn how to use it!! Thanks again
Marine SSB radio for email
should be licensed particularly since the FCC will monitor those communications. I am told that most violations that they send out are involving communications with shore stations like the marine operator or sailmail. I do not know if Sailmail will require it or not but if you have a US boat, you'd better get the licenses from the FCC. You need both an operators permit and a vessel license. When you get a vessel license, check off every item of equipment that you have ever thought of getting since the cost is the same and then you are covered if and when you get it. You actually are required to have these licenses even for VHF radios if you go to a foreign country such as Canada or Mexico. Those VHF radios do not require a license if you stay in the US however. You may want to look at a packet controller for the weather fax as well as email. You will not necessarily need a separate receiver for weather fax. Pactor makes a good controller and it hooks to the receiver for fax and both the transmitter and receiver for email. Of course, you will also need a computer and printer. Installation will not likely be a casual one day project. It is usually necessary to have a good RF ground depending on the antenna you use. Make sure not to mix up the bonding system with your AC or DC power grounds when you do this. That can cause lots of expensive electrolysis problems. Most boats have lots of interference sources and they will need to be sorted out. You will also likely need an antenna tuner and an antenna. Most use an insulated backstay and others use a big vertical whip. There are a lot of other options and considerations. If you are looking at used equipment on eBay or online, make sure to get a current type accepted marine radio. The rules changed a while back and there are still some old radios around for sale but they are virtually useless for what you want to do.
should be licensed particularly since the FCC will monitor those communications. I am told that most violations that they send out are involving communications with shore stations like the marine operator or sailmail. I do not know if Sailmail will require it or not but if you have a US boat, you'd better get the licenses from the FCC. You need both an operators permit and a vessel license. When you get a vessel license, check off every item of equipment that you have ever thought of getting since the cost is the same and then you are covered if and when you get it. You actually are required to have these licenses even for VHF radios if you go to a foreign country such as Canada or Mexico. Those VHF radios do not require a license if you stay in the US however. You may want to look at a packet controller for the weather fax as well as email. You will not necessarily need a separate receiver for weather fax. Pactor makes a good controller and it hooks to the receiver for fax and both the transmitter and receiver for email. Of course, you will also need a computer and printer. Installation will not likely be a casual one day project. It is usually necessary to have a good RF ground depending on the antenna you use. Make sure not to mix up the bonding system with your AC or DC power grounds when you do this. That can cause lots of expensive electrolysis problems. Most boats have lots of interference sources and they will need to be sorted out. You will also likely need an antenna tuner and an antenna. Most use an insulated backstay and others use a big vertical whip. There are a lot of other options and considerations. If you are looking at used equipment on eBay or online, make sure to get a current type accepted marine radio. The rules changed a while back and there are still some old radios around for sale but they are virtually useless for what you want to do.
Marine e-mail
This is a good site to check out for HF, SSB e-mail: http://winlink.org/ This is a free service but you must get a ham license. Canada has and soon the US FCC will abolish the code requirement for all ham tests. The FCC has already issued the proposed change. You can take the FCC test in the Bahamas from a VEC (volunteer examiner), and even be a non citizen of the US. The ham license will allow you full privileges on all ham bands for world-wide communication and in any mode (SSB, code, digital, even TV) you wish. You can do phone patches from your boat to virtually anywhere. There are many marine nets you can check into and ask questions. The license is good for 10 years and renewable without taking another test. Many study materials are available. You cannot transact business, however, on the ham bands. If you want to do business on the radio, then you need a commercial license, and must use "Sailmail" which is the commercial version of Winlink (the ham version). It will cost you $200 a year. Both Winlink and Sailmail can be used on land, in your home, boat or RV. You can do e-mail from anywhere. The equipment cost is virtually the same for both systems. The most effective modem is the SCS Pactor 2 or 3 units. These can be updated as the system gets faster. Other modems have been rendered useless as the system upgrades. Winlink has a huge list of Internet gateways to connect to for e-mail, Sailmail has considerably fewer. Browse both systems on the Internet, check on ham licensing, and talk to fellow boaters/cruisers. You might need their help when you start installation. Jack Swords, N1IY, s/v La Paloma, W5YI VEC
This is a good site to check out for HF, SSB e-mail: http://winlink.org/ This is a free service but you must get a ham license. Canada has and soon the US FCC will abolish the code requirement for all ham tests. The FCC has already issued the proposed change. You can take the FCC test in the Bahamas from a VEC (volunteer examiner), and even be a non citizen of the US. The ham license will allow you full privileges on all ham bands for world-wide communication and in any mode (SSB, code, digital, even TV) you wish. You can do phone patches from your boat to virtually anywhere. There are many marine nets you can check into and ask questions. The license is good for 10 years and renewable without taking another test. Many study materials are available. You cannot transact business, however, on the ham bands. If you want to do business on the radio, then you need a commercial license, and must use "Sailmail" which is the commercial version of Winlink (the ham version). It will cost you $200 a year. Both Winlink and Sailmail can be used on land, in your home, boat or RV. You can do e-mail from anywhere. The equipment cost is virtually the same for both systems. The most effective modem is the SCS Pactor 2 or 3 units. These can be updated as the system gets faster. Other modems have been rendered useless as the system upgrades. Winlink has a huge list of Internet gateways to connect to for e-mail, Sailmail has considerably fewer. Browse both systems on the Internet, check on ham licensing, and talk to fellow boaters/cruisers. You might need their help when you start installation. Jack Swords, N1IY, s/v La Paloma, W5YI VEC
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