SSB vs. Ham

[wayneA]

Thanks Roberto

Wayne

[Gunfleet]

Is it true you can have a problem with customs importing an 'opened up' Ham rig to the UK? I'd like to get a radio that covers both marine and Ham (am embarked on the ham route) for my boat. I really don't want two sets on the off chance I'd want to use the marine SSB in an emergency.

[Strathglass]

John sent you a PM.

[markhankey]

Once again many, many thanks for all of your help. It looks as if I have got a lot of work to do but your posts have been most informative......thanks again

Mark

ham radio sets usually have a circuit in them which prevents them transmitting at frequencies outside the licensed ham radio bands, though they will receive across the full designed frequency range. open banding one is usually no more than a simple snip - a vasectomy for radios!. most uk second hand retail outlets seem prepared to do it on sets they sell, and since you might well need tech advice on setting up the set, i suggest you buy in the ukrather than the us

what you will need are a transceiver, and aerial tuning unit, and the insulators to install in your backstay to form an aerail. mind you, if i were installing mine again, i would simply hoist an aerial on a haliard when i wanted to use it, rather than increase the risk of backstay failure. some people will say "what about an emergency". I would rather place my faith in a decent epirb since hf propagation is not always reliable.

most of the radio nets that will be of use to you are ham nets, and you wont get a response on these without a callsign. however, the license now is much easier - the once feared morse is a doddle at 5wpm, and is a surprisingly interesting thing once you get into it.