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Larry

Joe wrote in news:d3b3ff64-b3f2-4c45-85fb-
:

Indeed, after calling for hours on 2182 with zero responce, I got
Rooney on 14.300. We listen daily to the cruisng net for weather
updates ect..ect.. Later called a passing ship and my friend meet me
on another channel to have a pow wow with noaa and USCG SAR. They
requested I activate the EPIRB when we decided it was time to go. I
had a 406 that also broadcasted at 121 at the same time.

Skipper says thanks

Joe

Joe, you were on the WRONG BAND.....

The 2 Mhz marine band acts exactly like the AM broadcast band. Tune
across the AM band in the daytime. What do you hear? Only powerful
local stations, because the only propagation on the AM band when your
area is pointed into the solar wind is GROUND WAVE. 1KW goes about 10
miles. 150 watts from a marine HF/SSB into a rotten base tuned-very-
heavily antenna goes about as far as your VHF walkie. They were
listening, but they couldn't hear you that far out on 2182 in the
daytime.

Here's a kind of "average responding" chart:

These single sideband radiotelephone channels are used for communications
between coast and ship stations. Frequencies listed are carrier
frequencies. Channels used for calling, and channels guarded by the U.S.
Coast Guard are indicated.

RANGE (NM)
Time of day: Day Night

* 2 Mhz Channels 0-20GW 0-300
* 4 MHz Channels 0-50GW 50-500
* 6 MHz Channels 0-100GW 50-1000
* 8 MHz Channels 100-500 300-1200
* 12 MHz Channels 100-1000 300-2000
* 16 MHz Channels 200-1500 300-3000
* 18 MHz Channels 300-2000 300-4000
* 22 MHz Channels 300-2000 300-4000
* 25 MHz Channels 300-3000 300-5000

The 3 highest bands are very subject to sunspot activity. Some times
during the 11 year sunspot cycle, solar maximums, you might hear yourself
echo on 25 Mhz all the way around bouncing multiple hops. In low sunspot
cycles, the bands are DEAD.

A great way to learn how the propagation is from your boat, at sea, to CG
stations is to listen to their WEFAX continuous transmissions on:

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, U.S.A. (Planned Nov 05, 2007 change is
cancelled)
CALL SIGN FREQUENCIES TIMES POWER
NMG 4317.9 kHz ALL BROADCAST TIMES 5 KW
8503.9 kHz ALL BROADCAST TIMES 5 KW
12789.9 kHz ALL BROADCAST TIMES 5 KW
17146.4 kHz 1200Z - 2045Z 5 KW

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A.
CALL SIGN FREQUENCIES TIMES POWER
NMF 4235 kHz 0230z-1028z 5 KW
6340.5 kHz ALL BROADCAST TIMES 5 KW
9110 kHz ALL BROADCAST TIMES 5 KW
12750 kHz 1400z-2228z 5 KW

PT. REYES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. (Planned Nov 05, 2007 change is cancelled)

CALL SIGN FREQUENCIES TIMES POWER
NMC 4346 kHz NIGHT 4 KW
8682 kHz ALL BROADCAST TIMES 4 KW
12786 kHz ALL BROADCAST TIMES 4 KW
17151.2 kHz ALL BROADCAST TIMES 4 KW
22527 kHz DAY 4 KW

The big Harris transmitters are hooked up to much better antenna systems
than a boat could ever dream of, broadband conical monopoles over huge
counterpoise grounding systems. They generate an incredible field. (You
can feel it close to the antenna.)

But, if you PREPROGRAM these frequencies and label them into your NEW
Icom M802 in the new boat, you can quickly rotate through them to see who
has the BEST signal on the meter, switch to that station's CALLING
frequency, press TUNE (make sure), and call 'em very quickly. Using
their constant WEFAX as a propagation tool, you'll have a MUCH better
chance of getting an answer to that distress call on HF/SSB.

In the daytime, where you were, I'd first try NMG on 4 Mhz Calling IF I
could hear a good signal from them on 4317Khz. Failing that, I'd give up
trying to call New Orleans, entirely and switch to 9110 to see how well
NMF in Boston is coming in. You should have comms with NMF on 12 Mhz
even 8 Mhz in the daytime from the Gulf shore.

In the day on HF, long range stations on the higher freqs of 8, 12, 16
Mhz are a much better path than trying to call the closest station on 2
or 4 Mhz when the sun has blown away those low bands' ionospheric layers.
Those layers only exist on the DARK SIDE of the planet.

Any sailors with an HF radio really ought to put down the marlinspike
seamanship manuals and learn how to use their radios. Do a LOT of
listening to the different bands, especially the ship simplex
frequencies, at different times of the day to learn what frequencies have
the MOST ships and shore stations YOU CAN HEAR on them, how far each
frequency band can go at different times of the day, in realtime, and
listen to the procedures used since WW2 on HF radio. There's not a lot
of traffic, now, because the ships have gone to satphones and satellite
data links, but there's still a lot of tramp freighters with old SSB
radios calling various still-open shore stations with traffic.

Sure glad you got great response on 14.300. NOTE - 14 Mhz band....near
12 and 16 Mhz marine bands......NOT 2182! 2 Mhz is USELESS in the
daytime....unless you can also talk to him on VHF-FM...

Larry W4CSC
Charleston, SC
ham licensed since 1957
(er, ah, I was 11!)