Aug 24, 2005 - 0900hrs UTC

0900hrs 24 Aug 2005 UTC 42’59”N 010’25”W Ref 309

DB: days run 113 nm = +23nm.

Fine sunny day – very big NW swell, about 8 – 10 metres – must have been something happening up there. Light breeze here, nowt else to report.

Mal, are you the owner of Little Red Rocket yet? How does it feel?

[Ed: the electronic stuff seems to be understood, if not exactly sorted.  Thanks to Marc Robinson]

From Marc Robinson

Morning Alex, sounds like you have a real SOBSoftware on Board, from Digitboat – navigation software used by Alex for both circumnavigations. on board!

If this problem occurs only when the HFHigh Frequency – usually refers to HF radio which is long range digital radio that Berrimilla used to send all but a few of the logs on both circumnavigations. The radio was connected via a Pactor 3 digital modem to Alex’s laptop and used the Sailmail software application called Airmail to send emails and pull in emails, weather and GRIB files. Airmail also supports Iridium satellite telephone messaging and Alex used this as backup when the HF radio died approaching England. starts transmitting, it is most likely that RF energy is being picked up by the wiring in the boat that is connected to the particular serial port that is botching everything up. It’s probably a long cable run from a GPS receiver or the like. Do you have any spare clip-on ferrites that you could wrap the cable through a couple of times within a foot or so of the serial port?

I’ll not waste your daily email limit.
Happy sailing

Thanks Marc- this might be the answer – the usb port in question is the one that feeds converted vhfVery High Frequency radio. Short range radio equipment for voice and other applications such as AISAutomatic Identification System. An automatic tracking system used on ships and by vessel traffic services (VTS) for identifying and locating vessels.. signals from other vessels’ AISAutomatic Identification System. An automatic tracking system used on ships and by vessel traffic services (VTS) for identifying and locating vessels. systems to the SoBSoftware on Board, from Digitboat – navigation software used by Alex for both circumnavigations. system and there’s a little vhfVery High Frequency radio. Short range radio equipment for voice and other applications such as AISAutomatic Identification System. An automatic tracking system used on ships and by vessel traffic services (VTS) for identifying and locating vessels.. aerial on the pushpitThe railing around the deck at the stern of a yacht. that picks them up and coax cable  to the AISAutomatic Identification System. An automatic tracking system used on ships and by vessel traffic services (VTS) for identifying and locating vessels. engine next to the nav table. I don’t have any spare ferrites and anyway don’t want to mess with something that is working so will leave it all disconnected. Interestingly, sailmailSailmail is the system that Berrimilla uses for email communication. It is a non-profit association of yacht owners operating a network of private coast stations in the maritime Mobile Radio Service. transmitted on 6 megs but when I changed to 10, the usb serial multi died. It began transmitting and failed a few seconds later, so it all adds up. I thought it was the change via the application that was going wrong.