1       Section One – Getting Started

1.1     Preface.

1.2     Definition of Terms

1.2.1       Airmail.

1.2.2        Airmail Message Index Screen

1.2.3        Airmail Terminal Screen

1.2.4        Bluetooth

1.2.5        Coast Station

1.2.6        Firmware

1.2.7        LSB - Lower Sideband

1.2.8        PMBO - Public Participating Radio     Message Server

1.2.9        Sailmail

1.2.10     USB - Upper Sideband or Universal Serial Bus

1.2.11     FSK  - Frequency Shift Keying.

1.2.12     GMT – Greenwich Mean Time.

1.2.13     Ham Radio.

1.2.14     HF – High Frequency.

1.2.15     ITU - International Telecommunications Union.

1.2.16     J3E.

1.2.17     KHz– Kilohertz.

1.2.18     LSB – Lower Sideband.

1.2.19     MHz- Megahertz.

1.2.20     Modes – Modulation Modes

1.2.21     Parallel

1.2.22     RF – Radio Frequency.

1.2.23     Simplex.

1.2.24     Transceiver

1.2.25     USB Upper Sideband.

1.2.26     UTC.

1.2.27     WWV / WWVH.

1.2.28     Zulu - Zulu time.

2       System Architecture.

2.1.1        Icom M802 SSB General and E-mail Connection Guide.

2.1.1.1     SSB Radio portion.

2.1.1.2     E-Mail Section.

2.1.2        RF Choke Placement

2.1.2.1     SSB Transceiver

2.1.2.2     Pactor Modem.

3       Installing your SSB.

3.1     Site Survey.

3.1.1        Antenna.

3.1.2        RF Ground.

3.1.3        Antenna Tuner Location.

3.1.4        SSB Radio Mounting Location/Operating Position.

3.1.5        Ventilation.

3.1.6        Distance between the SSB Radio and Antenna Tuner

3.1.7       DC Power Source for your SSB.

3.1.8        Pactor II/III Radio Modem.

3.2     Installation Guidelines

3.2.1        Antenna.

3.2.2        Antenna Lead Considerations

3.2.2.1     Stand-off insulators

3.2.2.2     Proximity to Other Wiring.

3.2.2.3     Connection to Backstay.

3.2.3        RF Ground.

3.2.4        Antenna Tuners

3.2.4.1     AT-140 and SGC Antenna Tuner Connections

3.2.4.2     AT-130/130E/120/120E Antenna Tuner Connections

3.2.5        13.8 VDC Power

4       Finding Your Way – Operating Your SSB.

4.1     KISS your SSB.

4.2     Icom M700 Series/M802.

4.3     Not all Channels are Channels

4.3.1        Radio’s Channels

4.3.2        Communications Channels

4.3.3        Channels or Frequencies – Which is it?.

4.3.3.1     Channel Numbers for the Shared Marine Frequencies

4.4     Is Anybody Out There? – Talk to Me!

4.4.1        Prearranged Schedules

4.4.2        Cruising Nets

4.4.3        Tuning to a Channel or Frequency.

4.4.3.1     Icom M802.

4.4.3.2     Icom M710.

4.4.3.3     Icom M700OPro.

5       When Things Don’t Work – Troubleshooting Your SSB.

5.1     Is the Problem Real?.

5.1.1        RF Ground.

5.1.2        GTO-15 Antenna Lead-in.

5.1.3        Basic Radio System Cleanup:

5.1.4        RFI (Radio Frequency Interference):

5.1.4.1     Treating the Antenna Tuner Control Cable - RF Chokes (FairRites)

5.1.4.2     Treating the Coaxial Cable - Common Mode Choke.

6       Installation Hints & FAQ’s

6.1     Mounting Questions

6.2     RF Grounding.

6.3     RF Grounding Plate vs. Running Copper Foil throughout the Vessel