[PUP] SSB reciever, worth the money?

[Peter Pisciotta]

There are 2 primary reasons to have long-range
communications aboard a cruising boat: weather, and
safety. SSB is still relevant, though Iridium and some
weather subscription services can replace it. 

I think you'd find the SSB cruiser nets are fairly
helpful: there's typically a land-based moderator who
knows the local weather conditions extremely well (I
forget the name of the guy who does Baja or where he's
located, but he's been hosting the 'Net for years).
And anyone who's ever heard emergency instructions
relayed via multiple VHF users can attest that having
a long range radio set is nice. And your closest help
may be another boat who is much more likely to have
SSB than Iridium. ANd it doesn't have to be a full-on
emergency: could just be that you need some gasket
material, or a 3" x 5/8" bolt or something. There
simply is no way to do a broadcast contact with
Iridium.

NOTE: If you do decide to have one installed, make
sure you have the time to thoroughly test it before
departing the area. Poor installation (especially
grounding) seems to give never-ending problems -
mostly on transmit so I'd guess that the advice to
have a good antenna even for receiver-only is sound.

Peter
Willard 36
San Francisco