Getting Weather Faxes, weather GRIB files and sending and receiving email offshore is easy with an HF Radio, a Pactor Modem and Airmail Software. All the steps are shown with screenshots to make it easy for you.
Nav/Comm
Transferring Your MMSI from the Previous Owner
This article is an addendum to the earlier article on Registering Your Radios with the FCC. You may want to visit that article to fully understand what is being explained in this addendum. Many thanks to Susan Ruse for digging out this information about how the new owner can re-use the MMSI number that the […]
Registering your Radios with the FCC
The FCC registration site is quite confusing and there doesn’t seem to be an overview of what is required, so I will attempt to clarify what is required for the most common cruiser scenarios. You may not need everything here, or you may need more, but I will cover what is required for the normal […]
Connect a Laptop to HF Radio
Once offshore the internet is inaccessible by a laptop without assistance. To connect a laptop to HF Radio you will need a packet-data modem such as the Pactor to connect to your radio, then some additional hardware to connect your Pactor to the laptop. With this system you can connect to the internet for basic things like sending and receiving email and receiving […]
How to Put Together an Effective Log Book
You are required to keep a Ship’s Log at sea, but there are lots of ideas about what exactly is required or useful in a log book. Finding a flexible, affordable, weather resistant solution is also not easy. We’ve found some solutions that you might find helpful. The first boat we bought had a huge leather-bound […]
Coastal Explorer: Navigation Software for PC
Coastal Explorer from Rosepoint Navigation is a robust software navigation program that is intuitive to use. Although not free, at $400 it is a reasonable alternative to expensive proprietary navigation displays. It is for PCs only (or Macs running in PC mode) and there is a 30 day free demo download if you want to try it for yourself […]
