Cruise Communications

Marius Coomans

The Way We Were

Here and Now…

Marine Communication

• Radio Communication• Antennas• Emergencies• Automatic Identification (AIS)• Satellite Phones

Online Communication

• Internet Access• Managing Telstra• Position reporting with Skipr.net

• Online Applications

The Radio

VHF  v  HF

Fixed  and  Mobile

Antennas

Antennas

Antennas

Antennas

Typical whip antenna radiation pattern

The higher the gain, the narrower the beam

The effect of heel on transmission

Distance to Horizon

Yacht A (10 m)   - 11.3km (6 NM) 

Yacht B (20m)    -  16 km (8.6 NM)

Tower (100m)    -  35.7 km (19.3 NM)

Repeaters       (ch 20-22 , 80-82)

Antennas

• Antennas are matched to a Frequency (band)

• What matters is Power Delivered rather than transmitter power

• VHF and higher bands operate on the basis of "line of sight“

• The gain and radiation pattern of an antenna are critical.

Emergency Communications

Mayday CallMayday, Mayday, Mayday, this is Boatname, Boatname, Boatname.  [break]

Mayday, this is Boatname, we are taking on water and are about to abandon ship.

Our position is: 31 degrees, 23 decimal 45 minutes South, 152 degrees, 15decimal 67 minutes East.

We have two people on board.

Mayday?

Mayday?

AIS instruments

Satellite Phones

• Inmarsat• Iridium• Globalstar

Inmarsat

Geo Stationary Orbit

Iridium

Low Earth Orbit

Globalstar

Low Earth Orbit

Selecting a Satphone

• Rent or Buy• Emergency or Routine Comms

• Voice, Data and/or Text• Coverage• Price

Satellite Communicationsmore than mere phones…

Online Communication

• Mobile Internet• Position reporting with Skipr• Online Applications

+ Familiar, flexible, no commitment

- Poor battery life, limited coverage

+ Economical, flexible, multi-user

- Another battery, another plan

+ Best coverage, set & forget, always on

- Requires installation, another plan

850 MHz v 2100 MHz

Number of Phone Towers

Permanent Antenna

Internet in a Sock

Telstra Pre-paid Data

Telstra Pre-paid Data 2011

Telstra Pre-paid Data 2014

Telstra Pre-paid Data

Gigabyte 2011 20141 $40 -30 days $15 - 10 days4 $80 - 60 days $50 - 60 days

10 $150 - 365 days $100 - 90 days12   $200 - 365 days

Skipr.net

Online Applications

On the Internet, nobody knows you’re “away”.

Online Communication

• Internet Access Alternatives• Managing Telstra• Position reporting with Skipr

Cruise Communication Links

Credits, further reading:

Rob’s Passage Planner – http://skipr.net/goodies/robs-passage-planner/Skipr.net - http://skipr.net/Telstra references – downloaded March 2011 - http://telstra.com.au/VHF Marina Antenna Fundamentals - http://boat-project.com/tutorials/vhfant.htmWikipedia on AIS - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_Identification_SystemIridium Go https://www.iridium.com/products/Iridium-GO.aspx?section=support

Also see handout.

Marius Coomans – skipper@skipr.net