reception on a cruise ship

[JH_Radio]

so what kinda Am/FM reception have people gotten on cruise ships? can you aircheck from one? is the fact that you are on the ocean really good for DX? is there any daytime listening?
I'm curious.
I've done airplains so knoe reception doesn't stay long, but not a cruise.

 

[crainbebo]

For AM, a cruise ship, inside, will not let ANY RECEPTION IN! You will have to go outside on the deck to do DX. I've heard stories of great DX off the coast of Mexico, and KR4BD went to Bermuda and caught many good stations at night and a few in the day.

FM, once you get a couple of hundred miles out of anywhere, nothing will come in. Within 200 miles - probably some interesting stuff.

-crainbebo

 

[jh]

I remember hearing a local FM in the cabin while in port, I think St. Thomas, USVI. You can get some interesting things on deck on AM. But there will probably be significant RFI from stuff on the ship. I remember hearing a lot of the stations from throughout the Caribbean during the daytime. I really don't remember what I heard at night... I think I picked up some stations from the US mainland, but it was so long ago, I can't remember what stations.

I was on 5 cruises in the 90s, none since. I took a radio on the first one. The others, I didn't. I guess I found the activities on the ship more interesting than DXing.

 

[purpledevil]

I just returned from a cruise last month on the Elation, which leaves the Port of New Orleans. I was really excited to take my handheld radio with me just for the DX experience over the open waters. I was thoroughly disappointed. Once you lose New Orleans, that's all she wrote until you get close enough to Cozumel to pick up their 4 or 5 FM stations. The AM band had so much static and interference there was nothing remotely traceable or worth listening for. Completely discouraging. Farthest reaching station out in the Gulf leaving from New Orleans was B 97 @ 97.1.

 

[JH_Radio]

What format is it and how far out did it last? any idea of how many miles away? was it night time or daytime listening you are refering too

 

[purpledevil]

What format is it and how far out did it last? any idea of how many miles away? was it night time or daytime listening you are refering too

CHR, John. I could pick it up on my handheld probably 150 miles out, maybe 175. It was hard for me to tell how far we had travelled, that is until I found the channel in the cabin that gave away all of that information. Also this was during the day and early evening that I was scanning. During the first night, I was taking in the shows and making quite the fool of myself on the karaoke.

The following morning, when I got up on deck around 8am, I couldn't get the scan to stop on anything, so I manually tuned and found only a scratchy WEZB @ 97.1 which was still listenable. I won't lie, the problem is that I'm too old for today's music so I went back to listening to one of my mp3's playlists and didn't check the air again until after lunch. At that point, everything was blank on FM until we were within maybe an hour or hour and a 1/2 from the port in Cozumel the next morning.

 

[cyberdad]

Not a cruise ship, but my brother-in-law is captain of 98-foot yacht that he help design and build in 2004. Since then, he and my sister had invited me on board during one of the (frequent) periods when the owner and his family aren't using the boat. I finally got to take them up on it last year.

I was expecting great DX, but the reality was just the opposite. The radar, sonar, and other electronics create a ridiculous noise level on deck....while below deck, the superstructure blocks all AM signals. Even if you're within sight of the stick. I've heard the cruise ships are pretty much the same thing, except that you might be able to get physically far enough away from the noise to hear something.

That has actually been my experience on the ferries that run from Vancouver to Sydney (Victoria), BC. The journey lasts a little more than 90 minutes, and outside on the top decks reception is pretty good. These are big boats and very comfortable . They hold over 600 cars, and IIRC, can also handle about 2,500 people on their 3 or 4 decks. (Great views, too).

 

[JH_Radio]

So if you are outside on the deck then you'll do better?

 

[KR4BD]

I have done considerable DXing on cruise ships with excellent results. Here are some rules I follow for best results:

1. Don't even attempt to DX from your room. It is no more than a Faraday Shield where signals will not penetrate. Even the outside balcony will Not be good for AM reception, but may allow some FM reception.

2. Find a quiet spot on an upper deck with nothing above you. I like to stand along a railing away from any metallic objects above or around.

3. Be sure to locate where the ship's radar is located. GET AWAY FROM IT !!! Put some SERIOUS distance between you and it !!! If you can find a spot blocked by a bulkhead or wall and still be outside, with nothing overhead, try that spot.

4. Stay away from any of the ship's electrical systems.

5. Use a QUALITY radio with GOOD headphones (to block all ambient noise from the ship/ocean).

I have taken my Tecsun PL-606 all over Europe, The Caribbean, Central/South America, Trans-Atlantic and Pacific oceans with GREAT results.

Good luck....

 

[BigDave]

You can catch stations up on deck but nothing in the cabins(My prior experience)

 

[purpledevil]

So if you are outside on the deck then you'll do better?

With the FM's, sure, but that was expected. I never thought I'd pick anything up in my cabin, which was in the bowels of the ship, on level 4, but expected to hear more from the AM band up on the 12th level than I did. Others seem to differ in opinion. I had no luck with the AM band at all. Lots of electrical interference and hash. Of course as KR4BD pointed out, that could be attributed to my handheld as it is a $70 job from the neighborhood RadioShack, so take that for what it's worth. Glad to have seen his rules listed out though. Wish I'd have had that before the cruise. Never even thought about interference from the ship's radar. D'uh!

 

[K6JHU]

Try Dx from the upper deck of the Queen Mary in Long Beach harbor. Great reception of the LA stations

Seriously, if you are there, stop in and see the amateur radio setup they have in the old radio room. Fantastic.