Ham radio and other communication

[CougarMtn]

My wife and I are in the early stages of planning a trip through the inside passage and into SE Alaska in 2013. What seems to be the most reliable communication? We both have our General Ham tickets, and an older Icom 735 HF rig I bought years ago that lends itself well to the job. Looking at the cell provider maps leaves me wondering if they are viable or not, and those roaming charges.....

It appears many of you are hams also. A good antenna and tuner would definitely be needed. (unlike our past sailboat where we could tune up the backstay as an antenna) Any of you run ham gear in your boats? Any thoughts or advice?

[thataway]

Probably the best way to run HP on the C Dory or that size boat is to rig a dipole with two Ham Sticks. There is an adaptor, and you can mount this on deck railing or similar type of attachment.

We ran HF for many years and daily checked into the the North West Boater's net (out of Port Ludlow Yacht club):
http://www.toandos.com/nwbn.html

We also checked into some of the 2 meter nets along the way, including Telegraph Island, Uculet and several others. This was mostly when we had a Cal 46, with both Ham Sticks, a long wire, a 23' whip and both dipoles and long wire antennas. There are a number of small radios well suited to our boats, but if the 735 is still working well, it will be satisfactory.

We have used cell phones much of the area of the NW passage. With a Wilson Antenna and Cell phone amp (dual band) this increase the range.

I cannot give you % of coverage--and it is not 100% Looking at A T & T coverage, I would say that you might get coverage once a day as you travel.

If you want really good coverage, then sat phone--or one of the message services, such as the "in Reach" via satellite. These are not expensive, but do limit the message length.

Also don't forget the EPRIB.

Good traveling!

[Larry H]

We traveled the inside passage last year.

Cell phone service is good in BC up to the north end of Vancouver Island. After that, there is local coverage at Shearwater, Klemtu, Hartley Bay, Prince Rupert, and then near Ketchikan.

In SE AK, coverage varies, with fair to good coverage, (AT & T)
in or near the population areas. Check the coverage maps at your provider of choice. Sprint has no SE AK coverage, and only has limited roaming coverage.

Cruise ships all have their own cell towers onboard, but the rate is $2.50 per minute! Be cautious using your phone in a remote area if a cruise ship is nearby. WiFi is available in most marinas, some of which is free and some pay. In Ketchikan marinas, WiFi is pay and not cheap.

[CougarMtn]

[quote="Larry H"]

Cruise ships all have their own cell towers onboard, but the rate is $2.50 per minute! Be cautious using your phone in a remote area if a cruise ship is nearby. quote]

Great advice! This I was not aware of.

Another reason to invest in an AIS receiver, to help identify those rougue towers.

[Pat Anderson]

I like the topic, and hope there will be some more input here. David (Anna Leigh) and I (Daydream) used 2 meter ham for boat to boat just because we could, but we did not communicate with anyone else on 2 meter. David is a general, but did not have HF equipment on board, I am just a lowly no-code tech, planning to change that soon. I do feel the longer range of HF would be very valuable, the VHF marine and 2 meter ham bands leave huge holes on the Inside Passage where you cannot raise anybody.

Pat
KD7OAC

[Larry H]

I don't use ham radio, but you are never alone on the main traveled parts of the inside passage. Canada Coast Guard Radio has good to excellent coverage on the entire route. You can always reach them on VHF16. The entire route is also covered by the Coast guard Traffic control. All commercial and fishing boats over 65ft must report in to traffic. The channels vary, using VHF 11, 12, 71 in various parts of the route.

Our small boats are called 'non-participants' and can maintain a listening watch. If you are in trouble in the fog in shipping lanes, they can advise you of conflicting traffic, and can advise the big guys of your presence. You can also call the big guys directly on the traffic control channel. Large ships who are monitoring the VHF traffic channel may not be listening to VHF 16.

[NewMoon]

Our experience is much like Larry's. VHF coverage is nearly everywhere, the only exceptions we've found being the northern half of Glacier Bay, and the few very tall and narrow fjords or anchorages that block signals here and there. Even up in Glacier Bay, there are generally other boats you can reach on VHF.

Cell phone coverage (ours is AT&T) is as Larry said in BC. In SE AK, we find cell coverage near just about any sizable town, and also in some surprisingly remote areas - much of Icy Strait, or the middle of Stephens Pasage, for examples.

Friends who are willing to pay for coverage absolutely everywhere use sat phones.

[journey on]

Please note what Larry H said above. Maritime traffic does NOT use the Ham bands, they use the Maritime VHF bands. For safety's sake, you've got to keep a watch on the VHF radio: Ch 16, Ch 12, etc. The Coast Guard ( US and Canadian) and those cruise ships will answer you on your Marine VHF radio but not your Ham radio.

Ham HF frequencies are good for long range transmissions (such as the Port Ludlow net Dr. Bob mentions) but Maritime traffic runs on Marine bands.

Boris, KE6QES

[potter water]

Working the ham rig as "maritime mobile" is a hoot. You get contacts coming back every call and usually get a pile-up when you are on the air. So, take the rig along regardless of the utility or safety aspect. The social aspect is well worth it. And it is an excellent, never fail com of last resort if you simply have to get hold of someone for emergencies.

I've used a simple rail mount hustler with manually changed elements for almost 25 years. The key is when you are using that arrangement is to have a tuner, even though you can tune each of the elements. Also, without considerable work to create a good ground plane by running copper strips inside the hull, you need to work at no more than 25 watts. On the 40 meter and higher bands, that much power is plenty to work anywhere the bands are open, though, I've also been able to work 80 meters reasonably well, depending on conditions at 25 watts.

Have fun. It is a great way to spend an evening at anchor, and the piece of mind of com reliability is wonderful.