"Doug Dotson" dougdotson@NOSPAMcablespeedNOSPAMcom wrote

"Jack Painter" wrote in message
news:WeKFd.16260$B95.1392@lakeread02...

. As far as bandwidth
for prevailing conditions, there are quite sufficient bandwidths
available
in the Maritime Mobile Service. Below is a little paraphrased version of
the
new guard frequencies. Duplex is now history for all hailing and
distress
work with the USCG.

What does bandwidth have to do with this. The bandwidth of an SSB
signal is the same regardless of the frequency/band used.

Doug, k3qt
s/v CAllista

Doug,

It was a little Freudian slip, sorry. I was describing the more than
sufficient "bands" that are available, and the context of the message surely
was clear to that. I note that you nonetheless repeated pretty much the same
information of my message in your answer. I'm sure glad you cleared that up
before everyone thought bandwidth meant bands! G

As to the comments you actually added, such as 2182 khz not being reliable
or used any longer, 2182 khz is most certainly used as a distress and
hailing frequency to raise the USCG, where it is monitored from every USCG
Group, even in places like the Mississippi River where it has completely
fallen out of use due to cell phones, which are never out of coverage in
that area. Using equipment with considerably longer range capabilities than
USCG Groups have at their disposal, I have never heard a call go unanswered
in over six months of dedicated guard on that frequency. Many MAYDAY calls
were answered by several USCG Groups at once. While I would hope we can
continue to improve the quality of equipment available for this work, it is
in no means incapable of doing the job that is expected of it. It is not
likely, in my opinion, that satellite phone links or vessel and personal
EPIRB's will ever completely replace HF emergency communications. If these
newer and more capable equipments do render the average yachtsman or mariner
less familiar with his HF equipment and capabilities (due to infrequent
usage) then that is an issue that can be addressed in boating safety and
professional standards courses. It would be too bad to see such capable
means of communication lost to just an aging part of the hobby field, do you
agree?

Jack Painter
Virginia Beach, Virginia