Anyone use this little mobile unit for cruising? What would be its
advantages/disadvantages over the 710? It seems to have a broader band
selection, and is smaller/lighter.

TIA

Padeen

In article
,
"Padeen" wrote:

Anyone use this little mobile unit for cruising? What would be its
advantages/disadvantages over the 710? It seems to have a broader band
selection, and is smaller/lighter.

TIA

Padeen



The 706 is a very popular rig in the mobile amateur population
downunder. The real question is how well it will last in the marine
environment but with the detachable head the main unit can be put in a
protected location. Also if you are usinging the AT-130 remeber that the
auto tune signal out of the 706 is at a slightly lower voltage level
than the IC-M710. Also you may find the limited memories (I think 110 or
near there) a little limiting when you start to load up all the ITU
maritime frequencies. Dare I also say it is not type approved so there
can be a minor problem there as well. But if you have an Amateur license
it is a great little rig.

--
John VK3JP

Very good ! I use it (first model) on my boat with a SGC 231 coupler close
to the backstay. It is very helpful to have a remote panel to install the
unit where you want. Regards. Laurent.

"Padeen" a écrit dans le message de
...
Anyone use this little mobile unit for cruising? What would be its
advantages/disadvantages over the 710? It seems to have a broader band
selection, and is smaller/lighter.

TIA

Padeen

In article
,
"Padeen" wrote:

Anyone use this little mobile unit for cruising? What would be its
advantages/disadvantages over the 710? It seems to have a broader band
selection, and is smaller/lighter.

TIA

Padeen



The 706 is a very popular rig in the mobile amateur population
downunder. The real question is how well it will last in the marine
environment but with the detachable head the main unit can be put in a
protected location. Also if you are usinging the AT-130 remeber that the
auto tune signal out of the 706 is at a slightly lower voltage level
than the IC-M710. Also you may find the limited memories (I think 110 or
near there) a little limiting when you start to load up all the ITU
maritime frequencies. Dare I also say it is not type approved so there
can be a minor problem there as well. But if you have an Amateur license
it is a great little rig.

--
John VK3JP

Very good ! I use it (first model) on my boat with a SGC 231 coupler close
to the backstay. It is very helpful to have a remote panel to install the
unit where you want. Regards. Laurent.

"Padeen" a écrit dans le message de
...
Anyone use this little mobile unit for cruising? What would be its
advantages/disadvantages over the 710? It seems to have a broader band
selection, and is smaller/lighter.

TIA

Padeen

It is illegal to use ham radio equipment on the marine bands. All
equipment must be at least "type accepted".....

However, lots of ham equipment is being used on the marine bands all
the time, these days.

The main disadvantage of the ham equipment is that the marine radios,
like our Icom M802 aboard Lionheart, is channelized for all the marine
frequencies, even to the point that the display tells you what special
purposes the current channel is used for, like the one the Coasties
are monitoring on this band. You COULD program the memories in the
better ham radios to the ITU marine channels with the list from
several sources, I suppose.

By the way, if you decide to go whole hog and get the beautifully
engineered, but poorly sealed, M802, you can switch from channelized
marine mode to "wide open" frequency mode by holding down MODE + 2 and
pressing TX buttons. This combo toggles it back and forth. When I go
aboard, I toggle it into open for use on the ham bands. When I leave
the boat, I switch it back to marine channels only to keep my
non-technical captain out of Federal prison, limiting his transmitting
to marine channels, only. It really is a beautifully-operating radio.

Oh, the ham rigs are, typically, 100W. The marine radios are 150
watts output. Power IS our friend....(c;

Sailnet has great prices on Icom Marine radios.....



On Sun, 28 Dec 2003 12:16:03 GMT, "Padeen"
wrote:

Anyone use this little mobile unit for cruising? What would be its
advantages/disadvantages over the 710? It seems to have a broader band
selection, and is smaller/lighter.

TIA

Padeen

It is illegal to use ham radio equipment on the marine bands. All
equipment must be at least "type accepted".....

However, lots of ham equipment is being used on the marine bands all
the time, these days.

.... but maybe hams, with a license to lose, would be wise to avoid "common
practices"? OTOH, how is this enforced?

It looks like the main 706 drawback is power, as it's bandwidth is greater
and price lower. If I eventually get a boat that's already equipped with a
full marine radio, the 706 will be a good backup.

Please feel free to contradict!

Thanks,

Padeen

"Padeen" wrote in message ...
It is illegal to use ham radio equipment on the marine bands. All
equipment must be at least "type accepted".....

However, lots of ham equipment is being used on the marine bands all
the time, these days.

... but maybe hams, with a license to lose, would be wise to avoid "common
practices"? OTOH, how is this enforced?

It looks like the main 706 drawback is power, as it's bandwidth is greater
and price lower. If I eventually get a boat that's already equipped with a
full marine radio, the 706 will be a good backup.

Please feel free to contradict!

Thanks,

Padeen



How well does the 706 work for sending e-mail and receiving weather
fax information? Other then a laptop, what other equipment would you
need.

Thanks, I am just starting on my Ham license and plan on doing some
extended cruising with my family next year. I am looking at the 706 as
a means of keeping in touch with the nets, safety communication, and a
way to receive weather fax. E-mail is low in the priority list. It
just seems like the entire 810 set up is pretty expensive for a
technology that may soon (within 5 years) be replaced by am
inexpensive satellite network.
(Hope it's OK to pop a question in the middle like this, its my
first group question (yes I'm over 40))

John Pangea, Swan 38

On 29 Dec 2003 19:32:58 -0800, (John) wrote:



How well does the 706 work for sending e-mail and receiving weather
fax information? Other then a laptop, what other equipment would you
need.

Software works great, these days, with the soundcard plugged into mic
and earphone jacks.

Thanks, I am just starting on my Ham license and plan on doing some
extended cruising with my family next year. I am looking at the 706 as
a means of keeping in touch with the nets, safety communication, and a
way to receive weather fax. E-mail is low in the priority list. It
just seems like the entire 810 set up is pretty expensive for a
technology that may soon (within 5 years) be replaced by am
inexpensive satellite network.
(Hope it's OK to pop a question in the middle like this, its my
first group question (yes I'm over 40))

Welcome to ham radio, John! I've been a ham since 1957. I was 11.
It's been a helluva ride....(c;

Be sure the boat has a 50 watt, 2 meter FM rig to chat on the local
repeaters with local hams when you get there. A dual-band 144-440 Mhz
rig is an even better idea, if you have the money. In ham equipment,
noone beats Yaesu. I've had 'em all...(c; The local hams on VHF or
UHF can be a treasure trove of local information and help most any
port you'll come to. Be informed of the foreign regulations for ham
radio in any countries you visit out of country, however. Most
require you have a "reciprocal license" to operate within their
borders, INCLUDING from your boat inside their territorial limits,
unlike your ship license on the marine bands. Some countries have
them, others do not. If you do not have a local license, DO NOT
TRANSMIT from the boat. That's asking for equipment confiscation.
Ham radio doesn't come under maritime law protections.

By the way, the BEST digital HF mode ever invented was invented by
hams. It's called PSK31. Phase shift keying, 31 Hz bandwidth.
Listen to USB on 14.070 Mhz and you'll hear lots of tiny warbling
signals of it. In one SSB receiver bandwidth, centered on 14.070 by
gentlemen's agreement of the PSK users, there can be as many as 30 or
40 QSOs going on at once! You can copy them now by downloading a
program like WinWarbler from:
http://www.qsl.net/winwarbler/
Winwarbler will copy and QSO with three stations you choose on its
waterfall spectrum display SIMULTANEOUSLY! Way cool communications
the commercials haven't discovered, yet. Far superior to
Pactor/Amtor/RTTY/Sitor. PSK31 or PSK63 will print perfectly when the
signal is so weak you can hardly see its trail on the spectrum display
and you can't even hear it in the receiver's noise. Simply amazing.
Anyone with an HF SSB receiver and a Windoze computer can listen in on
the fun. Don't let any hardware dealers sell you a piece of equipment
for it, either. It's all just audio in and out of your soundcard.
There is a little interface box the computer uses to key the
transmitter automatically. Read all about it from the website....

73, DE Larry W4CSC (Charleston, SC)

Thanks Larry. I've been looking for something like this!

Padeen



"Larry W4CSC" wrote in message
...
On 29 Dec 2003 19:32:58 -0800, (John) wrote:



How well does the 706 work for sending e-mail and receiving weather
fax information? Other then a laptop, what other equipment would you
need.

Software works great, these days, with the soundcard plugged into mic
and earphone jacks.

Thanks, I am just starting on my Ham license and plan on doing some
extended cruising with my family next year. I am looking at the 706 as
a means of keeping in touch with the nets, safety communication, and a
way to receive weather fax. E-mail is low in the priority list. It
just seems like the entire 810 set up is pretty expensive for a
technology that may soon (within 5 years) be replaced by am
inexpensive satellite network.
(Hope it's OK to pop a question in the middle like this, its my
first group question (yes I'm over 40))

Welcome to ham radio, John! I've been a ham since 1957. I was 11.
It's been a helluva ride....(c;

Be sure the boat has a 50 watt, 2 meter FM rig to chat on the local
repeaters with local hams when you get there. A dual-band 144-440 Mhz
rig is an even better idea, if you have the money. In ham equipment,
noone beats Yaesu. I've had 'em all...(c; The local hams on VHF or
UHF can be a treasure trove of local information and help most any
port you'll come to. Be informed of the foreign regulations for ham
radio in any countries you visit out of country, however. Most
require you have a "reciprocal license" to operate within their
borders, INCLUDING from your boat inside their territorial limits,
unlike your ship license on the marine bands. Some countries have
them, others do not. If you do not have a local license, DO NOT
TRANSMIT from the boat. That's asking for equipment confiscation.
Ham radio doesn't come under maritime law protections.

By the way, the BEST digital HF mode ever invented was invented by
hams. It's called PSK31. Phase shift keying, 31 Hz bandwidth.
Listen to USB on 14.070 Mhz and you'll hear lots of tiny warbling
signals of it. In one SSB receiver bandwidth, centered on 14.070 by
gentlemen's agreement of the PSK users, there can be as many as 30 or
40 QSOs going on at once! You can copy them now by downloading a
program like WinWarbler from:
http://www.qsl.net/winwarbler/
Winwarbler will copy and QSO with three stations you choose on its
waterfall spectrum display SIMULTANEOUSLY! Way cool communications
the commercials haven't discovered, yet. Far superior to
Pactor/Amtor/RTTY/Sitor. PSK31 or PSK63 will print perfectly when the
signal is so weak you can hardly see its trail on the spectrum display
and you can't even hear it in the receiver's noise. Simply amazing.
Anyone with an HF SSB receiver and a Windoze computer can listen in on
the fun. Don't let any hardware dealers sell you a piece of equipment
for it, either. It's all just audio in and out of your soundcard.
There is a little interface box the computer uses to key the
transmitter automatically. Read all about it from the website....

73, DE Larry W4CSC (Charleston, SC)