Before reading on, please pause for a moment to take this week’s survey so we can share the results with the Cruising Compass family.
Have you retrofitted your main sail boom with an in-boom roller furling system or do you plan to?
Many thanks for all who replied to last week’s survey on HF radio versus SatPhones for cruising. A lot of those who took the survey have both. But, asked to chose one over the other, 68% said they would prefer a SatPhone. Here are some well-thought-out comments on why:
“We have both, and have cruised in the [distant] past with HF only. Both work for voice and data coms. HF is far more power hungry, requires much more knowledge to use, but propagation isn’t always reliable. Satellite is a game changer. Both require paying separately for email (we prefer UUplus) for downloading Wx products, conducting business over email [e.g., making purchases] etc. The right satellite service for the cruising area [we use Iridium] is also an excellent emergency comms tool. (Medical, Maday coms w/ SAR authorities, etc.) PS: Often HF users argue that you cannot conduct multi-user Radio Nets on a sat phone, and that is true for voice only nets. But you can have multi member text and email nets- and it works well. See: https://followingsea.net/nets”
“Have cruised long distance with both and have used both to get weather. Sat comm is far more reliable for offshore email, information and weather. Also, sat comm is much less dependent on precise installation. Only downside I see is no voice nets, but they are more for social interaction, which is nice, but not vital.”
“I have both, however my IridiumGo is far more useful. Not only can I easily download weather as often as I want, I can make a phone call when needed without hassle. HF Radios rely a lot on the quality of their installation and time of day to properly bounce signals.”
“I have both and use both. However if I were starting out and choosing one or the other I’d have to choose SatPhone. The overall market for HF SSB is not growing and likely declining, especially as the boating crowd gets younger and as the costs of using SatPhones gets more and more affordable each year. The SSB nets while passage making are comforting but there’s now ‘nets’ via SatPhone, I’m part of an email net for boats currently crossing the Pacific.”
“Had an SSB for years. Difficult to operate. SatPhones have come down a lot in price. And there are mid range products like Garmin InReach”
“I have an iridium GO and my cell phone, (paired with the GO) has the USCG RCC numbers (Bermuda, Boston, Miami, Norfolk, San Juan)in speed dial so emergency communication is instantaneous and clear without worrying about atmospheric anomalies. Also provides clear communication with my weather router when needed or with family and friends.”
