For starters, ask around locally. IIRC, we didn't have terribly good
luck with Australian weatherfax crossing the Tasman -- I don't
remember why, but my memory is that it wasn't useful. We did use
weatherfax across the Pacific and the Atlantic, so it probably wasn't
our installation that was the problem. That was in 1997, so it may be
different now.

For equipment, at the low end, a demodulator that plugs into the
headphone jack on the receiver and into the serial port on your laptop
and software to run it. West sells one for US$200+, but there are
others, cheaper (do a Web Search -- I don't know about Oz vendors).
This will do fine if you're relatively close to the transmitter (100s
of miles) and have limited needs.

It's also possible to plug the headphone output into the sound card on
your computer, with suitable software -- I've never used this, but I
suspect the bandwidth is fairly low.

At the high end, a demodulator that uses a PCMCIA slot, a USB, or a
parallel port on the computer (much higher data rate, hence better
detail) and some sort of image processing program (Corel PhotoPaint,
Adobe PhotoShop, etc.). Fairly sophisticated image processing is
helpful when you're getting a fair amount of static with your image --
it can pull a usable picture out of a mess.

Make sure you have a good antenna installation. SSB transceivers have
sophisticated antenna tuners which make the antenna look like a
different length when you change bands. I don't think the antenna on
the radio will do the job so you'll probably need insulators in the
backstay. A good antenna also includes a good ground -- at radio
frequencies, this is not just a wire, but a copper strip maybe 4" wide
going down to your keel (if the keel is outside the glass) or a large
area of copper screen just inside the glass below the waterline.
Bonding all the metal on board, including life lines, rail, prop
shaft, engine, and keel, will help and is a good idea for other
reasons. For starters, you'll know you're in reasonable shape when
you can hear a really solid signal from the weatherfax station of your
choice -- it's a very characteristic sound as it scans across the
page.

Operate the rig a number of times ashore before you set out. As you
probably know, the faxes come only a few times a day and the computer
has to be set up and running before the transmission starts -- I
wouldn't count on using the computer for anything else while it's
receiving one.

Also look to your electrical system -- you'll have to run the receiver
and computer while receiving, and, if you want to set it up to receive
while you're sleeping, even longer. This may tax the battery on a 26'
boat.

Jim Woodward
www.mvfintry.com


Klaus wrote in message ...
So I have a laptop and a receiver (Yaesu) that covers the frequencies
from 2 Mhz to 30 Mhz. What kind of black box and software do I need to
display weather fax maps on my laptop screen ?

I want to use that on my 26' trailerable boat during a cruise, it will
not be a permanent installation.

Thanks in advance,
Klaus