Ever wondered what SSB Radios are? Don't worry, at one point or the other I
did too. SSB is an acronym for single Side Band or just sideband radio.
Radios of this type(SSB Radio) let you transmit SSB radio signals on HF
(high frequency) otherwise known as 'shortwave' radio frequencies;
typically 3 ' 30 Mhz.
Marine
SSB radios are not that much different from your standard SSB radio or
CB radios in-fact I would say that marine SSB radios have just one
difference; where they are used. As you may have guessed, marine SSB
radio is found on ships and boats at open sea. Sideband radio is
specifically designed for use at sea from anything like communicating
with harbors, bridges, marinas, and even in ship to ship communication.
Marine
SSB radios are really useful at open sea because they can cover vast
areas anywhere between 100 KM and 3000 KM depending on factors such as
weather conditions and time of day. All this while using little power,
unlike CB radios, which require 'line of sight' or the availability of
a repeater station, to communicate over similarly large distances.
So
if you are looking to buy communication systems for to be used at sea
during trans-ocean sailing, definitely a Marine SSB radio is the way to
go. An SSB-radio can allow you to conference your communication over
thousands of miles, and in emergencies these marine SSB radios are
invaluable.
So where can I find one and what do I look for?
Try
Icom, an industry leader in design, engineering and manufacture of
compact radio equipment for the past 30 years. That kind of experience
led many individuals to trust the products they make, and one their
recent one is the IC-M700Pro SSB radio. The IC-M700Pro Marine radio is
a very user friendly SSB radio, suitable for the amateur who does not
require any advanced features but still functional for a seasoned
expert.
Icom's
IC-M700Pro SSB radio allows its user to tune into desired frequencies
quickly and easily with its powerful memory scanning and an automatic
antenna tuner which I think takes off a lot of the hard work in setup.
The control panel has 4 buttons with only one specific function for
ease of use meaning you won't have to memorize any complex procedures
to complete a certain function. Most of this is controllable by its
large rotary knobs for your added convenience.
The
large and easy to read control display shows channel (or frequency) and
operating status at a single glance and the green backlit LCD is easy
to see in sunlight, and perfect for night operation. A nice addition is
the SeaWave feature, which is low cost subscription software that
allows you securely transmit and receive digital data over HF, such as
internet e-mail, color weather charts, weather forecasts etc.
Definitely, Icom's IC-M700Pro should be your benchmark Marine SSB
radio, if not your first choice.
Go
to SailRadios.com for more information and latest news on Marine radar,
Marine chart plotter, sing CB radio, and Marine SSB radios.
