Communications

[The Problem] [The Options] [Tradeoffs] [Our Solution]

The Problem

Communications: we all need it to stay in touch with:

Ships on a collision course
Friends and family
Cruisers ahead of us to tell us about problems or sweet spots to visit
Our broker to see how much money we have made (or lost)
Weather services around the world
Mail services or West Marine
Search and Rescue organizations in an emergency
Medical advice in a medical emergency

With such a wide array of possibilities some opt for simplicity while others want to cover all bases but finances and battery power limit most of us. Read on and see where we are in this open field of possibilities.

Options

The options range from the venerable VHF radio found on most yachts to the most exotic in satellite communications gear. Satellite technology has come down in price and is becoming more common on cruising yachts. The most common systems include:

Option	Range	Uses	Eqmt Cost	Operating Cost
VHF radio	10 miles	Voice, ship to ship	$100-300	nil
Marine SSB	50 to 3000 miles	Voice, data, and email; Ship to ship and shore	$1500-2500	Voice: nil Data and email, $200/year
HF Ham Radio	50 to 3000 miles	Voice, data, and email; Ship to ship and shore	$1500-2500	Nil
Inmarsat C	Anywhere	Weather, safety reports, data, email, distress reporting	$2500	$250/year plus usage, assume $1000/year
Inmarsat Mini-M	Anywhere	Voice, Weather, safety reports, data, email, distress reporting	$6000	$2.50/min
Satellite telephone	Anywhere	Voice, Data and email	$1000-2000	$250/year plus usage, assume $1000/year
Argus	Anywhere	Position reporting	na	na
Mobile phone	5-20 miles to a cell	Voice, Data and email	$100-300	$250/year plus usage, assume $1000/year
EPIRB (406 MHz)	Anywhere	Distress reporting	$1000-2000	Nil, but batteries last 5 years for $300-500.
Internet cafes	Landbased	Data and email	Nil	$0.25 to $5.00/hour
Navtex (receive only)	100 miles from coast	Weather	$200-300	nil
Weatherfax (receive only)	100-3000 miles	Weather	$300-2000	nil
Polar satellite weatherfax	100-300 miles from satellite which covers entire Earth	Weather	$600-2500	nil

Trade-offs

For all major features, we identified their priority for us, and how well the various options provided these features:

Anywhere: J Under some circumstances: K Never: L

Feature	Priority	VHF	Ham SSB	Inmarsat C	Inmarsat Mini-M	Satellite phone	Mobile phone	Wefax Navtex	Argus
Distress reporting anywhere	High	K	K	J	J	J	L	L	J
Weather	High	K	K	J	J	K	K	J
Ship to ship for collision avoidance	High	J	L	L	L	L	L	L	L
Radio contact with cruisers	High	J	J	K	K	K	K	L	L
Ship to shore voice	Med	K	K	L	J	J	K	L	L
Email at sea	Med	L	J	J	J	J	L	L
Website update at sea	Med	L	J	J	J	J	L	L
Music and news	Med	L	J	L	L	L	L	L	L
Medical assistance at sea	Med	K	K	J	J	J	L	L
Faxes at sea	Lo	L	L	J	J	K	L	L
GPS backup	Lo	L	L	J	J	L	L	L	J

Our Solution

We have gradually improved our communications capabilities over the years and our equipment complement includes:

X Primary X Secondary or backup

Equipment	VHF	Ham radio	EPIRB	Mobile phone	Marine SSB	Weather fax	Iridium Sat phone	Inmarsat C	406 EPIRB
Installed	1992	1992	1992	1992	1995	1995	2001	2001	2005
Distress reporting	X	X	X		X		X	X	X
Weather		X			X		X	X
Ship to ship	X				X
Cruiser Net	X	X			X
Ship to Shore including Medical advice		X			X		X	X
Email at sea							X	X
Web update at sea							X