We are in the early stages of planning a trip across the Pacific in 2019 and I think I ought to install an SSB radio in addition to the satellite phone we currently have on board. Our sailing tends to be very unsophisticated in terms of electronics: in many ways I would almost rather turn the whole lot off and get on with the real task in hand…

The boat is currently in Croatia and we are planning to winter this year in Sicily and I was going to get the yard to install it. If at all possible, I want to avoid putting any more holes in the hull. We currently have rod rigging (which is quite old) and a split backstay, but shows no sign of wear and so I am reluctant to replace it. We are just replacing the batteries on board and that will give us something like 500Ah and an alternator that throws out 130A – so that ought to be plenty of power.

I have heard all sorts of stories about what radio to buy (Is it true that ones bought in US have more channels?) and how to install. I wondered if someone might might be able to point me in the right direction – may be just about the ups and downs of SSB. and what I should and should not do!

I hope that there are members of the club who can help a raw novice in this field. many thanks

Stephen Foot
Water Music

Hi Stephen,
I agree fully with the comments already published. Only a few remarks:
I have an ICOM 801, the only mf/hf device apporved in the Netherlands. I am very happy with it. The story goes that it is equal to the 802 on the outside but that internally it is totally different, the 801 being the better device in terms of corrosion etc. There is a marked price difference in favor of the 802 though.
There is a lot of information on the internet about installation of mf/hf trancievers. Very usefull.
In addition to the radio and antenna you need also an antenna tuner. There are tuners that must be tuned manually, but an automatic one is much to be preferred.
If you want to send/receive Emails, weather forecasts (gribs), weather fax charts etc. you will want a modem. Pactor modems are very wide spread. It can be done using the sound chart of your PC, but I have no experience with that method, it seems a bit cumbersome.

Success,
Victor