On Sun, 14 Sep 2003 18:56:33 +0200, "Andre Venter"
wrote:

Any ideas on the best ssb for a cruiser to buy?


Just installed Icom M802 in 41' ketch. Works great. I worked Russia
on the insulated backstay from Ashley Marina on the 20 meter ham band,
the furthest DX so far. Two buttons toggles marine only or wide open
so I can leave the radio transmitting in marine only channelized when
I'm not aboard to keep my captain out of jail. In the channelized
mode, it's as easy to operate as a CB. It accepts GPS data from
either our Garmin 185 or Raymarine RL70CRC Plus display instantly for
DSC and GMDSS emergencies. The AT140 tuner will tune the 55' backstay
all the way from 1.6 to 30 Mhz in about 4 seconds and remembers the
last few thousand settings so it doesn't need to tune again.

Have a look....

http://www.icomamerica.com/marine/ssb/icm802main.html

Over on rec.boats.electronics, you'll find my post about the negative
aspects I've notified Icom of about this radio...such as the tiny
white plastic cable connectors that are sure to corrode up. I removed
them from the AT-140 antenna tuner and soldered my control cable into
the main board of the tuner, removing the chinzy pigtail lead that
came with it. Be very careful crimping those tiny pins as there are
NO SPARES in the box, dammit Icom. No room for errors....(d^

It's still a great radio and tuner.....It will copy VLF all the way
down to 30 Khz. If you plug its audio output into your computer and
run one of several free software packages, you can get NAVTEX, WEFAX
weather maps, SITOR and all the HF digital modes (commercial and ham
radio) just fine with it.



Larry W4CSC

3600 planes with transponders are burning 8-10 million
gallons of kerosene per hour over the USA. R-12 car air
conditioners are responsible for the ozone hole, right?