MoBOB, you kind of stumped me. It would not be the normal VHF bands used for marine traffic. Most VHFs on board commercial vessels are for line of sight communications. For example, using "Channel 13" you would talk with another vessel and come to some arrangement on how to meet and pass. These certainly do not have enough range to cover the 700 miles wildman800 would need to cover between work and home.

However, I do recall the SSB at the dispatchers' desk that was used to hold conversations with boats that were not anywhere within 100 miles of the office. You could get much better than line of sight from a regular VHF, but not the kind fo distance the SSB unit got. I am pretty sure I recall a conversation on it with a boat at least 1,000 miles away.

I looked for some info on the web, but did not see much that describe dhte differences. BoatUS has a page on VHFs (http://www.boatus.com/onlinecourse/documents/COMMUNICATION.html) that mentions SSB. It states, with regard to VHFs:

"They come equipped with a choice of transmitter power: one (1) watt for very close communication (approximately one mile or less) or twenty five (25) watts for extended communication (up to approximately twenty five miles). All of this is done usually with the push of a button.

If you need to communicate over a greater distance consider installing a Single Side Band (SSB) radio - which has the capability to transmit over hundreds of miles. If you are not sure whether you might have the need for Single Side Band radio please feel free to contact us at your local BOAT/U.S. Marine Center and we can discuss the pros and cons."

So, I'm not sure what bands. Honestly, I saw it used a few times and uonly myself ever used it for a few seconds. I just know they exist. From what I saw in my internet search, they have 150 watt units for $1,000-$2,500, but I know the price used is a mere fraction of the price new.

For Leigh: Thanks for the great input!!! I've already put my swivels and fish hooks on safety pins and it works GREAT!!!! I am going to add more fishline and some fishing type of cord to my kit.

For DanMcl: SSB means "Single Side Band" and is applicable to HF (High Frequency) or "Shortwave" radio. The 2meter band has, of late, been reported as "dead". I know that the 2m band is busiest between sunset and sunrise. A great number of the remaining "HAM's" are reported to be using the 14meter band. The inland vessels have gotten rid of the old SSB shortwave sets since cellphones, fax machines, and computor communications are now the norm.

Most inland boats (what I'm on) have two VHF-FM transceivers, one computor with SatCom/Cellphone capability irt intra-office email, one computor with a commercial AirCard (cellphone) for internet access/email, and a cellphone.

Keep in mind that almost every man in the crew has a cellphone with text capability. Many of the crew also carry a notepad with an aircard for internet access which of course includes email.

I knew SSB meant single side band, but I had no clue about frequencies or bands. I think I was using my spiral notebook for a pillow during this class.

I am not surprised SSB is dead. Between cell phones and a VHF, I was rarely out of range of the office a decade ago. With Satcom's and cell phones, there are cheap and relatively secure communications for long and short range. It's no surprise SSB is squeezed out. I knew of only two being used a decade ago; one tug running offshore had one with which it talked to the dispatcher.

When you first posted this I thought you meant this:

http://www.popeilfamilystore.com/ppf.html