It is warm and calm even though it is October. We motored up to the Tyne. No wind. Poor viz. But strangle also bright sun. A clear shadow on the compass let me do some calibration.
Tuesday, 13 October 2015
Checking the compass deviation using the Sun
Our Plastimo steering compas has a pointer to cast a shadow to check for compass deviation.
It is 11:35 UTC on 10/10/2015 and we are at around 54 deg 10 N 1 deg 10 W so the LHA of the sun is 178 deg. Variation is 3 deg W, so the compass bearing of the sun should be 181 deg and the shadow 001 deg. We can't read the compass to that accuracy but it looks about bang on. It is a pity Plastimo did not make a longer pointer. Repeating the exercise turning the boat around we can swing the compass and make a deviation card. Not however while the First Mate is passing a cup of soup up the companionway.
It is 11:35 UTC on 10/10/2015 and we are at around 54 deg 10 N 1 deg 10 W so the LHA of the sun is 178 deg. Variation is 3 deg W, so the compass bearing of the sun should be 181 deg and the shadow 001 deg. We can't read the compass to that accuracy but it looks about bang on. It is a pity Plastimo did not make a longer pointer. Repeating the exercise turning the boat around we can swing the compass and make a deviation card. Not however while the First Mate is passing a cup of soup up the companionway.
Tuesday, 8 September 2015
Yaddnet helps me with MF DSC configuration
I fitted an active watch antenna for my M801e SSB radio (thanks to Bob at sailcom for supplying this. As Bob suggested I wired the power supply for the active antenna off the power supply to the ATU.
So now to test it! From NE England Lyngby radio in Denmark is accessible and automatically replies to DSC test message on MF (2187.5kHz). HM coastguard does not reply automatically, they have to notice the message and have not be too busy to click on it. It is not clear if the different MMSI numbers for CG stations are really any different, or if they are really all centralised. At first I was getting no reply so I checked on YadNet. This first showed up I had got a digit wrong in the MMSI. When I got it right I was being heard by Yadd monitoring stations (amateur radio monitoring experts) from Shetland to
The next morning I got an ACK from Humber CG.
Saturday, 22 August 2015
Do you need an SSB?
A fellow member on the Oyster Owners forum asked this. Here is part of my reply
I just upgraded the Icom M710 to an M801e before they become
unavailable (I got mine Radio Exchange in Australia).
However in many ways this is unnecessary. I mainly use HF
radio for email (including position reports) and getting grib files
and other weather info using sail docs. Of course this also needs a PACTOR modem if
you want to do it at reasonable speed.
Form a cost point of view a ham radio costing a fraction of the price,
or at least a rugged non-marine Icom radio like a IC-7200 would do the
job.
That said a modern DSC equipped HF/MF radio has an important
advantage. If you are out of VHF range of shore or other ships and you
are in trouble sending a DSC urgency or distress message on MF will
find another ship. All ships have their SSB radios. They do the
compulsory test of them once a month and they have them switched on.
If you send a DSC distress message it will make them "ring" loadly on
the bridge! They will not however monitor 2182kHz (the MF equivalent
of ch 16). Pretty much no one does. Not even Lyngby Radio or HMCG. So
a non DSC SSB radio does not do that job.
I agonized over that for a while. I even wrote a small program that
made a DSC message over my old non DSC M710 radio (that bit was easy,
it is the decoding that is hard). But in the end I decided to get the
proper kit. In any case the M801e is waterproof and fits in much more
neatly.
You can still make link calls to phones. It is expensive - I am not
sure if it is more expensive than a sat phone. Here is a nice YoutUbe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
to call a phone. You dont need DSC for this i just makes it a bit
easier. It certainly makes it easier for a phone to call you as it
"rings" rather than having to wait for traffic lists. Compared to a Sat phone though one down side is
that long distance it will only work at certain times of day depending as it has to skip off the ionosphere.
If you want to get an SSB radio and a UK license Bob Smith is the
person to help . I did the Long Range
Certificate course with him. On the
other hand if the yacht is registered in the US it seems you don't need
to do a course, you just apply for a ships radio license!
By the way I have an Icom 710 for sale.
See also my post on various ways for position reporting/tracking
I just upgraded the Icom M710 to an M801e before they become
unavailable (I got mine Radio Exchange in Australia).
However in many ways this is unnecessary. I mainly use HF
radio for email (including position reports) and getting grib files
and other weather info using sail docs. Of course this also needs a PACTOR modem if
you want to do it at reasonable speed.
Form a cost point of view a ham radio costing a fraction of the price,
or at least a rugged non-marine Icom radio like a IC-7200 would do the
job.
That said a modern DSC equipped HF/MF radio has an important
advantage. If you are out of VHF range of shore or other ships and you
are in trouble sending a DSC urgency or distress message on MF will
find another ship. All ships have their SSB radios. They do the
compulsory test of them once a month and they have them switched on.
If you send a DSC distress message it will make them "ring" loadly on
the bridge! They will not however monitor 2182kHz (the MF equivalent
of ch 16). Pretty much no one does. Not even Lyngby Radio or HMCG. So
a non DSC SSB radio does not do that job.
I agonized over that for a while. I even wrote a small program that
made a DSC message over my old non DSC M710 radio (that bit was easy,
it is the decoding that is hard). But in the end I decided to get the
proper kit. In any case the M801e is waterproof and fits in much more
neatly.
You can still make link calls to phones. It is expensive - I am not
sure if it is more expensive than a sat phone. Here is a nice YoutUbe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
to call a phone. You dont need DSC for this i just makes it a bit
easier. It certainly makes it easier for a phone to call you as it
"rings" rather than having to wait for traffic lists. Compared to a Sat phone though one down side is
that long distance it will only work at certain times of day depending as it has to skip off the ionosphere.
If you want to get an SSB radio and a UK license Bob Smith is the
person to help . I did the Long Range
Certificate course with him. On the
other hand if the yacht is registered in the US it seems you don't need
to do a course, you just apply for a ships radio license!
By the way I have an Icom 710 for sale.
See also my post on various ways for position reporting/tracking
How to make a phone call on your SSB
A nice instructional video on using the US commercial coast station WLO to make a phone call through your ICOM 802 radio. It is about the same on an 801
As for costs as far as i can tell from this post it is about a US dollar per minute
Thursday, 6 August 2015
On the way to Amble
Blogging from the fordeck is new to me . On passage Sunderland to Amble .. maybe going up to Farne for a look too
Sunday, 12 July 2015
Shakedown cruise
First trip of the year, with work travel causing a late start to the season. With Mike and Sarah we set off from Hull on the ebb, heading to Grimsby.
Reflecting on Hull Marina there are some good things. Kilsdale Marine, the Chandlers, are well stocked, very helpful, and ultra convenient. Richard the boss is especially helpful and is the Cruising Association honorary local representative and a mine of information. The people who operate the lock and hoist are all experienced and helpful too. The main draw back is that it is run by British Waterways, who run mainly inland waterways and seem rather clueless. I have never met a boatyard that does not operate the hoist at weekend for example. It is also fairly expensive both in the marina and the yard, and a long way to the sea!
Off then to Grimsby which is closer to the sea and the marina, rather more like a Danish one, is run by a sailing club, the Humber Cruising Association.
Leaving on the ebb the plan was to not fight the tide, go past Grimsby and anchor then come back in n the rising tide. It is in principle possible to do the trip in one tide, but the stream runs at about 4 knots at springs so initial progress would be slow. Grimsby opens the lock for free flow 2 hours either side of HW, but penning in other times depends on the amount of commercial traffic as they have priority.
The Humber is a busy port and one requests permission to enter the estuary from Humber VTS, a bit like air traffic control. Near Immingham they asked us to tack out of the channel as a large ship was leaving that port. Our AIS transponder meant they called us by name (not they don't bother with AIS - basically too fiddly!) which is very handy. The boat behind us a nice Elizabethan ketch of about 32 feet didn't have an AIS transponder and I don't think had announced their departure from Hull. I think they got the hint when they saw us tack and perhaps heard VTS talking about them to the ship.
We anchored near Spurn Point which was pleasant and sheltered. Actually this is where VTS is based, as well as the lifeboat. We had a early dinner and saw a seal. The forecast was for brief torrential rain, which lasted half an hour and the visibility closed in. Then it cleared nicely for us to head back over to Grimsby on the flood.
Reflecting on Hull Marina there are some good things. Kilsdale Marine, the Chandlers, are well stocked, very helpful, and ultra convenient. Richard the boss is especially helpful and is the Cruising Association honorary local representative and a mine of information. The people who operate the lock and hoist are all experienced and helpful too. The main draw back is that it is run by British Waterways, who run mainly inland waterways and seem rather clueless. I have never met a boatyard that does not operate the hoist at weekend for example. It is also fairly expensive both in the marina and the yard, and a long way to the sea!
Off then to Grimsby which is closer to the sea and the marina, rather more like a Danish one, is run by a sailing club, the Humber Cruising Association.
Leaving on the ebb the plan was to not fight the tide, go past Grimsby and anchor then come back in n the rising tide. It is in principle possible to do the trip in one tide, but the stream runs at about 4 knots at springs so initial progress would be slow. Grimsby opens the lock for free flow 2 hours either side of HW, but penning in other times depends on the amount of commercial traffic as they have priority.
The Humber is a busy port and one requests permission to enter the estuary from Humber VTS, a bit like air traffic control. Near Immingham they asked us to tack out of the channel as a large ship was leaving that port. Our AIS transponder meant they called us by name (not they don't bother with AIS - basically too fiddly!) which is very handy. The boat behind us a nice Elizabethan ketch of about 32 feet didn't have an AIS transponder and I don't think had announced their departure from Hull. I think they got the hint when they saw us tack and perhaps heard VTS talking about them to the ship.
We anchored near Spurn Point which was pleasant and sheltered. Actually this is where VTS is based, as well as the lifeboat. We had a early dinner and saw a seal. The forecast was for brief torrential rain, which lasted half an hour and the visibility closed in. Then it cleared nicely for us to head back over to Grimsby on the flood.
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