+xI installed an ICOM M802 HF SSB radio and antenna tuner but the manual that comes with it is next to useless. Does anyone have any beginners notes / guides on using this radio - although I have a marine radio licence that was done a long time ago and twiddling dials is not getting me anywhere. I want to be able to use it to join radio nets when I cross the Pacific and possibly to link to a Pactor modem for grib file downloads. Appreciate any help anyone can give me as haven’t found anything on the internetChris
Chris, that's a wide open question! Do you have specific areas of difficulty?
First, where is the boat? - if it's in a marina full of lots of tall metal sticky things (masts!), you'll have trouble hearing anything! If that's the case, move the boat to a quiet anchorage.
Now you need to tune in to one of the frequencies at the right time of day and listen in... There's a list of frequencies and times somewhere on the forum...
You can change channel with the right big knob. You'll see frequencies change or channels change (flip between displays with the Freq/Ch button on the keypad). Hopefully (probably) the channel you want is already pre-programmed - it's just a matter of rotating through the channels to find the right one. The Left hand knob will step you 20 channels at a time...
Once you find the channel you want, push the 'Thru Tune' button (top center) and you'll hear the tuner clicking...
Now you should be able to hear something if the propagation is any good.
Maybe that'll get you started - but ask for more specifics...
Good luck with it!
Bill Balme
s/v Toodle-oo!