August 10, 2017 – SSCA announces new licensee supporting the daily “KPK” SSB net
The Seven Seas Cruising Association has welcomed James T. West III (Jim) to its High Frequency Radio Service, widely known as KPK. Jim is a former full-time liveaboard cruiser and now lives in Ellijay, Georgia. Jim is an avid amateur radio operator, call sign WA4YBC, who regularly volunteers his time on both the Waterway Radio & Cruising Club (Waterwayradio.net) and the Maritime Mobile Service Net (mmsn.org) .
Jim was recently granted Coastal Service License call sign KJM by the FCC, authorizing him to transmit on maritime SSB frequencies from his home high in the Georgia mountains.
Jim joins the ranks of Chris Parker, call sign WCY; Dick Giddings, call sign KNC; and Glenn Tuttle; SSCA’s HF Station KPK, all authorized to communicate with boats via SSB radio from land based stations. All of these stations are committed to assisting cruisers in any type of emergency situation. CSSN is proud to partner with the SSCA to bring this valuable service to the cruising community.
SSCA’s HF Radio Service operates 7 days a week on SSB frequency 8104 KHz at 1215 hrs UTC or 0815 hrs AST.
The purpose of this service is to:
1. Pass emergency & priority traffic, as well as traffic related to safety and security.
2. Provide current news updates of interest to cruisers from such sources as the Caribbean Safety & Security Net, Noonsite, The Salty Southeast Cruisers Net, Caribbean Compass, Bahamas Chatter and others.
3. And to provide any vessels needing assistance with land based resources.
“KPK” can assist with radio checks, float plans, telephone contact with family & friends, boat to boat relays, access to medical or mechanical professionals, marinas, Internet searches, or any other assistance that may be provided.
Through the partnership with the Caribbean Safety & Security Net, any report of a safety & security nature occurring in the Caribbean made to KPK is provided to the CSSN. Likewise, any recent incident posted on the CSSN website will be announced during this broadcast. Although KPK is a service provided by the SSCA, all vessels are welcome and encouraged to participate in this daily service net.
Tune in (8104 at 0815 AST) and support this valuable resource, relays are always welcome!