To date, there is only one soundcard software program that can both transmit and receive pactor i hf, as it is called, available only on some linux platforms. Pactor iii introduces 6 speed levels that provide higher throughput and improved robustness compared to pactor i and ii. The sailmail association maintains its own worldwide network of ssbpactor private coast stations in. They usually use one of the many variants of pactor 1 through 4, and while there are packages that can copy this mode, i. Scs introduceert deze extreem snelle ssb email sailmail modem met pactor 4 software en ingebouwde usbaansluiting. Pactor iv is the newest iteration of the pactor series, advancing from pactor iiii. I am still a fan of software based digital modes like winmore. Three components are needed to use sailmail s worldwide network of ssb pactor radio stations. I support digital communications for multiple networks types such winlink, sailmail and some commercial networks. Click here for a short video of installing airmail software for sailmail and connecting via the iridium go. Pactor 4, which has a symbol rate of 1800 bauds, a markspace frequency shift separation of less than 1khz, and a bandwidth of 2. This version also adds full support for the scs pactor 4 dragon modems, and includes an updated viewfax grib and image viewer is also included. Frankly, pactor4 remains an internet substitute for those unwilling to pay for mobile offshore internet.
Weather maps that take 78 minutes to download with a modem only licensed to operate in the pactor ii mode, take two minutes or less to download with piii saving time and battery power. Sep 20, 2012 page 1 of 2 pactor 4 modem posted in cruisetalk. Current modems in production are the ptciiiusb and the p4dragon, and are recommended. Pactor radio equipment consists of an hf transceiver, a computer and a terminal node controller. Sailmail uses a client software package called airmail3, which is available free of charge and runs on the microsoft windows operating system. The p4dragon dr7800 is the latest and in the line of pactor modems. P4dragon dr7800 is the new standard for ssb radio email and data. This entry was posted in dealers for pactor modems, ssbs on january 4, 2016 by sailma5. Scs, the company that created pactor, has unveiled software that offers the ability to monitor the content of pactor 1, 2, and 3 transmissions over the air. Pactor modem many sailmail members use sailmail s worldwide network of ssb pactor radio stations to avoid data charges, but also carry iridium or other satellite communications in addition as a backup. How to update your modem to the professional firmware with. Pactor modes other than level 1 p1 are not open source, 7 8 but are publicly documented 9 and can be monitored and decoded easily over the air by third parties using free raspberry pi software pmon for raspberry pi 10 or pmon utility on the modem itself 11. Airmail3 is a powerful integrated program which allow for email, weather grib and weather charts and position reports to.
Software running on the computer drives the terminal node controller. Sailmail is radio based email system designed for boat owners operating beyond lineofsight radio links to the internet. The pactor modes 1 4 can be monitored by anyone with an appropriate receiver and modem. Pactor is used by many groups, including sailmail for mariners to send and receive emails. These kits contain everything you need to connect to your radio and computer. The data you can get is exactly the same, grib files, email etc. The dr7800 and pactor 4 enable unexcelled data links via shortwave from any point on earth.
Setup pactor modem and ssb, overview to send and receive email over the sailmail s worldwide network of ssb stations, you need a properly installed ssb and you will need to acquire an scs pactor modem, which is a special modem available from ham radio or marine electronics dealers that is designed to transfer data over radio. This entry was posted in downloads on january 7, 2016 by sailma5. Pactor 3 uses the same bandwidth as pactor 4 but p4 will get it done twice as fast, plus the legitimate ham is penalized because of. P4dragon modems are software compatible with previous ptcii series modems, so existing pactor software airmail, rms express, alpha etc can continue to be used. Installing and settingup the airmail software sailmail. Pactor 4 offers data speeds over twice the speed of pactor 3. Most current pactor ii modems are upgradeable to use pactor iii via a software update since pactor ii firmware accommodates the new pactor iii software. Much more reliable communications alternative are available today. Oct 01, 2009 download and install a copy of sailmail software from. Significantly faster than the previous models, and faster than many sat systems. There are two modem technologies from which to choose.
Those who oppose it do so because they fear that pactor 4 will make the bands worse promoting sailors who are too cheap to pay for sailmail. This is the download page for the airmail client program for sailmail. Download and install a copy of sailmail software from. Pactor 4 installed with full operation of piii, ii, i. Pactor 2 technical description pactor 3 technical description pactor 4 technical description. With optimal conditions, pactor iii becomes over 5 times faster. Pactor i has a very narrow audio spectrum waveform and can occupy the same band space as analog 300 baud packet.
Pactor 4, the latest release, is not permitted on the usa ham bands, yet ads for auto mailbox use, marine band use, mars use, and outofusa use are the sales and. Accessing sailmail via internet 5 advanced airmail features 6 ccs, mailing list, relay 2 shadowmail 2 dealers for pactor modems, ssbs 1 downloads 3 iridium go. Any previous ptcii, iie, iiex, iipro, or iiusb modem can be licensed to use the pactor iii protocol for a fee paid to an scs dealer or to scs, not to sailmail but cant be used for p4. Pactor 3 uses the same bandwidth as pactor 4 but p4 will get it done twice as fast, plus the legitimate ham is penalized because of the fear that something bad may happen. Using pactoriii or pactor4, the sailmail system can pass email. Pactor is an evolution of both amtor and packet radio. Dr7400 p4dragon pactor 4 modem hfssb modem fast data. Pactor i pactor ii pactor iii pactor iv pactor ii is an advancement of pactor i. However, it is capable of a data rate of 5800 bits per second. The variability of the hf channel can skew the results when comparing modems this way so the data was compiled from an average of several test runs before a comparison was made. The dr7800 p4dragon is optimized to use the data transmission mode pactor 4. But for those with greater communications needs, pactor4 offers a.
If you have deleted driver software below, then you can always rerun the airmail installer program. The sailmail system will also work with older design scs pactor modems. The airmail software is also used by ham radio operators to access the ham. Pactor 4 scs dr7400 pactor 4 modem new release fastest system for email via marine sailmail and ham winmail networks includes optional bluetooth module icom icm801e marine hf ssb transceiver 2 year warranty 12vdc or 24 vdc. In addition, pactor use is touted for outofthehamband use. Jan 01, 2019 pactor iii piii or pactor 4 what is it and why do i need it. After lots of troubleshooting, we finally got our pactor iiusb modem to talk to our ssb radio and my macbook pro to send emails and receive weather reports. Three components are needed to use sailmails worldwide network of ssbpactor radio stations. But for those with greater communications needs, pactor4 offers a good way to increase capacity. The p4dragon dr7800 is a no compromise hf modem that outpaces products 3x the price. There is also software available for monitoring pactor.
If you are a licensed ham operator, download a copy of airmail from the same site. Email compression why email compression data speeds are very slow over hf radio and some satellite and mobile services. Quad core dsp, transceiver frequency control, vhfuhf packet operation software upgrade required. All kits include the cables, genuine fairrite ferrite rf chokes, software, and the information necessary to connect a scs p4, ptciiiiiusb, pactor modem to your icom, kenwood, sgc, or yaesu radio. Marine and areonautical fcc radio license filing services using dockside radios simplified onepage application worksheet. Pactor iii is a realworld 4x increase in throughput over pactor ii. The appearance of freeware software and the much higher cost of using pactor means that fewer hams bother with pactor. How to install and set up a pactor modem with a ssb. They usually use one of the many variants of pactor 1 through 4, and while there are packages that can copy this mode, i would imagine that the email contents are.
Once the airmail software in installed, if your computer has access to the internet, you. Pactor 4 scs p4dragon dr7800 hf modem winlink airmail paclink. While we have tried to move all current information to this site, if members want to refer to the previous sailmail primer, here it is. Airmail and its weather companions, the icepac propagation software, and usb drivers for the scs modems. This one the say has been redesigned with a fast quadcore dsp allowing high data rates. The use of this network is available at no extra charge to sailmail members, but of course requires the member to have a ssb and pactor modem. To cope with this slow speeds there are a number of email compression services and software, compression helps speed up the throughput of data and reduces cost of satellite connections. Pactor 4 transmission speeds of 5512 bps without data compression can be achieved.
Airmail is a 32bit program which runs under windows2000, xp, vista, win7 and win8. We support pactor4 at all stations but expect that pactor iii mode will continue to be used by most sailmail members because of the significantly lower cost of the modem. The most commonly used amateur program for this purpose is airmail pactor is used by amateur bulletin board system operators to exchange public messages, and open conversations across the world. This is a complete list of hardware and software supplied with the. You can use sailmail, predictwind, whatever data source you require. Hf radio modem for sailmail and winlink email services. Pactor 4 fcc grants waiver to permit pactor 4 for hurricane dorian september 2, 2019the fcc granted the arrls request, similar to past hurricane emergencies, for a temporary waiver of section 97. Pactor email via radio modems pactor4 scs dragon dr.
The pactormodem is the only specialized piece of equipment, and is essentially a specialized modem designed for radio. Radiorelated technical support for the cruising sailor. From a sailmail or winlink viewpoint, the primary differences between these technologies are. For more information on pactor 4 visit p4dragon pactor 4 is over twice the speed of pactor 3 click here to order your pactor 4 modem the pactor modem provides the interface between the computer and the ssb transceiver. My primary business is pactor email training and installation checkup advice for airmail and sailmail software email clients via hfssb radios or satellite phones. Installing an hf ssb and a pactor modem ocean navigator.
If you are going offshore for a significant period, pactor and ssb are much cheaper than satellite comms. I am planning to sail to the pacific next year and i need to be able to read my emails. Wine specifically crossover runs as a program on your mac, and provides airmail the. Toms article, staying connected at sea, describes how they use their pactor modem and hf ssb radio to connect to the internet for email and weather.
Demonstration of using remote frequency control for connection to sailmail using the icom gm800. This allows unparalleled fast and robust data links via shortwave. Sailmail is now a certified application for the iridium go. You can add class 1 bluetooth blue wireless to this standard std usb model for a wireless connect.
Im not aware of anything stopping folks from writing more robust monitoring tools. The free pmon software runs under the linux operating system. So if you have an older version of airmail, then download the latest airmail version 3. Sailmail staying connected at sea tom and nancy kk4hza zydler cruise aboard their mason 44, frances b. Pactor i pactor ii pactor iii pactor iv pactor iv is the newest iteration of the pactor series, advancing from pactor iiii. Bonito weatherinfoshop pactor4 modem dr7400 purchase. With data throughputs up to 4x an iridium or isatphone satellite link, hf radio data solutions are back in the spotlight. The dr7400 has been optimzed for use with the new highend data transmission mode pactor 4. The pactor modes 14 can be monitored by anyone with an appropriate receiver and modem. It is also used by ham radio operators, governmental and diplomatic agencies, and even ngos.
The arrl, in its petition, addresses the bandwidth issue, noting the following. The software tnc can be freely distributed when paired with a developers own host application software. Mar 17, 2015 if youve been reading the udxf logs for any length of time, you will have seen the name sailmail an email service for yachts. The throughput difference is more noticeable on typical shortwave channels than on awgn channels, and lies, on average, about a factor 2 compared to that of pactor 3. I purchased the cannakit raspberry pi 4, from amazon to test this. Ive spent several weeks evaluating the onair performance of vara and pactor iii under various conditions. Pactor is a radio modulation mode used by amateur radio operators, marine radio stations, military or government users such as the department of homeland security, and radio stations in isolated areas to send and receive digital information via radio. A software version to monitor pactor 4 is scheduled to become available next year. Our hf modem p4dragon dr7800 is the uncompromising advancement of the legendary ptcii which is designed for professional deployment and for the ambitious amateur radio operator. Members may recall having seen information in the old sailmail primer that was on the previous sailmail website. Equipment choice and installation for accessing sailmails radio.
Specify that the licensecode be sent to your winlink or sailmail. The sailmail system implements an efficient email transfer protocol that provides compression and message format conversion to minimize data charges, and works efficiently over communications systems that have high latency, such as satellite based communications systems. If remote email is so important use sailmail or a satellite provider. May 23, 2011 scs has posted a new modem for pactor 4. The p4dragon modem can be used for hf ssb email with sailmail or winlink and for receiving weatherfax broadcasts. Successfully sending email via pactor modem and ssb radio. Sailmails stations are all capable of all modes including pactor4.
Dealersinstallers for pactor modems and ssbs sailmail. Pactor iii is a software upgrade for existing pactor ii modems that provides a new data transmission mode for improved speed and robustness. The p4dragon supports all pactor protocols from pactor 1 through to pactor 4. The dragon line of modems are for people serious about their data.
To send and receive email over the sailmail s worldwide network of ssb stations, you need a properly installed ssb and you will need to acquire an scs pactor modem, which is a special modem available from ham radio or marine electronics dealers that is designed to transfer data over radio. The continued claims pactor4 serves ecomm emergency communcations is a ruse, a falsehood. Airmail3 is a powerful integrated program which allow for email, weather grib and weather charts and position reports to be sen t and received via satellite andor hf ssb radio. Much of its underlying technology is built upon the winlink software originally developed by amateur radio enthusiasts. Pactor i pactor ii pactor iii pactor iv pactor iii introduces 6 speed levels that provide higher throughput and improved robustness compared to pactor i and ii. When airmails terminal window is reopened then your license. Operation on sailmail network frequencies requires a pactor modem and an ssb radio. Free pactor123 monitoring software for raspberry pi. The pactor modem is the only specialized piece of equipment, and is essentially a specialized modem designed for radio. Dr7800 is software compatible with ptcii which means that one may continue to use the existing software, such as airmail, rms express, alpha, etc. With optimal conditions, pactor iii becomes over 5.
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