Well, I Fouled Up On A Purchase...

Rick D

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Jun 14, 2008
7,132
Hunter Legend 40.5 Shoreline Marina Long Beach CA
I have an old ICOM 700 on the boat and I wanted to replace it with a ham unit, like the 718. I found a 7410 for sale from a neighbor and got a very good price on it. I Unfortunately, I later looked and find it's 22 pounds vs. the 718's 8 and change. And it's also larger by a couple of inches in each direction. Bad decision on my part. I assume it's because of the internal antenna tuner. So, my dilemma is to keep it for the house and get a 718 for the boat or try to make this do. I suspect I will have to get a 718. I don't think this is practical given the size and weight. Bummer. I doubt I would use it much at home and I don't want another project running wires and figuring out an antenna lead.
 
Feb 17, 2006
5,274
Lancer 27PS MCB Camp Pendleton KF6BL
Put it on Ebay. if you got it for a bargain price you should be able to recover that price. I know you want the 718 because of its size. I think the IC707 is about the same size as the 718. I have the IC707 and it is a nice radio. Does not have a bunch of bell and whistles which I like. The Kenwood TS50 was the same way. Simple to use. The 707 can be modified to operate all bands. I did the mod a few weeks ago. Removal of one diode from the circuit.

added - I checked and the 718 and 707 are exactly the same size.
 

Rick D

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Jun 14, 2008
7,132
Hunter Legend 40.5 Shoreline Marina Long Beach CA
Thanks, Brian. It didn't look that big when I was at his shack, but when I compared, this is an elephant. I think putting it on e-bay is exactly what I will do. Maybe someone with a 718 will want to trade with some dollars.
 
May 25, 2012
4,333
john alden caravelle 42 sturgeon bay, wis
i 've never been on a vessel with a ham radio. in this day and age what does one use a ham for on yachts. every ocean passage i've made there was a sat phone that was used to twice daily contact our weather service. i'm curious to learn.
 
Jun 6, 2006
6,990
currently boatless wishing Harrington Harbor North, MD
Sat phones are fairly expensive and charge by the minute or character for text. Ham is free after you buy the unit. There are also lots of sailing communities that use ham to stay in touch while afloat.
 
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May 25, 2012
4,333
john alden caravelle 42 sturgeon bay, wis
cool. i know of no one using ham up here on the lakes, which does not mean much.
 
Sep 25, 2008
7,077
Alden 50 Sarasota, Florida
i 've never been on a vessel with a ham radio. in this day and age what does one use a ham for on yachts. every ocean passage i've made there was a sat phone that was used to twice daily contact our weather service. i'm curious to learn.
A sat phone is great for use when you want single party comms. You can't listen to, talk among or be heard by a community of cruisers, listen in or participate in nets or put out general calls when necessary. All of which may be superfluous on a lake but desirable elsewhere.
 
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May 25, 2012
4,333
john alden caravelle 42 sturgeon bay, wis
does one still need a license for a ham radio ? the back stay on my main mast has insulators on it and a clamp for an antenna that feeds back to the nav station, but hooked to nothing. i was told that was for a ham system. could that be possibly?
my focus on cruising has always been to the wild places up here. i've always toured alone.
 
Sep 25, 2008
7,077
Alden 50 Sarasota, Florida
does one still need a license for a ham radio ? the back stay on my main mast has insulators on it and a clamp for an antenna that feeds back to the nav station, but hooked to nothing. i was told that was for a ham system. could that be possibly?
my focus on cruising has always been to the wild places up here. i've always toured alone.
It's more likely to be an antenna for a marine SSB but most are random length antennas fed through a tuner so it could be either.

There are multiple classes of amateur radio licenses, all of which require passing an exam.

Single handling and being able to communicate with others when desired or needed are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
 
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Feb 17, 2006
5,274
Lancer 27PS MCB Camp Pendleton KF6BL
Jon, any addition of communications on a vessel is better than not having anything at all. Of course, that goes without saying. SatPhone and InMarSat are probably the two most used by cruisers. But, a lot of cruisers carry Single Side Band (SSB) on board. The vast majority of those use the Icom M7xx (M700, M710) or M8xx (M802) radios. Most of these radios carry GMDSS (Distress calling/receiving) which SatPhones and InMarSat might not have. The Icom Marine Radios can be programed to work in the Amateur Radio Bands, and if one is licensed the radio is legal on those bands.

Ham Radio is the next best means of long distance communications. Many cruiser will carry smaller High Frequency radios like Kenwooe, Icom, Yaesu, or other brands. Most will use the back stay of their mast as the antenna. In my case, I have a much smaller boat yet I carry HF on board.
IMG_20160424_120955a.jpg

This was my setup not too long ago. The HF radio is a Kenwood TS-50. It is a very popular radio for its size and ease of operation. This radio has fail since and I am replacing it with an Icom IC707. The 707's footprint is larger so I have to remake the "cabinet" to house the radios and GPS. My antenna(s) do not use the backstay. One is an alternate backstay that is not load bearing (have all the parts but not yet installed) and the other is a dipole antenna cut to operate on 14300 KHz.

Forgive me if you already knew all this. Sometimes I just love talking about ham radio and sailing. They are like peanut butter and jelly. Just a perfect match!
 
May 25, 2012
4,333
john alden caravelle 42 sturgeon bay, wis
i love talking sailing, boat maintenance not so much. dad had wood boats while i was growing up.
 

Rick D

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Jun 14, 2008
7,132
Hunter Legend 40.5 Shoreline Marina Long Beach CA
@Rick D, so what did you end up doing?
Zero. I went to the boat and measured and it is just as I thought; it won't work. So, a 718 or 707 is in the future after I finish off a couple of other boat projects. The 7410 is sitting under my desk with an add-on antenna tuner. Indecisive if I want to keep it for the house or sell it. I tend to still think I won't use it much at the house and am better off selling it. If so, I'll put it on e-bay. Really a very nice unit.
 
Feb 17, 2006
5,274
Lancer 27PS MCB Camp Pendleton KF6BL
Sounds good. The 718 seems in abundance but the 707 is elusive. I guess I was lucky to find my 707. Well good luck with the sale and finding a replacement.
 
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MitchM

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Jan 20, 2005
1,011
Nauticat 321 pilothouse 32 Erie PA
hams are invaluable in maintaining communication nets during hurricanes and the like. they provide a real public service.
 
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