Starting to look at SSB. Any advice, recommendations?
Gordon

The ICOM 710 is the industry standard, very reliable. However, it is
miserable to tune the channels, it has several hundred preset channels
arranged in many disorganized groups. Investigate the possibility of a Ham
model ICOM that just lets YOU tune the frequency. If you are going to use
it with a Pactor modem for e.mail, make sure it has remote tuning
capability. The laptop then tunes the Sailmail/Airmail channels.
Lee Haefele
"Gordon" wrote in message
...
Starting to look at SSB. Any advice, recommendations?
Gordon

Lee Haefele wrote:
The ICOM 710 is the industry standard, very reliable. However, it is
miserable to tune the channels, it has several hundred preset channels
arranged in many disorganized groups. Investigate the possibility of a Ham
model ICOM that just lets YOU tune the frequency. If you are going to use
it with a Pactor modem for e.mail, make sure it has remote tuning
capability. The laptop then tunes the Sailmail/Airmail channels.
Lee Haefele
"Gordon" wrote in message
...
Starting to look at SSB. Any advice, recommendations?
Gordon

Goordon...Like Wayne we have a ICOM 802 and love it. With the automatic antenna tunner it works flawlessly. We chose the Pactor PCT 2 Pro. The advantage is speed and automatic channel tunning when sending e-mail via the 802 Dick MC Kee

Lee Haefele wrote:
The ICOM 710 is the industry standard, very reliable. However, it is
miserable to tune the channels, it has several hundred preset channels
arranged in many disorganized groups. Investigate the possibility of a Ham
model ICOM that just lets YOU tune the frequency. If you are going to use
it with a Pactor modem for e.mail, make sure it has remote tuning
capability. The laptop then tunes the Sailmail/Airmail channels.
Lee Haefele
"Gordon" wrote in message
...
Starting to look at SSB. Any advice, recommendations?
Gordon

Goordon...Like Wayne we have a ICOM 802 and love it. With the automatic antenna tunner it works flawlessly. We chose the Pactor PCT 2 Pro. The advantage is speed and automatic channel tunning when sending e-mail via the 802 Dick MC Kee

On Sun, 6 Aug 2006 08:07:40 -0700, "Gordon"
wrote:

Starting to look at SSB. Any advice, recommendations?
Gordon


I have an ICOM M802 and highly recommend it. Nothing else that I've
seen comes close with respect to ease of use. It also works well in
amateur radio mode if you have a license.

I have a Pactor TNC/modem which allows the SSB to interface with a
laptop for EMAIL and position reporting. Using popular EMAIL
services, Airmail and Sailmail, the radio is totally controlled by the
laptop. Everything is automatic except for frequency selection, and
there is a propagation tool to assist with that. You can also use the
Pactor to receive weather fax and NAVTEX broadcasts.

http://www.noonsite.com/Members/webm...R2002-06-10-12

http://www.airmail2000.com/

Wayne.B wrote in
:

I have an ICOM M802 and highly recommend it. Nothing else that I've
seen comes close with respect to ease of use. It also works well in
amateur radio mode if you have a license.



Nice radio but has a few deficiencies we found on Lionheart......

Antenna tuner is beautifully sealed....THE DAMNED FOOL CHEAP CABLE
PIGTAIL IS NOT! Open the AT-130 tuner and make a drawing of where the
wires are SOLDERED to the board from the pigtail crap control cable going
out of the sealed case. Unsolder the wires and remove the pigtail with
the chinzy crap connector on the end and discard it. Run the control
cable from the radio through the watertight fitting and solder the wires
directly to the circuit board on the little rings you unsoldered the
other ones paying attention to where they go, of course. Ok, the outside
control cable problem is solved....

Icom makes sure you have EXACTLY the same number to hair-fine tiny pins
to put on the OTHER end of the tuner control cable that push into the
connector to plug into the radio. If you bend or break one of the tiny,
fragile, crappy pins....you're screwed. Be very careful crimping them to
the wires. Notice the pins plug into pins actually on a circuit board
through an unsealed slot in the radio case. Make sure NO STRAIN
WHATSOEVER is put on this connector...or you'll beeee sooorrrryyyyy!

The fan sucks the corrosive sea air into the case to cool the transmitter
heat sink. If any salt whatsoever is present in that air, it will simply
eat and destroy everything inside the expensive radio cabinet. The radio
MUST be mounted in a very dry, spray-free, atmosphere. Ours is behind
the nav station panel just under the cabin overhead, protected. Works
fine there. We use the remote head cable to mount the head in the nav
panel next to the matching M-602 overkill VHF radio my captain just had
to have...(c;

The NMEA connector to get GPS data into the GMDSS/DSC card in the M-802
is a BNC coax connector, one of the stupidest things about the
radio....next to the stupid control cable above. Of course, this grounds
the NMEA (-) data to the -12V power supply "ground" raising the
unbalanced condition of your archaeic NMEA network so the NMEA data RF
noise wipes out the HF receivers in the M-802 because the unbalanced NMEA
makes a great transmitter with its data pulses, especially if you run it
fast. HF works great if you shut down the NMEA gear to stop the noise
intrusion.

You'll need a SECOND HF antenna AWAY from the transmitter antenna,
please, for the GMDSS/DSC scanner to use. I'm using the boat's solid
lifeline which has a handy bolt coming through the deck behind the main
radio to hook the DSC antenna jack to. DC ground is everywhere, so
that's my counterpoise.

Speaking of counterpoise....make sure you have a stainless strap
connecting the ground post on the TUNER, not the radio, to the engine
block or whatever ships ground you have. If you're lucky enough to have
a bolt to the lead keel you can hook it to, that works great!...(c;

Once you get rid of the crap control pigtail connector hanging out of the
tuner, putting the tuner right out in the weatherdeck has no effect on it
at all. The inside of Lionheart's AT130 looks just like the day I
installed it at the base of the mizzenmast where it hooks onto the
screwjack insulated backstay on the Amel Sharki ketch, on top of the aft
cabin just behind the mizzenmast base.

Too bad Raymarine doesn't seal the 2KW radomes like the AT130 so IT
doesn't get eaten on the radar platform 40' above the tuner....nuts.

Signals on both the ham bands and marine bands are first class on the M-
802, considering its longwire antenna, tuner and only 150 watts....

On Sun, 06 Aug 2006 15:49:07 -0400, Larry wrote:

Antenna tuner is beautifully sealed....THE DAMNED FOOL CHEAP CABLE
PIGTAIL IS NOT! Open the AT-130 tuner and make a drawing of where the
wires are SOLDERED to the board from the pigtail crap control cable going
out of the sealed case. Unsolder the wires and remove the pigtail with
the chinzy crap connector on the end and discard it. Run the control
cable from the radio through the watertight fitting and solder the wires
directly to the circuit board on the little rings you unsoldered the
other ones paying attention to where they go, of course. Ok, the outside
control cable problem is solved....

Icom makes sure you have EXACTLY the same number to hair-fine tiny pins
to put on the OTHER end of the tuner control cable that push into the
connector to plug into the radio. If you bend or break one of the tiny,
fragile, crappy pins....you're screwed. Be very careful crimping them to
the wires. Notice the pins plug into pins actually on a circuit board
through an unsealed slot in the radio case. Make sure NO STRAIN
WHATSOEVER is put on this connector...or you'll beeee sooorrrryyyyy!

The fan sucks the corrosive sea air into the case to cool the transmitter
heat sink. If any salt whatsoever is present in that air, it will simply
eat and destroy everything inside the expensive radio cabinet. The radio
MUST be mounted in a very dry, spray-free, atmosphere. Ours is behind
the nav station panel just under the cabin overhead, protected. Works
fine there. We use the remote head cable to mount the head in the nav
panel next to the matching M-602 overkill VHF radio my captain just had
to have...(c;

The NMEA connector to get GPS data into the GMDSS/DSC card in the M-802
is a BNC coax connector, one of the stupidest things about the
radio....next to the stupid control cable above. Of course, this grounds
the NMEA (-) data to the -12V power supply "ground" raising the
unbalanced condition of your archaeic NMEA network so the NMEA data RF
noise wipes out the HF receivers in the M-802 because the unbalanced NMEA
makes a great transmitter with its data pulses, especially if you run it
fast. HF works great if you shut down the NMEA gear to stop the noise
intrusion.

So why aren't we having any of those issues on my 802?

Wayne.B wrote in
:

So why aren't we having any of those issues on my 802?


Where's your tuner mounted? Where's your transceiver mounted?

That's probably why.....(c;

On Sun, 6 Aug 2006 08:07:40 -0700, "Gordon"
wrote:

Starting to look at SSB. Any advice, recommendations?
Gordon


Have a 710, the split model with controls separate from the chassis.
Works fine. A number of people in Mexico have been complaining about
the microphone on the 802s. There's a poor connection someplace
causing transmission to cut out.

In article ,
Dick Locke wrote:

On Sun, 6 Aug 2006 08:07:40 -0700, "Gordon"
wrote:

Starting to look at SSB. Any advice, recommendations?
Gordon


Have a 710, the split model with controls separate from the chassis.
Works fine. A number of people in Mexico have been complaining about
the microphone on the 802s. There's a poor connection someplace
causing transmission to cut out.

Usually it is the "Idiot Operator" that has streached the Mic Cord
to the point that it has become Intermittant. I have fixed plenty
of them, in a past life.

Me