great lakes ship to shore hf marine freqs.

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nwa032

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are they still using hf ? can't seem to find anything out there !! thanks in advance !!!
 

WA8ZTZ

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AFAIK, pretty much all VHF nowadays.
Channels 16, 11, 12, 22 seem the most active around here... Port Huron to Detroit River Light.
 

Fast1eddie

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Every now and then I catch voice traffic on 4.125, 4.149, 8 Mhz international simplex channels but I am too far inland (Pittsburgh) to hear much of anything. Uncertain of this, but I do not believe the USCG monitors 2.182 any longer.

Shame, I really enjoyed the HF maritime voice traffic.

Hoping the commies shoot down some of our satellites so HF voice returns.
 

nwa032

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thanks for the reply, i live in erie,pa. & hear nothing day or night, maybe someday i'll stumble across an active freq. !!!
 

Hooligan

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thanks for the reply, i live in erie,pa. & hear nothing day or night, maybe someday i'll stumble across an active freq. !!!

Between the VHF voice radio, AIS, PCS phones (& some using high-gain external antennas) & especially SATCOM aboard the ships, plus USCG having more remote bases as part of the RESCUE 21 network, there's just not much need for HF aboard a Great Lakes ship anymore. Sad for us radio-geeks, but remember, the shipping companies had to PAY $$ to the coastal maritime stations to be a messaging relay, quality wasn't great, everyone could listen-in, etc. so it's no-wonder that's been phased-out by IP/VOIP services over SATCOM.

For me as a teenager in the early 1980s, it was especially fun to hear the ship to shore phone patches from passengers aboard the oceanic cruise ships ("Yes, mom, I'm having fun -- they had a dance party last night but I was in-bed by 11PM so I could go to the 9AM church service this morning" & then they'd call some friend & it was "Duuude! I got so wasted last night that I banged a fat chick! Couldn't get her to wake-up & leave my cabin until 10AM!"), the profanity-laced BS'ing of the guys working the wheelhouses of the barges/tugs on the Mississippi River & their non-stop talking back & forth to help stay awake, phone patches from workers on the oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico and/or off of California, and the Navy-Marine Corps MARS Afloat Net, running phone patches for sailors aboard military ships back to their friends & families.

2.182 & I think it was 4.125 were good to sit-on because occasionally you'd hear fairly tiny US, Canadian & other Coast-Guard type stations not normally heard on MF/HF often.

Keep tuning around, & be sure to get into digital modes (there's plenty of digital voice on HF, though a lot is government stuff, encrypted & using non-public waveforms).
 

Fast1eddie

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When I was stationed in Greece in the mid 80's, there was soooo much HF maritime I actually got sick of it and did not monitor for about a year. Missed opportunities.

One never knows, all this high technology stuff is great, but it costs money too. Perhaps one day some accountants will point out cost savings if some comms are returned to HF.

Loved the cruise line story!!
 

GB46

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For me as a teenager in the early 1980s, it was especially fun to hear the ship to shore phone patches from passengers aboard the oceanic cruise ships...
What I especially enjoyed was hearing the captains on big freighters contacting coastal stations to order supplies. I'd often hear a long, detailed list of food and other supplies, even spare parts for the onboard radios. Of course, the food orders were in huge quantities.
 

nwa032

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yep, i remember those days ! back then i had a sony 2010 & it was non stop talk ! now i'm hearing nothing !
 

GB46

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Perhaps one day some accountants will point out cost savings if some comms are returned to HF.
I would love that! However, HF communications won't be as reliable as they need to be until propagation improves, and that's a long time from now. Meanwhile, it may be hard to persuade those companies to go back to HF.
 

kc8vlv

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I live in Port Huron, with all the new technology on the freighters , the Cason J.Callaway has the only functioning hf shack. Call for Kb1Sf maritime 8
You might be able to work the hf station on the Huron lightship or the Retired Coast guard Cutter Bramble. That station is manned by members of U.s.e.c.a.
 

nwa032

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how about us or canada coast guard freqs. ? anyone know of any ? thanks !!!
 

ka3jjz

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This has nothing to do with the original topic of HF Great Lakes ship-shore - please start a new thread in the proper forum. Hijacking a thread is a no-no here.

Mike
 
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Every now and then I catch voice traffic on 4.125, 4.149, 8 Mhz international simplex channels but I am too far inland (Pittsburgh) to hear much of anything. Uncertain of this, but I do not believe the USCG monitors 2.182 any longer.

Shame, I really enjoyed the HF maritime voice traffic.

Hoping the commies shoot down some of our satellites so HF voice returns.


It's good to know there is still activity on these frequencies even when it is very sporadic.
 
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