Chosen according to navigational needs

In coastal Europe, the weather is broadcast, according to the areas and times, on the long wave (LW 150 to 250 KHz), short wave (MW from 530 to 1620 kHz) and frequency modulation (FM 88 to 105 MHz). To capture these frequency bands, a general public receiver is useful. For long range sailing, it is not enough. An MHF-SSB, receiver is a necessity, sensitive enough for fine tuning. Note that some receivers have an output for receiving the Navtex and weather charts on a computer.

The wideband receiver

The CROSS organisation have selected this mode of transmission tobroadcast, on the frequencies 2677KHz and 1696KHz, weather bulletins (with a range of about 250 miles) and for watching, the frequencies 2182 KHz and 2187.5 KHz. Note that outside the range of SSB transmissions, one may receive on short wave (4 to 16MHz, depending on the season,) very detailled bulletins broadcast by Radio France International (RFI.) The transmission frequency is variable (11700 KHz to 15575 KHz) depending on the season.
 

Sensitivity and antenna

For receiving SSB and RFI transmissions, it is necessary, not only to possess a sensitive receiver, allowing the adjustment of frequency, with a minimum of 1 KHz but also a quality antenna. At distance (more than 250 miles from the coast,0 the solutions adopted for the antenna include; isolated backstay; a wire antenna, to at least the level of the spreaders, or a whip (or active) antenna, on the balcony.