Is SSB radio necessary?

Everything you need to know about SSB marine radio. For many who sail around the world, a short-wave radio system is a must-have on board, as an SSB marine radio system can be used for very long distances.

Do I need SSB?

Do You Need One? Without getting into the gruesome technical detail…the answer for most boaters is: Probably Not. If you are planning to cruise full time or sail offshore making blue water passages, then an SSB can be a VERY useful and powerful tool.

Are SSB radios still used?

As satellite communication equipment becomes more reasonably priced, more reliable, and more compact, we often hear sailors raise the question, Are single-sideband radios even relevant anymore? As Lanier points out, the question is easy to answer: Yes, absolutely.

What is SSB radio used for?

SSB (Single Sideband) is an obscure but very important way to communicate via radio. It is used primarily for two-way voice communication by ham radio operators, aircraft and air traffic control (ATC), ships at sea, military and spy networks. Occasionally some shortwave broadcast stations use this format.

What is the advantage of SSB on a CB radio?

An SSB radio transmitter suppresses the carrier and one of the redundant sidebands, and thus transmits the operator's voice in less than half the bandwidth of an AM signal, and with much more efficient use of energy.

Ham Radio Basics--What is SSB and How to Tune in SSB

How far can a SSB radio transmit?

SSB (Single Sideband) radio has a much greater range than a VHF (Very High Frequency) radio's typical 35 to 50 nautical miles. Medium Frequency (MF) SSB radio has a range of around 400 nautical miles, but High Frequency (HF) will reach out for several thousand.

Do Cobra CB have SSB?

The Cobra® 148 GTL is a full featured radio with 4 watt AM and 12 watt SSB operation. Over the years, Cobra® has done a good job keeping the CB radio models that work in production.

What is the difference between SSB and FM?

Firstly, FM is a constant-envelope modulation, meaning the amplitude is constant. SSB, being a kind of amplitude modulation, obviously does not have a constant amplitude. Consequently, FM can employ a non-linear amplifier which is more power efficient, and thus has a longer battery life in mobile operation.

Is SSB the same as ham radio?

Hams use the same type of SSB but on ham frequencies. The Coast Guard uses SSB, mostly on marine channels, but in an emergency they can also call out to all ham radio operators on ham frequencies.

In what frequency range SSB is normally used?

With SSB, channels could be spaced (usually) only 4,000 Hz apart, while offering a speech bandwidth of nominally 300 Hz to 3,400 Hz.

Do ships still use HF radio?

Further, the use of HF radiotelephone has been largely replaced by HF DSC, VHF radiotelephone (and DSC) services and wider availability of Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) satellite systems (including EPIRBs, Inmarsat and Iridium GMDSS systems).

What is the difference between SSB and CB?

A CB radio does not require a license to operate. CB service operates on 40 shared channels in an AM mode or Single SideBand (SSB) mode. SSB offers less noise and greater range than AM mode and is usually found on higher end CB radios. SSB has two modes, Upper Sideband and Lower Sideband.

Does radio need HF?

HF communications are best suited for long distance communication between ground operators and base stations. The field benefits of VHF over HF radio is in their relative immunity to space weather conditions or electrical interference.

Do boaters use ham radio?

Marine SSB is enabled through a dedicated marine band HF (high frequency) radio transceiver, such as the 150-watt IC-M802 from Icom. However, many skippers use a standard ham radio rig to receive and transmit on marine SSB channels.

Is 30 meters upper or lower sideband?

The higher frequency bands above the 30 meter band (20m, 17m, 15m, 12m, 10m, VHF, and UHF bands) utilize the upper sideband (USB), while the lower frequency bands below 30 meters (40m, 80m, 160m) use the lower sideband (LSB).

What is SSB and CW?

SSB is a mode. AM is a mode. FM is a mode. CW (Continuous Waveform aka Morse Code) is a mode. RTTY (radio teletype) is a mode.

Why is SSB not used for broadcasting?

When carrier is shifted to bandpass, this one sided bandwidth becomes 9 MHz. This is nearly ten times as large as the total bandwidth occupied by all the channels of the AM radio. Use of SSB modulation would cut this in half but SSB is not used for video signals because of the complexity of the SSB receivers.

Is SSB only for AM?

Although not a phone mode, CW has the narrowest bandwidth since it must produce only a simple tone and not a wide range of audio frequencies to represent a human voice. SSB utilizes only one of the double sidebands of AM and also omits the carrier frequency transmission.

What is the bandwidth of SSB?

SSB is commonly used in the long-distance transmission of speech signals. The bandwidth of the speech signal lies in the range 300 Hz and 3400 Hz. The maximum space between the two channels in SSB can be 4000 Hz.

What is the longest range CB radio?

Best Long Range CB - The Cobra 148 GTL

While most CB radios broadcast at 4 watts of power, SSB equipped radios can legally broadcast at 12 watts - effectively tripling the distance you can broadcast.

What is the best CB radio on the market?

Is Cobra 148 A good CB radio?

A bona fide radio legend, the Cobra 148 has been the backbone of channel banter for decades. Cobra devotees praise it for its longevity and frills-free capability. Here's why its the most durable rig around: the Cobra 148 GTL has long-range SSB capabilities, PA functionality, NB/ANL noise reduction and RF gain.

How do you increase CB range?

The best way to extend the range of your CB, or any radio, is raise the antenna higher. Of course you will need a good quality antenna and Coax. For mobile operations the Wilson 5000 is probably the best.

How far will a 4 watt CB transmit?

Transmitter power is limited to 4 watts in the US and the EU. CB radios have a range of about 3 miles (4.8 km) to 20 miles (32 km) depending on terrain, for line of sight communication; however, various radio propagation conditions may intermittently allow communication over much greater distances.