Customer Reviews

Marine SSB Radio for "Idi-Yachts"

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

There are a few tidbits of information and a few tables in this book that are informative, but overall the book is worth about $6.95 not $20. The title idi-yachts -presumeably a spin on the "for dummies" series- is really a leap this book is really for idiots.

Let me quote from the opening paragraph. "Very simply put, the SSB radio receives and transmits energy in the form of radio waves. When you transmit, these 'waves' move out of the radio, up through the antenna and out through space at the speed of light (300 million meters per second) which is pretty darned fast! Up in space these waves interact with layers of ionized gas. Like a mirror, the charged or ionized gas reflects the waves back at different angles.....You've experienced ocean waves under the keel...Now your getting into radio waves that travel through speace. Isn't cruising the most interesting thing? Never a dull moment."

She later 'explains' simplex and duplex frequencies where after 3 rather uninformative sentences she reassures the reader with "Don't get too hung up on this part. You'll rarely if ever use half duplex frequencies....You could amaze your friends in a trivia game with this knowledge but thats about it."

With regard to choosing frequencies she writes "All SSB frequencies are Upper Sideband (USB). USB is a mode of High Frequency (HF) radio reception that demodulates AM signals by processing that portion of the recieved signal above the transmitters carrier frequency. Whew! How about that? I think the only folks that will know what that means are electrical engineers." Well clearly the author doesn't understand it enough to do anything but quote back someone elses one-liner.

Not much help with explaining concepts though there is a nice reference card in the back of the book - so if you want to toss out $20 for a reference card thats your choice. But if you are looking for a book that explains shortwave radio in laymens terms you should look elsewhere.

This is an excellent book and those are hard to find on this subject. I write for several magazines and I've never seen a better book on the subject.
Dave Wheeler

Marti has written a straightforward succinct book on a subject that many people find difficult. She makes it simple and covers the subject thoroughly.
Dave Wheeler
Contributing Editor for Southern Boating, also published in The Cruising Guide to Abaco, Motor Boating, Power & Motoryacht, The Best of Sail, Sea, and Yachting.

This book is over priced for what it contains and the area of coverage. It covers the Bahamas, Florida and eastern Gulf of Mexico. Nothing on the West Coast or Northeast coast of the US. Nothing on Mexico, Central or South Americas.

Overly simplistic without substance or true direction, more like a first grade primer. Not at all what I expected.

I have managed to learn a lot more on this subject by surfing the web than I did from this book. Check out various sailing/boating websites, Ham Radio sites, and the FCC site for more/better information. I do wish someone would write a good and complete guide to the complexities of Ham Radio and SSB on boats.

and Capt. Brown's book next to my HF Radio. A valuable tool, easy to understand and a good bit of humor on the side. A great gift for cruising yachtspeople that are also involved in Ham Radio and SSB.

I'll preface my review with the notation that there is now a new edition of this book out, and I have not seen it.

When I bought this book, we had just purchased a cruising boat with an SSB/ham radio with e-mail and weatherfax capability. I had never seen one before, much less used one. I wanted a book that would clearly and concisely tell me HOW to USE it.

I know that several other reviewers say this book explained using the radio to them, but it sure didn't for me. Far better was just asking the guy on the boat next to me for basic information, then surfing the internet for more details.

In fact, I never did find a book that detailed the operations -- and the information covered for the Ham test didn't do it either. An hour with someone who's knowledgable is a lot more helpful than any book!

One of the biggest challenges I face at MarineNet Wireless in providing solid reliable SSB E-mail services to the public is the customer not understanding how things work at all. This book pulls together many of the basic knowledge that is scattered everywhere and gets the new marine SSB user comfortable with that funny box with numbers in the display!!! This book makes my job much easier getting SSB customers up to speed.. Recommended reading.

This book is without a doubt a complete waste of money. It is without substance and provides little or no meaningful information. There has got to be something better.