Ham Radio on QV & Mobile coverage

[shazz56]

Hi,

My partner and I are sailing on QV (Sydney to Singapore) in a matter of a few weeks.

He is a keen ham radio operator and wants to take his hand held radio along for the ride . Does anyone know if there will be a problem with this? Or Has anyone ever done so before...on any Cunard cruise?

Being a mere female, i have no idea of the technical side (and dont want to know either)

Men and their toys......

 

And on Mobile coverage...

For any Australians travelling on the QV,we have discovered that Telstra and Optus has mobile roaming coverage on board (phone calls only). I am not sure of the correct terms, but your phone, when set up for international roaming, will work at a cost.

 

Cheers

 

Sharon and Barry

[Cruachan]

Hi,

My partner and I are sailing on QV (Sydney to Singapore) in a matter of a few weeks. He is a keen ham radio operator and wants to take his hand held radio along for the ride . Does anyone know if there will be a problem with this? Or Has anyone ever done so before...on any Cunard cruise?

Being a mere female, i have no idea of the technical side (and dont want to know either). Men and their toys......

 

Sharon,

 

I think a lot would depend on precisely what type of hand held radio you mean. If it's simply a marine band scanner (ie, a receiver) then I can't see that being a problem. I've never taken my own along with me, but I know of others who have used them. If it's capable of transmitting as well as receiving then I think that could be a problem.

 

Maybe Gari would like to give us his opinion on this one if he's around.

 

J

[shazz56]

Sharon,

 

I think a lot would depend on precisely what type of hand held radio you mean. If it's simply a marine band scanner (ie, a receiver) then I can't see that being a problem. I've never taken my own along with me, but I know of others who have used them. If it's capable of transmitting as well as receiving then I think that could be a problem.

 

Maybe Gari would like to give us his opinion on this one if he's around.

 

J

 

Hi,

 

Its a 'hand held' Ham Radio....not a CB or marine scanner. But i have been told its runs on very low power (whatever that means)

You must be a licensed operator to use this radio, (which he is)

 

cheers

 

sharon

[Cruachan]

Its a 'hand held' Ham Radio....not a CB or marine scanner. But i have been told its runs on very low power (whatever that means)

You must be a licensed operator to use this radio, (which he is)

 

OK,

 

sounds like it's a transmitter then. I know that HAM radio equipment is specifically forbidden on board Royal Caribbean ships, see:

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/details.do;jsessionid=0000CrcsQPVB6HHfM6YzsVJ3N-G:12hdhu6tq?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&pnav=5&snav=2&faqId=2608&faqSubjectId=330&faqSubjectName=Before+You+Leave&faqType=faq

 

 

I can't find an equivalent FAQ on the Cunard site at the moment, but my guess is that the same rules would apply.

 

J

[shazz56]

OK,

 

sounds like it's a transmitter then. I know that HAM radio equipment is specifically forbidden on board Royal Caribbean ships, see:

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/details.do;jsessionid=0000CrcsQPVB6HHfM6YzsVJ3N-G:12hdhu6tq?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&pnav=5&snav=2&faqId=2608&faqSubjectId=330&faqSubjectName=Before+You+Leave&faqType=faq

 

 

I can't find an equivalent FAQ on the Cunard site at the moment, but my guess is that the same rules would apply.

 

J

 

OOOOPS

our first and only cruise was a 4 night Mexican cruise from LA, with Royal Caribbean, 3 years ago.

Every night at sailing time, we go to a lounge on the very top, and he would use his radio.

No one said a word to him!

 

Sharon

[Cruachan]

OOOOPS

our first and only cruise was a 4 night Mexican cruise from LA, with Royal Caribbean, 3 years ago. Every night at sailing time, we go to a lounge on the very top, and he would use his radio. No one said a word to him!

Sharon

 

Sharon,

 

there's a thread on one of the other CC boards that might be of some interest. Not a lot of hard fact in it but some possibly useful info. You'll find it here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=734148

 

J

[garigoun]

Sharon,

 

I think a lot would depend on precisely what type of hand held radio you mean. If it's simply a marine band scanner (ie, a receiver) then I can't see that being a problem. I've never taken my own along with me, but I know of others who have used them. If it's capable of transmitting as well as receiving then I think that could be a problem.

 

Maybe Gari would like to give us his opinion on this one if he's around.

 

J

Sorry Sharron, I can't help. I was never a 'ham', radio was just the easiest way I could get into the MN and have very little to do in port, and I have not kept up with the enormous advances that have been made. If it is very low power I can't see a problem with the ship's gear. However, having said that there may be a number of regulations or company rules which prohibit the use of such equipment, especially in these days of uncertain security.

Any genuine hams on the board?

Gari

[alibru]

And on Mobile coverage...

For any Australians travelling on the QV,we have discovered that Telstra and Optus has mobile roaming coverage on board (phone calls only). I am not sure of the correct terms, but your phone, when set up for international roaming, will work at a cost.

 

 

Hi Sharon,

 

Thanks for the info. We are doing Sydney to Souton in 2010 so that is really usefull. I also understand that you can get email on a blackberry via the same service so hopefully mobile broadband will work as well.

 

Cheers & happy sailing :)

 

Ali

[Cruachan]

Any genuine hams on the board?

Gari

 

There's a couple of pigs - are they any use?

 

J (Sorry - I've tried to be sensible all morning but it rarely works for long)

[Norfolk Brit]

There's a couple of pigs - are they any use?

J (Sorry - I've tried to be sensible all morning but it rarely works for long)

 

And to think I've been sitting on my paws.

 

Oink, Sir Martin:cool:

[Cruachan]

And to think I've been sitting on my paws.

 

Oink, Sir Martin:cool:

 

Have you got any more farm yard impersonations up your sleeve, or is that it?

 

J

[garigoun]

Have you got any more farm yard impersonations up your sleeve, or is that it?

 

J

If it's emtertainment you're after, I can play on the Linoleum.

Gari

[GAV BOY]

There is normaly always mobile phone coverage on QV, apart from certain area`s such as the Dinning rooms and theartre (quiet area`s) etc :D

 

Gav :cool:

[FIRELT5]

Hi,

My partner and I are sailing on QV (Sydney to Singapore) in a matter of a few weeks.

He is a keen ham radio operator and wants to take his hand held radio along for the ride . Does anyone know if there will be a problem with this? Or Has anyone ever done so before...on any Cunard cruise?

Being a mere female, i have no idea of the technical side (and dont want to know either)

Men and their toys......

 

And on Mobile coverage...

For any Australians travelling on the QV,we have discovered that Telstra and Optus has mobile roaming coverage on board (phone calls only). I am not sure of the correct terms, but your phone, when set up for international roaming, will work at a cost.

 

Cheers

 

Sharon and Barry

 

Your Hubby (may ???) need a special permit to operate in Singapore. He probably has a small hand held radio 2m/440mhz which primarly operates off of land based repeaters.

 

I am a Licensed (Ham Radio) operator here in NJ, USA and brought a similair handheld on the QM2 to the Carribean with no problems. We did notify Cunard and once onboard spoke to the 1st Officer.

[shazz56]

There is normaly always mobile phone coverage on QV, apart from certain area`s such as the Dinning rooms and theartre (quiet area`s) etc :D

 

Gav :cool:

Hi Gav,

 

Not all Australian mobile carriers will work on Cunard. Only Telstra and Optus has the agreement at sea.

 

Cheers

 

Sharon and Barry

[shazz56]

Your Hubby (may ???) need a special permit to operate in Singapore. He probably has a small hand held radio 2m/440mhz which primarly operates off of land based repeaters.

 

I am a Licensed (Ham Radio) operator here in NJ, USA and brought a similair handheld on the QM2 to the Carribean with no problems. We did notify Cunard and once onboard spoke to the 1st Officer.

 

Thanks for the info...He has discovered that Australia has reciprical (?) arrangements with Singapore.

And yes his radio is a 2m/440mhz with Dstar.

 

Thanks for your help...

 

Sharon

[W6WU]

Do a search for Tamiami Radio Club in Florida and read the terrific instructions on how to get permission to operate on a cruise ship. It is written by N1RA who has done it and knows how to write an article.

 

If you follow his instructions you will be able to not only set up a seagoing rig and station but also not violate the laws of the sea regarding on board operation. The ship sailed from Lisbon and we flew from San Diego so it was necessary that motorcycle batteries be purchased in Lisbon before boarding the ship. It is not permissible to take batteries aboard any airliner due to the posssible fire hazard. Please observe this rule and all others to the letter so that you don't spoil it for the rest of us.

 

I have operated years ago from a new cruise ship in the Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas using a small Yaesu Xcvr powered by a couple of motorcycle batteries that were recharged every few hours on a battery charger in the cabin. The antenna was a whip taken from a US Army tank and clamped to the railing on the ship with a pointed screw in clamp to pierce a small access to the metal in the railing. We operated only on ten meters due to antenna length and worked many stations around the world from the Lido deck on the stern of the ship. It was a piece of cake once the skipper gave his permission.

 

DON'T FORGET TO READ THE TERRIFIC ARTICLE ABOUT SEA GOING RADIO OPERATIONS BY N1RA. IT HAS ALL THE INFORMATION YOU NEED TO DO IT CORRECTLY AND AVOID TROUBLE WITH THE LICENSING REQUIREMENTS WHEN OPERATING IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY OR FOREIGN WATERS.

 

We always had a large group of interested cruisers sitting around enjoying the skill of foreign operators on the air who wanted to work a maritime mobile station from the USA that was in the Med. For their enjoyment we plugged in a microphone so that they could understand both sides of the conversation which are always in English. The ship was the Crown Odyssey which was on its first year in service. I am a former military trained radio operator who enjoys my many ham radios using only Morse Code and working DX from my home in Vista, California.

Semper Fidelis, dit dit dit dah dit dah

Dan Keefe

[Ray66]

This thread is four years old so I think you're a bit late. :)

[Cruachan]

This thread is four years old so I think you're a bit late. :)

 

Yeah - I have a feeling Sharon will have it all sorted out by now :D

 

J

[capnpugwash]

As a professional football player once said when he was booked for a particularly late tackle, "Well Ref, I got there as soon as I could!" N1RA sounds like a fun guy though. :)