Actually, its the 10 kW Collins HF80 transmitters, including the tubes that
amplify the RF, that's becoming difficult to repair. Replacements cost
roughly $120,000 or so, plus another $80,000 to install them. The Coast
Guard uses about 23 of these transmitters to make these broadcasts.

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YOu got that right, including shrimpers and others who make
their living, and otherwise would have no reason to
subscribe to the pay for play satellite services etc.

wHat gets me is the part about the equipment being obsolete
and hard to repair/replace. I don't know what these folks
are smoking, but you can run rtty and generate fax with a
garden variety computer. Hell they don't even need to go
with the digital equipment synthesizers for speech anymore,
unlike some of us blind folks who use those for screen
access.

Believe it or not, I utilize these brodcasts myself and i"m
a landlubber. wHy do I use them? SO that when my internut
connection is broken and I can't get the latest data I can
tune in, take shorthand dictation from the synthesized
speech and have the info for those who need it when I
operate as net control for the Maritime mobile service net,
14.300 mhz.

IF having that data saves some poor sap from having to be
fished out of the drink by the cg at $150 k a pop it pays
for itself pretty quickly.

73 de nf5b

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