Refit & Repairs: Communication Systems

When we purchased our 1985 Tayana 37 in 2005, it was equipped with a single sideband radio and VHF radio.  We continue to use the SSB radio, but have since replaced the VHF radio with a newer ICOM model (IC M502).  We have also added a satellite phone, laptop computers with wifi and cellular email capabilities for when we are in port, and when we arrived in Europe, we invested in a Navtex receiver.  

The ICOM 600 SSB radio is an older model but very reliable, that is once we solved a problem with transmitting our signal.  We didn't learn how to use the SSB radio until reaching the Bahamas in May 2006 when we were finally out of VHF range for receiving weather forecasts.  We used it to listen to Chris Parker's forecast and to have him route us to Beaufort, NC.  He called the weather perfectly, but this is when we discovered that we were having problems transmitting with a strong enough signal.  During the summer of 2006, David received his radio operator's license, but we didn't put the radio to the test again until the fall.  Unfortunately, we experienced the same problems transmitting on the way to the Caribbean during our twice-a-day radio nets for the Caribbean 1500.  In this case, we were lucky that there was always another boat that could pick-up our transmissions and relay them to the rest of the fleet.  In the BVIs, we had a radio technician on-board who finally solved the problem: it was simply a quick-connect wire which had come loose on the tuner.  Once it was re-connected, the transmissions were much stronger.  We had no problems sending and receiving transmissions during out Atlantic Crossing with the ARC Europe Rally, and because of our position, we even helped to relay messages between the front and the back of the fleet.

The biggest problem with the older model of SSB radio that we have is that it could not be upgraded with a modem for email and data transfer capabilities.  In the category of "If it ain't broke, don't fix-it" decisions, we kept the old, reliable model because it worked.  Rather than spending over $4,000 on a new SSB radio, we decided to invest in a satellite phone instead which would also give us some welcome redundancy for our long-range emergency communications.  Had we known at the time how poorly the Globalstar phone would perform, we might have made a different decision, however, the satellite phone worked extremely well for sending and receiving emails and downloading weather information during our entire Atlantic crossing.  For everything else it has performed poorly. The Globalstar phone is notoriously bad for dropping calls, having local cellular companies "slam" or interfere with the signal and had terrible coverage in the Mediterranean.  We have de-activated the service while in the Med, and will only re-activate it when we sail back across the Atlantic again.

Other than using the satellite phone for email while at sea, until recently, we relied primarily on the wifi modems on our two laptops to connect to the internet for email and data transfers while in port.  Some marinas and ports have excellent wifi service, but this has proven the exception, not the rule in more places than we care to write about.  After a frustrating summer without reliable wifi services in Portugal, Spain and Italy, we finally decided to invest in a cellular internet "air card" -- a USB modem with a cellular sim card in it -- to get on-board internet access.  For the time being, no more toting the computers ashore and sitting in a bar or internet cafe to send and receive emails and to make data transfers.  After the initial investment of 180.00 euros in the USB modem, the sim card costs about 30.00 euros a month for 100 hours.  When we add up the internet time, espresso costs and hassle factor of carrying the computer ashore, we think it is very reasonable.  The added benefit is that we have the flexibility of accessing the internet onboard and can visit our favorite news websites online, rather than spending 2.50 euros a day for the International Herald Tribune at the local newstand.

We used Skype briefly for long distance and international calls in the Caribbean, but became frustrated with the quality of the calls and dropped calls.  We rarely have access to a high-speed connection which we think is needed.  However, by the time we were in Europe, more of our friends and family had become Skype users.  We also decided to get better onboard internet connections (see above), and as of 2008, we use Skype all the time.

Once we arrived in Europe, we installed a Navtex receiver to receive local, English-language weather reports and notices to mariners.  This was a piece of equipment that everyone whom we talked to about sailing in the Med was in unanimous agreement about -- everyone's got one here.  We'll let you know more about this once we've had experience in a few more countries.

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