EMAIL on board at an affordable price = via SSB radio with a Pactor modem

Simple – Reliable – Economical

 

Required equipment:

1>   SSB radio

2>   Pactor 2 or 3 modem

3>   Computer

 

Approximate Costs:

 

1>   Radio between  US$ 600-3,000 (either ham, either marine) depending model and store. If you have a radio already, tell me which model and I will tell you if it will work with a Pactor modem or not.

 

2>   Pactor modems between  US$800-1,500 depending model and dealer. As the SCS dealer for French Polynesia’s, I offer the most competitive prices (despite the reputation of everything being more expensive here) with full technical assistance included. I ship modems with full instructions between Tahiti & Noumea. Contact me: lucseawalker@gmail.com

 

3>   Laptop or full size computer, between US$ 250-3,000. Nothing fancy needed! An old Pentium I or II with Win95 or later OS is enough. Get a spare one as the question is not IF but WHEN a laptop fails!

 

You now need a shore server who will act as a go-between from your radio to the Internet. 2 main choices:

 

1>   Sailmail : annual membership US$ 250 for 90 min/ week connection to their 17 stations covering 100% of the globe.

 

2>   Winlink: for amateur- radio operators only (hams). Cost: none! Between 30 and 60 minutes of daily connection to more than 50 stations in the world covering 100% of the globe! Hope you will appreciate the dedication of these volunteer hams offering such a GREAT service!

 

Software needed: Airmail (free download on internet). Thanks to Jim Corenman to develop such a perfect tool and to offer it at no cost to private users like us!

 

I am using the system since it’s inception in the early 90 and rarely did I have days when I couldn’t connect to get our daily wx bulletins and emails from friends and family.

 

Once the system is set up properly (!), it is very user-friendly … but sometimes it takes a lot of expertise and time to set it up correctly. I recommend buying the modem from an experienced dealer who will help you thru the set up (in person, by email or phone). He has to be experienced as much in radios as in computers! I met more than one unlucky cruiser who couldn’t get the system to work after countless friends tried to help him for months! Test your new system before you set out for the high seas!

 

Contact me and I will be happy to help you out … so you too will enjoy daily emails and wx bulletins!

 

Fair winds and smooth seas!

 

Luc, the ‘pactor’ man

lucseawalker@gmail.com

 

 

 

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