While I planned to be in touch with home base on a periodic basis using my cell phone, this did not satisfy all of the family members. I was always faced with the question of "Well – What do I do if your cell phone isn’t turned on, or you are out of range, or … This is really an unanswerable question but my approach was to instruct the most concerned individual to send me an Email. That way, the message was sent and I will get it the next time I check my mail – whenever that may be.

While easy in concept, wireless access to internet Email is not currently as slick or widespread as today’s TV advertisements would have you believe. Not every inch of the US coastline is equipped with access to the latest and greatest in digital communications. In fact, those areas that I would most like to visit would also be least likely to be within a few miles of a digital cell phone tower. Also, leaving the US coastline for a visit to the Bahamas would make even cell phone technology essentially useless since the Bahamas Telephone Company currently has only limited cell phone service available for use by cruisers. Satellite phone technology would certainly fill the bill for go anywhere and talk anytime capability. However, it is a costly solution to a relatively minor issue and once again the current generation of satellite phones are not licensed for use in the Bahamas.

My stopgap solution was to say that I would check for messages at every opportunity using cyber café’s, public libraries, or similar resources. After all, while on vacation, I was able to send an Email from the island of Huahine in French Polynesia – and that island only has a few thousand inhabitants and very little tourist infrastructure. I will admit that the photographer’s shop (the sign outside said Internet Consultation) with his 9,600 baud connection at 50 cents a minute left something to be desired – but it did work!

The real solution for me was to get my amateur radio license and set up a small ham radio station on the boat. This would serve my communication needs in several ways. The receiver and radio modem will allow receipt of radio fax weather maps that are broadcast daily by the Coast Guard. The transmitter will allow me to communicate with like minded amateur radio operators that are cruising world wide. Most of all, the amateur radio community has set up gateways to the internet Email system so that I can truly send and receive internet Email messages from anywhere in the world.

The requirements for an amateur radio license were last revised in December of 1999 when the number of license classes were reduced from five to three. In this revision, the number of required written tests were also reduced and the morse code requirement was altered to 5 words per minute (25 characters per minute) for the two higher license classes. Long range Email transmission currently is only possible on the bands designated as High Frequency in the amateur radio spectrum. Access to these bands is limited to holders of a general or an amateur extra class license. Holders of the lowest (technician) class license are restricted to very high frequency bands that are generally not able to transmit over long distances.

The general class license requires completion of two written examinations and one Morse code examination. Excellent course material is widely available to allow individuals to prepare for these examinations. Most metropolitan areas have one ore more active amateur radio clubs and many offer free or low cost courses for exam preparation as well as coordinating the actual examination sessions on a monthly basis. Computerized instructional programs are also available on the internet for minimal fees.

Once the general class license has been obtained from the Federal Communications Commission, the task of assembling a station to transmit and receive Email over radio is relatively simple. Much of the equipment required is available in the used market and on auction sites such as eBay. A complete station for Email will consist of a transmitter, a receiver, an antenna, an antenna tuner, a radio modem, and a laptop computer. Most modern stations now combine the transmitter and receiver functions into one unit called a transceiver.

My station consists of an Elecraft K2 transceiver with the internal SSB module and antenna tuner options installed, an SCS PTC IIe radio modem, and a set of three Pro-Am Valor antennas that cover the 20, 30, and 40 meter frequencies (these antennas are also referred to as ham sticks). The necessary Email software is available free of charge to the amateur radio community via the Airmail2000 web site. This system is definitely not a plug and play installation – many items need to talk to each other and the atmospheric conditions need to be right so that the two radio stations can communicate reliably. However, for my purpose, the effort is well worth the peace of mind on the home front.

The Elecraft K2 was selected due to it's low power consumption and high quality receiver functions.  This radio is only available in kit form from the manufacturer but the process of building the radio is well documented.  It took me about two and one half weeks to complete - and that was while living aboard the boat.  Conventional wisdom says that you need 100 watts of power to communicate via SSB - NOT TRUE.  I have never had a problem exchanging email with land based stations using only the 5 watts that the K2 supports in digital modes.  In fact, I have been successful with less than 2 watts over a range in excess of 1,000 miles. 

The antenna is mounted on the pushpit and the toe rails are bonded to the pushpit to improve the radio counterpoise for the antenna. A 10 foot section of tinned braided copper cable is hung over the side into the saltwater to make a true ground connection.  This method lets me use one frequency band at a time. Switching bands means unscrewing the antenna and fitting a new one in it’s place. This process takes one minute or less.

One nice feature of this amateur radio system is the provision for a position report. A message can be sent that records your current position, course and speed along with a brief comment if desired. This message is stored so that anyone with access to the internet and knowledge of your amateur radio call sign can request your most recent position report. The position report can be manually generated or automated by computer link to your GPS. This set of features adds to the peace of mind factor and might serve as a starting point in a search if a sailor is reported as long overdue.

Care must be used in sending radio Emails only for the most necessary messages. The speed of transmission is slow and users of the most common gateways are limited to 30 minutes of connect time daily. This is enough to transfer about 2 or 3 messages of 1,500 characters each – at least when conditions are favorable. The other limitation is that these messages must be STRICTLY of a personal nature. No business related Email is allowed due to the international agreements governing use of amateur radio.