Onboard Weather Faxes

[HDHarris]

Does anyone have any specific knowledge or experience with on-board weather fax systems????

Specifically:

1. Will a standard Grundig Yachtboy SSB work well with an ICS or other weather fax de-modulator receiver? If not, are you aware of any reliable, relatively inexpensive, portable SSB radio that picks up 518KHZ signals or broadcasts, and operates on 12volt power or less?

2. Besides ICS, are there any other reliable, portable weather fax de-modulator receivers on the market that operate on 12volt power or less?

3. Are weather fax broadcasts via shortwave or SSB still in existence? Or, has NOAA, Coast Guard or US Gov't finally killed the broadcasts?

4. Do you know of a reliable, portable (small) 12 volt power or less hard paper printer that will hook up well (interface for computer geeks) between SSB radio, fax modulator receiver and printer?

It's very difficult to find any reliable, detailed information about these systems anymore. My present dinosaur (SSB, de-modulator & printer) is just plain DEAD from salt air exposure/age and the mfgrs. are either bankrupt or out of business.

If anyone has any good ideas or info about these systems, equip, vendor contacts, websites, etc., it would be greatly appreciated.

I'm concerned about sailing without good, reliable weather front info - something other than the consistently wrong NOAA broadcasts/forecasts.

Regards,

HDHarris@juno.com



HDHarris@Juno.com

[HDHarris]

For clarification of my prior message on Weather Faxes, I am specifically focusing on the NAVTEX broadcasts, and in particular, any new 12 volt power or less radio, de-modulator, printer equipment that will receive the NAVTEX data on-board thru SSB radio (not VHF), decode the analog or digital signals into print data and then printout standard weather front maps/diagrams.

Sound fairly geekish does it? Well, I'd rather have a current weather fax than just about anything else at sea, including the standard NOAA VHF weather forecast, excluding, of course, a cold beer w/bikini in tow.

Regards,

HDHarris@juno.com



HDHarris@juno.com

[John]

Does anyone have any specific knowledge or experience with on-board weather fax systems????

Specifically:

1. Will a standard Grundig Yachtboy SSB work well with an ICS or other weather fax de-modulator receiver? If not, are you aware of any reliable, relatively inexpensive, portable SSB radio that picks up 518KHZ signals or broadcasts, and operates on 12volt power or less?

2. Besides ICS, are there any other reliable, portable weather fax de-modulator receivers on the market that operate on 12volt power or less?

3. Are weather fax broadcasts via shortwave or SSB still in existence? Or, has NOAA, Coast Guard or US Gov't finally killed the broadcasts?

4. Do you know of a reliable, portable (small) 12 volt power or less hard paper printer that will hook up well (interface for computer geeks) between SSB radio, fax modulator receiver and printer?

It's very difficult to find any reliable, detailed information about these systems anymore. My present dinosaur (SSB, de-modulator & printer) is just plain DEAD from salt air exposure/age and the mfgrs. are either bankrupt or out of business.

If anyone has any good ideas or info about these systems, equip, vendor contacts, websites, etc., it would be greatly appreciated.

I'm concerned about sailing without good, reliable weather front info - something other than the consistently wrong NOAA broadcasts/forecasts.

Regards,

HDHarris@juno.com

I've got weatherfax on board our CD30. I use a Icom IC-M700TY SSB transceiver in combination with a SEA (Stephens Engineering Assoc.) Seafax 4000 weather facsimile decoder. To print out the weather faxes I use a Diconix model 150 inkjet printer. The Seafax and Diconix take up very little space which is nice. In addition they are separate components which I prefer. I think these days you can use a laptop computer with the appropriate software instead of a dedicated fascimile receiver. Look into a very small laptop made by Toshiba, I think its called a "Libretto". They are reasonably priced on the used market and would allow you to do weaterfascimile and afford you a navigation computer all in one. They are regular computers that run on Windows platform but are very compact. A cool little item for sailors with limited space. I'll skip the geeky details. My weather stuff is probably 8 years old now but still works flawlessly, I use a insulated backstay for the SSB antenna not a whip.

In lieu of the Diconix you could use any inkjet printer, the Diconix is very compact though. The next closest in size would be one made by Canon. Can't remember the model number but its readily available. You can still purchase the Diconix in Computer Shopper Magazine, there's a company that advertises in there that sells them refurbished for a really decent price.

I don't know what the current weather fascimile is thats made by Stephens, you would need to contact them directly. Icom has a couple of very nice SSB's on the market and the prices have come way down. I highly recommend the Icom receivers from my experience. Stephens also makes a very fine SSB that has garnered excellent reviews. Alden makes a integrated unit fax/pinter in one. I think Furuno also makes an integrated unit.

The Diconix runs on 9V. You can run it on either a dedicated 12volt circuit, or through a voltage adapter that plugs into 120V outlet. It will also run on five "C" batteries, rechargables are recommended.
The Stephens Seafax can be run the same way, it has provisions for all three power sources. I know where there is a used Seafax for sale if you are interested, I'll post the shops contact info if you or anyone else wants it.

The weather fascimile broadcasts are alive and well. Being that I'm in Florida I use the broadcasts sent out from Chase, Louisiana. Go to www.nws.noaa.gov and look for the marine page link and then look for the weatherfax page. There is all kinds of weatherfax info there.

If you want a list of equipment manufacturers for receivers etc., pick up a copy of Sail magazines 1999 Equipment Annual Buyers Guide. You can get it at West Marine or various bookstores and on magazine racks.

I don't know anything about the Grundig Yachtboy or other radios similar. I know there are some simple receivers out there that can receive weather fax broadcasts and have provision for hooking up a decoder/receiver.

On the SSB transceiver you need to have it set to USB (upper sideband mode) to tune in weatherfax broadcasts. You have to tune 1.9 Khz below the listed carrier frequency to receive the weather faxes. For instance if the listed broadcast frequency is 4317.9 to receive a fax you would tune to 4316.0 to actually receive it.

I hope this info helps you out somewhat.

[HDHarris]

John, thanks for your help. Your info is just what I needed to get a jump start on my replacement equip.

Regards,

HDHarris



HDHarris@juno.com

[HDHarris]

John, I would be very interested in any info you have on the Stephen Seafax you mentioned "might" be for sale in a shop you knew about. And email address, etc.

So far, the equipment I have located online and by t/c is limited, you have to dig, but it's definitely out there.

The Diconix 150 printer is a no brainer, I found it - it's good find on your part. Small, compact and power is a cinch!!

As far a receivers/demodulators are concerned, there is some good stuff:

ICOM M710 and M700 Pro are the best Shortwave transceivers out there - pricey at $1000 - $2500, and you still need a de-modular. But, very fine pieces of equipment made for marine use.

Sangean makes the SSB's ATS-818 and ATS-909, small, compact, low power req., sw, mw and lw receivers which run $150 - $250, but still need de-modulator and not clear if they have USB mode for Sitor/Navtex.

Si-Tex makes the Nav-Fax 200, small, low power req., most bands, including weather, but seems to need 386 IBM computer with decent memory (640K RAM) to work. It is a standalone, dedicated navfax box - $339 at West Marine.

Universal makes M-450v1.5 RTTY (radio teletype) and fax decoder, stand alone unit, with massive receipt only capabilities. It is a totally self-contained unit that needs no de-modulator. Not sure if it will fit Diconix, but has a printer port. Costs $399.95.

Finally, AQR makes the ARD-2 unit, small, lower power req. "decoder" box for ACARS and Navtex. Has printer port too, but not sure about Diconix fit. Costs $399.95.

That's it. Let me know about Stephens. I prefer not to have to use a PC. I like stand alone stuff.

Check out Universal Radio, Inc. at www.universal-radio.com
This place seems to have the broadest array of equipment.

Thanks again for your help.

Regards,

HD Harris





HDHarris@juno.com