February 9, 2010 02:38
You all seem to be missing a very basic concept. Before you spend thousands on the latest communication gear, or hours discussing it, why not stop for a moment and consider what you actually need? Better yet, consider what you don't need! If you need all that communication ability, then the one thing you don't need is a BOAT! Why not just go back to the office and be happy?
As a commercial fisherman, I have a genuine business need for marine communication at times. What I need above all else is a weather forecast. I can get that from a SSB, and I can get a SSB used for a few hundred bucks. They haven't changed in decades. An old one works the same as a new one. For a few hundred bucks more, I could get a professional to work out every odd interference issue (and there are plenty on most boats). If I need the weather and I miss the voice forecast, then I can leave the SSB hooked to the computer and eventually the fax charts will get loaded.
Many fishing boats are loaded with electronics that are truly mind boggling. Many of those boats find that the electronics are a distraction, so they are turned off. I never cease to be amazed that a boat can have two SSBs, sat phone, etc., yet be out of contact most of the time.
Like a novice traveler who packs too much unnecessary gear, far too many boat owners fill the wheelhouse with frivolous electronics. Yes, there are good reasons to be able to communicate. You should stop and think about how much you really need to communicate. Aside from weather and a few other coordinating messages, it turns out that there is far less need to communicate than the novice realizes.
I've come to a certain perspective after years being in the middle of nowhere. Suppose something terrible happens onshore to a loved one. What can I do with that terrible news way out on the open ocean? Whatever the news from shore, what can I do about it? I should have taken care of it before I left, because there is nothing I can do now. The SSB already does everything else I need to do.
I guess the bottom line is that I'm not going to get an Iridium phone. If I need to get a triangulation on my sat phone to figure out where I am, well, I have problems on so many levels that it's time for me to get an office job. An EPIRB is cheaper than a sat phone and its signal can also be used to triangulate my position. I've seen people driven nuts by text messages coming in on an Iridium phone. Remember, there's nothing you can do... you're in the middle of nowhere!
As a commercial fisherman, I have a genuine business need for marine communication at times. What I need above all else is a weather forecast. I can get that from a SSB, and I can get a SSB used for a few hundred bucks. They haven't changed in decades. An old one works the same as a new one. For a few hundred bucks more, I could get a professional to work out every odd interference issue (and there are plenty on most boats). If I need the weather and I miss the voice forecast, then I can leave the SSB hooked to the computer and eventually the fax charts will get loaded.
Many fishing boats are loaded with electronics that are truly mind boggling. Many of those boats find that the electronics are a distraction, so they are turned off. I never cease to be amazed that a boat can have two SSBs, sat phone, etc., yet be out of contact most of the time.
Like a novice traveler who packs too much unnecessary gear, far too many boat owners fill the wheelhouse with frivolous electronics. Yes, there are good reasons to be able to communicate. You should stop and think about how much you really need to communicate. Aside from weather and a few other coordinating messages, it turns out that there is far less need to communicate than the novice realizes.
I've come to a certain perspective after years being in the middle of nowhere. Suppose something terrible happens onshore to a loved one. What can I do with that terrible news way out on the open ocean? Whatever the news from shore, what can I do about it? I should have taken care of it before I left, because there is nothing I can do now. The SSB already does everything else I need to do.
I guess the bottom line is that I'm not going to get an Iridium phone. If I need to get a triangulation on my sat phone to figure out where I am, well, I have problems on so many levels that it's time for me to get an office job. An EPIRB is cheaper than a sat phone and its signal can also be used to triangulate my position. I've seen people driven nuts by text messages coming in on an Iridium phone. Remember, there's nothing you can do... you're in the middle of nowhere!
Edmund