Amateur Radio - to get weather info, access mail etc?
 

I am an electrical engineer and could quite easily get a licence for
amateur radio.
Does it pay off if I'd do that to access weather charts etc on a boat -
this year in Europe, both on inland waterways in France and in the
eastern North sea (between Germany, Denmark and Sweden)?

Apart from a transceiver I have a Mac that should decode the signals
without any extra hardware with MultiMode
(http://www.blackcatsystems.com/software/multimode.html).

Or are other options better?

TIA

Marc

--
remove bye and from mercial to get valid e-mail
http://www.heusser.com

Amateur Radio - to get weather info, access mail etc?
 

I am based in the UK and often travel in the French inland waterways, the
English Channel and the Northern med.

For the sea areas I would recommend NAVTEX you will get weather reports in
English wherever you are. You may also with a modern set get some local
inland forecasts but they may be in the local language. Sets are not that
expensive circa $300. Most if not all Marinas publish a forecast on their
notice boards each morning these usually last 2 or 3 days ahead.

For the inland waters the local TV or Radio will be best but these are in
the local language. Do not forget the local papers. If you want English the
internet is best, use a cafe or get Wi Fi and hope for access. In the inland
areas we rarely need a forecast. You do need a forecast for the Seine
between Rouen and the sea and for some exposed parts of the Rhone if a
Mistral is due. Do not worry to much as the rest of the boating community
will have plenty of info.

If you become a Ham the local French, German and Dutch Hams can mostly speak
English and can probably give a local forecast but remember they may not be
sailors.

If you need weather charts and cannot get the internet then Fax is the way
to go, any reasonable receiver and a computer should suffice. Get a free
programme from the internet, use Bracknel from the UK or Offenbach from
Germany

Alec.




"Marc Heusser" d wrote in
message ...
I am an electrical engineer and could quite easily get a licence for
amateur radio.
Does it pay off if I'd do that to access weather charts etc on a boat -
this year in Europe, both on inland waterways in France and in the
eastern North sea (between Germany, Denmark and Sweden)?

Apart from a transceiver I have a Mac that should decode the signals
without any extra hardware with MultiMode
(http://www.blackcatsystems.com/software/multimode.html).

Or are other options better?

TIA

Marc

--
remove bye and from mercial to get valid e-mail
http://www.heusser.com

Amateur Radio - to get weather info, access mail etc?
 

On Fri, 21 Mar 2008 17:10:11 +0100, Marc Heusser
d wrote:

I am an electrical engineer and could quite easily get a licence for
amateur radio.
Does it pay off if I'd do that to access weather charts etc on a boat -
this year in Europe, both on inland waterways in France and in the
eastern North sea (between Germany, Denmark and Sweden)?

Apart from a transceiver I have a Mac that should decode the signals
without any extra hardware with MultiMode
(http://www.blackcatsystems.com/software/multimode.html).

Or are other options better?

There are a lot of weather sources on HF/SSB and you don't really need
a ham license to access most of them. Weather FAX is very useful,
most of the frequencies and schedules are he

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/marine/rfax.pdf

Voice broadcasts are listed he

http://www.docksideradio.com/PDF%20F...0Forecasts.pdf

There are also "weather routing" services available such as Herb
Hildenberg's broadcasts:

http://hometown.aol.com/hehilgen/myh.../vacation.html

You can also receive customized Gridded Binary (GRIB) forecast files
via Airmail or Sailmail. Airmail requires a ham license, Sailmail
does not. Both require a Pactor harware Terminal Node Controller
(TNC).

For serious communications and reliable fax reception I highly
recommend purchase of a Pactor TNC. Paired with the right tranceivers
and Airmail/Sailmail software, operation is menu driven from a PC and
almost automatic.

More info he http://www.docksideradio.com

Amateur Radio - to get weather info, access mail etc?
 

On Mar 21, 7:36 am, Wayne.B wrote:
You can also receive customized Gridded Binary (GRIB) forecast files
via Airmail or Sailmail. Airmail requires a ham license, Sailmail
does not. Both require a Pactor harware Terminal Node Controller
(TNC). ...

Airmail is US $250/yr these days. A ham license is a nice thing in
and of itself. The wx and safety features can be good but mostly I
enjoy the connections it makes between people.

-- Tom.

Amateur Radio - to get weather info, access mail etc?
 

On Fri, 21 Mar 2008 11:27:41 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote:

Airmail is US $250/yr these days. A ham license is a nice thing in
and of itself. The wx and safety features can be good but mostly I
enjoy the connections it makes between people.

Airmail (with a ham license) is still quite free, use it all the time.
I believe you are thinking of Sailmail which operates as sort of a
co-operative on commercial frequencies.

http://www.sailmail.com/

Amateur Radio - to get weather info, access mail etc?
 

On Mar 21, 9:41 am, Wayne.B wrote:
Airmail (with a ham license) is still quite free, use it all the time.
I believe you are thinking of Sailmail which operates as sort of a
co-operative on commercial frequencies.


Sorry, you are, of course, correct. The software is free it's
Sailmail access that costs. I've used Sailmail and Winlink for years,
too.

-- Tom.

Amateur Radio - to get weather info, access mail etc?
 

On Fri, 21 Mar 2008 17:10:11 +0100, Marc Heusser
d wrote:

I am an electrical engineer and could quite easily get a licence for
amateur radio.
Does it pay off if I'd do that to access weather charts etc on a boat -
this year in Europe, both on inland waterways in France and in the
eastern North sea (between Germany, Denmark and Sweden)?

Apart from a transceiver I have a Mac that should decode the signals
without any extra hardware with MultiMode
(http://www.blackcatsystems.com/software/multimode.html).

Or are other options better?

TIA

Marc

Amateur licenses are worth another look at now. The morse code
requirement has been swept away, and there are just three available
classes - tech, general and extra.
Tests are held regularly in local areas, and an ARRL license Manual
will get you there - not to mention the several sites offering
practice tests at all three levels.

Brian Whatcott
Altus OK

Amateur Radio - to get weather info, access mail etc?
 

In article ,
Brian Whatcott wrote:

On Fri, 21 Mar 2008 17:10:11 +0100, Marc Heusser
d wrote:

I am an electrical engineer and could quite easily get a licence for
amateur radio.
....
Amateur licenses are worth another look at now. The morse code
requirement has been swept away, and there are just three available
classes - tech, general and extra.
Tests are held regularly in local areas, and an ARRL license Manual
will get you there - not to mention the several sites offering
practice tests at all three levels.

Thanks for the info - actually in Switzerland it is even easier if you
have a degree in electrical engineering: The only part you have to pass
is knowing the Radio Rules (20 minutes of multiple choice questions).
So it boils down to whether I'll actually use the amateur bands to
access the internet via RF (to download GRIB weather files eg), or to
receive weather faxes etc.

Marc

--
remove bye and from mercial to get valid e-mail
http://www.heusser.com

Amateur Radio - to get weather info, access mail etc?
 

On Fri, 21 Mar 2008 17:10:11 +0100, Marc Heusser
d wrote:

I am an electrical engineer and could quite easily get a licence for
amateur radio.
Does it pay off if I'd do that to access weather charts etc on a boat -
this year in Europe, both on inland waterways in France and in the
eastern North sea (between Germany, Denmark and Sweden)?

Apart from a transceiver I have a Mac that should decode the signals
without any extra hardware with MultiMode
(http://www.blackcatsystems.com/software/multimode.html).

Or are other options better?

TIA

Marc


A friend that does a lot of open ocean passages gets weather reports
vis SailMail, if I'm not wrong. I can email him and get more details
if you are interested.

Bruce-in-Bangkok
(correct email address for reply)

Amateur Radio - to get weather info, access mail etc?
 

On Mar 21, 4:47 pm, Bruce in Bangkok wrote:
A friend that does a lot of open ocean passages gets weather reports
vis SailMail, if I'm not wrong. I can email him and get more details
if you are interested.

It's trivial to get GFS or NOGAPS GRIB files and there is plenty of
other stuff. You might want to send an email to
with a line that says info or a line that says help. You can get lots
of info delivered to any e-mail address for free.

-- Tom.