COMMUNICATION AT SEA
Being able to communicate at sea is vital, especially in an emergency situation. While it may just be to tell your mates where the fish are biting, or talking to Coastguard about some incident on the water, it may well be more life threatening. VHF SSV, a cell phone and the hot new product, Starlink are all ways you can let people know where you are and what is happening.
For many years that was a radio transmitter, which heralded the birth of the modern communications age. Without the radio transmitter, television, cell phones, computers, the Internet and the radio would have developed in considerably different ways, if at all. The technologies developed to make and improve radio transmitters and receivers led to all of these innovations. First a little history. Heinrich Hertz discovered that energy generated by a transmitting oscillator could be detected from across his laboratory by using a gapped metal loop. Guglielmo Marconi seized on this idea to build a wireless telegraph and started experiments in 1894. In 1896, when the Italian Ministry of Post and Telegraphs said it was not interested in his inventions, Marconi moved to England. The British were extremely interested and gave him all the support he needed. Marconi obtained a patent and set up the Wireless Telegraph and Signal Company. It was the maritime industry that first embraced the benefits of marine radio and ships communications, they were greatly improved by his inventions, and many lives were saved using his wireless telegraph system, including survivors of the Titanic, which had a Marconi wireless on board. He succeeded in transmitting a transatlantic signal on Dec. 12, 1901, from Ireland to Canada. A year before, Canadian inventor Reginald Fessenden succeeded in transmitting the first voice over radio waves.
With these two technologies in place, development of the radio began. Today the basic radio transmitter has changed, with today’s boatie having the choice of VHF, cellphones, single sideband radios (SSB), Inmarsat and iridium phones, plus the new kid on the block; Starlink. However, for the majority of boat owners, a VHF is about as good as you need if you are only coastal and harbour cruising. However, if you are considering going offshore, then a SSB is certainly a requirement and Starlink is also worth considering. Obviously everyone has a mobile phone and while a number of years ago they were frowned on as a means of communications at sea, especially in a rescue situation, they are now very much standard safety equipment.
ENTER STARLINK
Any communications feature at sea should start with the latest technology and right now that is unquestionably, Starlink. Starlink is a LEO (low Earth orbit) satellite service, launched by Elon Musk, that provides fast internet comparable to VSAT but much faster and lower latency. Starlink Maritime is a satellite internet service offered by Starlink providing a fast internet speed anywhere at sea and at shore. Since Starlink has its satellite constellations active on all seven constellations, it makes them an excellent service to stay connected. It can keep you online in even the most remote parts of our world’s oceans. Due to the vast number of satellites in orbit you’re always likely to have one-or-more right above you at any given time. This means coverage in certain areas such as Fiordland has a higher chance of connectivity than traditional satellite systems. One of the early adopters of Starlink is Motor Yacht Service Centre, who have to date installed multiple Starlink systems to local boats. MYSC’s Shanon Robertson says. “We’ve been installing as many of these units as we can get our hands on. This technology is an absolute game changer, not only for its abilities but also its comparatively low cost to operate”. He added that the owner of a recent installation on a Grand Banks 53 reported flawless coverage the entire way to Fiji and even downloading Netflix movies, Facetiming family and sending aerial photographs of his boat in the middle of the ocean voyage. “Starlink will bring marine internet to the masses and in the most recent Maritimo 75 we’ve sold, we used Starlink to replace all large satellite domes allowing for a far sleeker look. We typically complete an install in around one day, dependant on a vessels internal access”, says Robertson.. Another company that has embraced Starlink, is Auckland based Global Marine Technology Services.
Founder, Nik Rone Thullesen, says that they have done many successful installations in marine environments with exceptional results. “Starlink is a massive step forward when it comes to communications at sea and I can see it being hugely popular with Kiwi and overseas boat owners”, he adds. Nik says the benefits are huge and with installation so simple and unobtrusive – no need for big domes on the roof – and overall, the costs are highly competitive.
There are two physical sets of hardware to choose from, the first being Starlink Maritime. The Maritime plan comes with an upfront fee and a monthly recurring fee. Global maritime coverage for boats of all sizes with up to 220 Mbps download while at sea, starts at NZ$457/month with a one-time hardware cost of NZ$4,200. The monthly contract includes 50GB of Priority and Seagoing data. Once spent it enables unlimited de-prioritized data at shore and coastal for continued access to internet. Plans go up-to 1TB for NZD $1700 and 5TB for NZD $8520 per month.
The second hardware choice is the Starlink Roam. This sits at a much more affordable price for the everyday boat owner at NZD $1040 for hardware (+ Shipping and handling fee). It has a fixed rate of NZD $199 per month and speeds of 100-150 Mbps. This is regional coverage and can be upgraded to Global Coverage for NZD $340 per month.
This includes unlimited de-prioritized data at shore and coastal. A recent addition to the Starlink plan options is the ability to use a Starlink Roam Kit with a Maritime monthly plan. This can greatly reduce upfront costs for hardware; however, it must be noted that the maritime dish has been marinized so will likely be more durable for at sea applications and will not have the speed capabilities of the Maritime dish.
Companies such as Global Marine have successfully customised Starlink Roam/RV Dishes to be more suitable to the marine space along with rugged deployment solutions. With a pause and un-pause service at any time, billing is in one-month increments, allowing users to customise their service to their individual travel needs. The Mobile Priority service plan enables the fastest network speeds for consumers and can be used on the ocean and land, and is available in 50GB, 1TB, and 5TB plans. The receiver of the service comes in the form of a fat panel ‘dish’ using an ‘electronic phased array’, which is placed near-horizontal with as much as an open view of the sky as possible.
The satellites pass overhead from horizon to horizon, so the minimum recommended aperture of clear sky is 110+ degrees, otherwise the link from the connected satellite may drop if there is not another visible satellite. Internally, the systems come with a power module and a Wi-Fi router, for the Roam Dishes these are integrated into a single unit. Ethernet connection options exist for the Maritime system by default, but the Roam/ RV dish requires an additional adapter for cabled ethernet connection. While there is no guaranteed bandwidth, typically, downlinks can be between 60 to 200Mbps and uplinks between 5 to 50Mbps, both depending on the service and hardware types, geography, and user-density.
With Starlink, there are no long-term contracts and no exclusivity requirements (Beyond only working with Starlink Dish Hardware). It’s easy to change your plan, purchase more data, and add additional service locations. The Flat High Performance Starlink bears a small footprint, demands minimal above deck space, and comes with an easy-to-install mount.
The outside receiver will withstand extreme cold, heat, hail, sleet, heavy rain, and gale force winds. Starlink requires an unobstructed view of the sky. A recent article in the influential Yachting Pages sums up the Starlink system as immature compared to other satellite operators, so there are outages not just from blockage, and some of the satellites don’t yet communicate to each other correctly. The deployment of new satellites is still ongoing, so coverage will broaden and stability will likely improve.
The final tally of satellites in the Starlink constellation is expected to be over 10,000. Considering its somewhat infancy in the world of satellite communication it moves fast, efficiently and the Starlink team listens closely to its industry partners. Whatever the pros and cons, Starlink does offer a robust, cost-effect and high performance hybrid connectivity solution
CELLULAR CONNECTIVITY
Just about everyone has a cellphone and while they are now commonplace as part of your marine communications gear they do have their limitations (as on land) with dead spots. If you are going offshore then there is the option of taking a satellite phone. There are two main satellite networks that offer satellite phones in New Zealand. These are Iridium and Inmarsat, and while both networks will work in New Zealand, each network has its own benefits. This is a mobile phone that sends and receives calls using satellites rather than landlines or cellular broadcasting towers.
A satellite phone only requires a clear line of sight to the sky. The advantage of a satellite phone is that it can complete calls from anywhere. A satellite phone can operate in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, at the southern end of Chile, or from deep up the Amazon. It is an indispensable tool for remote excursions of all kinds, and provides solid communication on the seas. The downside is the cost. A sat phone will set you back anywhere from $1500 to over $5000, depending on the complexity of the unit.
Plus you need to look at the ongoing monthly fee for the service plan. Satellite phones are similar in size to a regular mobile phone while some prototype satellite phones have no distinguishable difference from an ordinary smartphone. All satellite phones are purpose-built for one particular network, so they cannot be switched to other networks. A fixed installation, such as one used aboard a ship, may include large, rugged, rack-mounted electronics, and a steerable microwave antenna on the mast that automatically tracks the overhead satellites. Smaller installations using VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) over a two-way satellite broadband service such as BGAN (Broadband Global Area Network) or VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) bring the costs within the reach of leisure vessel owners.
VHF – POPULAR OPTION
For most coastal skippers it is the VHF that is the first line of communication. If you suddenly find yourself in an emergency situation and you need to call for help, then the VHF should be your first choice. VHF marine coverage is extensive and a call will likely be heard 24/7 by someone, either Coast Guard or a private listening station. Response time to assist you in whatever emergency you have will be shortened by being able to contact the right people immediately.
VHF radios work on a premise of reception known as line of sight. Line of sight is the ability of the radio to receive signals in a straight line, depending on the environment the VHF radio is operating in. There are many things that can affect the VHF radio’s ability to receive or transmit signals, such as buildings, mountains, hills and other terrain that can keep the radio from sending a signal in a straight line. Mounting your antenna as high as possible such as the highest mast on a boat or standing at the highest point possible in the surrounding terrain will make it easier to surmount the problem line of sight reception and transmission can present. Some VHF radios offer Digital Selective Calling (DSC), which is a global protocol that uses channel 70 to transmit and receive digital messages. DSC also enables you to selectively alert single or multiple skippers of incoming VHF calls by using stored numbers, similar to making a phone call.
Distress messages are repeated every 4 minutes until they are acknowledged. Then there is the Global Maritime Distress Safety System (GMDSS) which is an internationally agreed-upon set of safety procedures, and comes with a number of the more powerful VHFs. There are two main types of VHF radios to choose from for functionality purposes and they are each slightly different in structure. Fixed mount VHF radios are by name, attached to a static location such as a wall, or dashboard of a ship. These types of VHF radios are generally attached to a power source other than a battery and have the highest transmission and reception capabilities of up to 25 miles.
The antenna of a fixed mount VHF radio is attached to the radio by a coaxial cable and as a rule should be at least 1m away from the radio to avoid interference such as squeals. Hand-held VHF radios are a more portable version of the VHF radio that has an antenna attached to the hand-held radio itself. These radios are either powered by replaceable or rechargeable batteries and have a dramatically decreased operating range of up to 5 miles. Different types of antennas will yield a varied signal wave pattern measured in decibels. The lower the decibels an antenna has, the broader and less concentrated wave patterns it will generate during transmission, which also diminishes the signal strength and reception.
If you have a VHF that has a lower decibel antenna, it is better to use it in places that allow for higher mounts. As a general rule, the taller an antenna is for a VHF radio, the better transmission and reception capabilities it will produce. Among the advantages of handheld units are that they are generally splash proof or waterproof, which are great features when used in a marine environment. Some even float. Transmission power switches between 1 and 25 watts for fixed units, with handhelds switchable from 1 to 6 watts. Generally, the handhelds have power packs containing rechargeable lithium ion batteries, although basic alkaline batteries will also work fine, but will not power the hand held up for as long. A fully charged lithium ion battery should allow for upwards of 15-16 hours of operation under normal conditions.
SSB – OFFSHORE CAPABLE
If you want to be really technical, single-sideband modulation (SSB) is a refinement of amplitude modulation that more efficiently uses electrical power and bandwidth. In layman’s terms it is simply a must-have communications device if you are considering going offshore. The SSB has its roots with the AM broadcast signal. Although AM signals were transmitted almost exclusively for decades, it was discovered that the AM signal could be dissected. The first amateur radio operators to experiment with these processes often used both sidebands without the carrier.
This is known as double sideband (DSB). DSB was typically used in the earlier operations because it was much easier to strip out just the carrier than to strip out the carrier and one of the sidebands. Today it is much more common in the amateur bands to transmit merely using one of the sidebands, which is known as single sideband (SSB). Single sideband transmissions can consist of either the lower sideband (LSB) or the upper sideband (USB). If you listen to an SSB signal on an AM modulation receiver, the voices are altered and sound a lot like cartoon ducks. As a result, you must have a special SSB receiver to listen to these transmissions. Although this was often difficult for the amateur radio operators of the 1950s to obtain, it is no longer a problem with today’s modern SSB transceivers.
There are enormous benefits to installing a Single Sideband radio on your boat. With a Single Sideband radio you can talk to people on any other vessel anywhere in the world, so long as they also have an SSB. You can contact shore stations such as private marine businesses, yacht clubs and rescue services. Plus, you can even set up your own shore station to stay in touch with your business while far out at sea! There is also the benefit of being able to send and receive Internet email from anywhere in the world for very low cost. As well, you can receive weather charts by connecting your computer to your SSB with weather fax software. SSB’s are highly efficient and generally have a power output of 100 to 150 watts.
It is one reason why long distances can be covered effectively with SSB. SSB’s benefit is not only evident on transmission. The reverse happens on receive. When you work out the math, the efficiency with an SSB signal is many times greater than with a conventional AM signal.
