In article ,
"Steve" wrote:

Thanks Larry,

The written test has never been a problem for me.. (I'm not all that
knowledgeable, just a good test taker).. I agree, the prep for the test
looks pretty easy.. In fact I took the General back in the '50s, but
couldn't pass the code, even a 5 wpm for novice..

I have several programs for exam prep and code practice.. And 50 years
later, I still can't copy 5 wpm..

I'm just waiting for all the "ole timers", who have influenced the FCC for
year, to die off and allow the code requirement to be dropped. Good typing
skills would be more appropriate today.

I QSL some on the ham bands and I'm still amazed that these "ole timers" are
still yakking about their tower, the crab grass, what 'Ma' cooked for Sunday
Dinner. I shouldn't complain, they have preserved the ham band for almost
100 years.

I'm not interested in running contest, just exchanging boating info and
maybe comments on how I rigged my longwire and ground plane.. Much the same
as we discuss on these rec.boat news groups.

I have already "open" my rig up can now transmit on the marine bands. I have
also installed a Pactor IIb and will have it upgraded the next time I'm down
in The Bay Area. However my cruising season is too short to invest in the
SeaMail annual fee. I'll use my cell phone or internet cafes for this
summers trip.


Call 'em on the HF radio on various bands on their calling frequency. Be
prepared to move to their working frequency as they won't talk to you on
the guard channel.

Then how do I know what "working channel" they might ask me to shift to?? If
we are assuming Duplex, it takes me a minute or so to program these freq.
into both VFOs. While in Simplex it's just a matter of tunning up or down
the dial.. The USCG assumes I would punch in a channel number.. What I'm
asking, is some recommended working channel that I can have preprogramed for
each band.

thanks for those links to the various channels/freq. They are in a better
format than what I was using.


Steve
s/v Good Intentions



Hi Steve,
Well yur going to want to use 4125.0Khz for sure, (that is where 90%
of the HF Traffic in the North Pacific is..) and it is a Simplex
Frequency. USCG Kodiak is a 24/7 Monitor on 4125.0Khz and they also
use that for a working channel as well. Your also going to want to put
the CanadianCG Station at Comox BC in there as well. Those are the two
main CG Stations for the North Pacific. For MF 2182.0Khz will be good
while your in Canadian Waters, as Comox BC has some of the best coverage
on the West Coast of North America. Once you get to alaska, forget about
2182.0Khz as our own USCG Stations couldn't hear you if you had a MultiKw
Transmitter 50 yards away from thier antenna sites. We have very good
VHF HighSite coverage up here but MF is the pits. Most of the traffic
on MF is on Alaska Private Fixed Frequencies like 3261Khz or 2512Khz,
and HF happens on one of about 10 frequencies around 4366Khz. These are
all mostly commercial and fishing frequencies, but noncommercial traffic
happens here as well. The standard 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 22, and 25Mhz
simplex HF Frequencies are available but much of that traffic is fishing
and commercial. The Yacthet guys preety much stay on the hambands for
chit/chat, although I worked a bunch of them over the years from WDT-59
a 1Kw HF Private Coast Station, and KWO-70 a 150 watt MF/HF Alaska
Public Fixed Station that uses a massive Antenna Farm, for Fleet
Communications to the fishing fleet in and around Alaska. Wx Traffic is
handeled on 4125.0Khz by the USWS Stations at Yakatat, Kodiak, and Cold
Bay, Alaska... twice a day from each station. They accept local Wx Data
from vessels 30 minutes prior to each schedualed Wx Broadcast, and they
give all coastal Wx information and forcasts on each broadcast, with
repeats at the end of each brodcast.
There are NO Public Coast Stations left on MF/HF in alaska, and very few
Public Fixed Stations in the interior. Mostly everything has gone to
Cellular, with Highsites colocated with the Alascomm Microwave Common
Carrier sites. Cellular should get yu up thru Canada, and Southeastern
Alaska, preety well, but there are very few PCS sites outside the MAJOR
Towns and even then they have spotty coverage, so plan on using either
analog, or digital 800Mhz cellular. Best coverage is had by using an
external celular antenna and a 3watt Brick amplifier. I understand that
AlasComn has requested permission from the FCC to shutdown ALL of the VHF
Public Coast Stations, and this may have already happened, so don't
plan on using them in alaska this summer.


Bruce in alaska
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