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KISS-SSB grounding package review?

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kiss-ssb
14K views 23 replies 12 participants last post by  SVAuspicious 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi,
We know of two cruisers that are currently using this product. We are sending out emails to see how they like it. One couple is on a sail boat just like ours

KISS-SSB grounding package
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This seems like a great product. It would seem to make the grounding process much simpler.
As I see so far the grounding seems like the only complicated or real hassle part of the SSB installation.
Now the pricing of the system for email a different story :)
We have done the other half already, that is we installed a new back stay as that was the only part of our standing rigging that needed replacing. Guess it is how you look at it but we were lucky there. When we had it replaced we had the SSB insulators installed on the back stay.
The pricing seems very reasonable on this product also.
Has anyone used this and are ther anything we shoud be aware of on this SSB antenna grounding system before we purchase it?
We are divided so far on getting our technical ham license so we can use Winmail for free instead of paying for Sail Mail but I am not sure if this grounding would influence that on radio frequencies yet.
Thanks,
Chip
 
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#2 ·
I've used the KISS for the past 18 months on my latest boat and I have had no problems. This was my second radio installation of my own and have helped a couple of others install their radios. The KISS sure made the installation of the ground easy.

I have a P3 modem and use Winlink. I've had no problems at all
 
#3 ·
Hmmmm a little suspicious here on the system, in the Amateur Radio World (HAM) theres a 1001 companies selling a "counterpoise system" thats great for all bands. Ranging from wires, like this to artificial earths (really just a very large variable capacitor), it says it works from 2mhz to 28mhz, so the longest wire in there should be a 1/4 wave for 2mhz, so thats about 75 metres long........

Dont want to stir up a wasp nest here, but knowing HF as I do, at certain times, anything works, the QRP boys (low power, 5watts and less transmit power) work the world. A local one lives in a tiny house and even smaller garden and you wouldnt know he was a HAM because his antenna is in the house roof. His system a long wire for the antenna (like a boats backstay) and a series of 1/4 wave wires for a grounding. So a similar system, but his system uses speaker wire, total cost about $10.

As for the cutting to length if you want to know the wave length 300/frequency in Mhz i.e, 300/14mhz = 21mtrs or 300/28mhz = 10.7mtrs so all you need is a 1/4 of these lengths.

It will work and you will need an ATU (aerial tunning unit) but it will work, how well, how longs a piece of wire :)

Good luck and I hope it works well for you all, if you have space theres plenty of HAM antennas out there which dont need a countrpoise, 6mtrs long they cover 2mhz - 50mhz with no ATU. I have just bought one and installed it on the stainless and yes it works fine. Is it perfect NO, could it be better, YES but it works but for now I have 2 systems, just incase one fails.

Still interested in hearing your oppionions of the system if you decide to buy and install one.

Gus
 
#5 ·
Hi,
Carl Nichols called me back from KISS-SSB and we had a long talk. He was quite informative.
Of course he is a sales man and so I need to take that into account.
He said he has sold over 2000 and none have come back (free 30 day return policy).
He also said there is a favorable article coming out on the KISS-SSB in Blue Water Sailing rag.
Some other rag also.
Bottom line is we are about to purchase the ICOM 802\Pactor and this KISS-SSB.
I will post the results here and you can also see the details on our blog.
Thanks,
Chip
s/v Elegant'sea IF36-B

http://elegantsea.blogspot.com/
 
#6 ·
Chip, a lot of people don't think the KISS is all that great, or that the KISS just plain can't work. I have to admit, I was a skeptic as well. But I got my hands on one to try for free and I figured what the heck. Might as well give it a try. I was surprised on how well it worked, on all bands. I use Winlink with the KISS for 18 months now with not a hitch, and never had a problem loading to any band. On my last boat, I used a copper foil to a thru-hull. This was recommended by Gordon West when I took his class. It worked fine, but the tuner seems to load a snap faster when I used the KISS instead.

I'm just up the road in L.A., so if you have any questions, you can always give a holler, or you can give a call on your M802 once it is in! I regularly use the Winlink station in San Diego (I believe it is at SDYC), so I know I can reach you!
 
#7 ·
There's tons of controversy on this and other Boards re: the KISS-SSB radial ground system.

Lots of discordant views on antenna theory, whether or not it should work, whether or not you could build one yourself for less money, why it works, etc. Great for armchair theorists and do-it-yourselfers.

However, there's absolutely no doubt that:

1. it works well, as advertised, on all ham and marine bands;

2. it's very nicely constructed in a fashion suitable for the marine environment; and

3. it's incredibly easy to install.

I've installed a bunch of them on all kinds of boats, and have one on my own boat. I have three at the moment in my basement, and used one just this morning -- all coiled up and sitting on the cement floor -- to test an automatic tuner on the bench.

Every single installation has worked well, including one where the only room for it was a small footlocker, where it was coiled up under the shoes.

Are there other RF ground solutions? You bet, and I've written extensively about them and have tried just about everything imaginable over the past several decades.

However, for simplicity, ease of installation, and downright good performance I don't think you can go wrong with the KISS-SSB.

Disclosure #1
: I'm a dealer for the KISS.

Disclosure #2: The KISS is not a profit center for me. I carry them because I believe in them and find them to be a good solution for many of my clients.

Bill
 
#11 ·
Bill, pls email me: cfox at rogers dot com.
Thanks
 
#8 ·
Repeat Bill's disclaimers for me, except I have five in stock. *grin*

The KISS-SSB has worked as well for me and my customers as hand-built counterpoises and much lower prices to the customer. MUCH lower prices. You might be able to meet the performance building one yourself and beat the price, but you won't beat the performance and if you have to pay someone like Bill or me to build it for you then you will lose.
 
#10 ·
Wish I had known about these a couple of years ago before stringing all that darned copper sheeting through the bilge, trying to attach it to all the fittings. It works well but it sure would have been easier to just plug in a gizmo.
 
#13 ·
I was going to go the expanded copper route, then i looked at the material cost and decided to give the KISS a try. At very worst, if it didn't work, I would go ahead and install the copper anyway, use it in conjunction with the KISS, and only add ~$100 to the total cost. I felt it was worth the gamble to save some big bucks and even bigger headaches. It works like a charm, was simple to install, saved loads on materials and has gotten me 32,000nm and half way around the world without so much as a hiccup. Highly recommended!

**Absolutely NO affiliation with KISS other than being a happy customer**
 
#14 ·
Installed a KISS SSB system in the BVI last year and it has worked well with my M802 for all services including with the Pactor. Now in Grenada until the spring and am using it for several purposes Marine and Ham. I know of more than a few dozen other actively using cruisers through out the Caribbean that have and are regularly using the system and no one has reported ever having a problem. I'm sure you could mess around and fab some similar unit if your time is worthless..... it may even work but chances are it will not work better and longer in adverse conditions in real cruising service around the world as the KISS SSB has shown it can.
 
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#16 · (Edited)
Yep, it simply works! And, it's built to withstand the rigors of the marine environment.

I've got several years of experience now using, installing, selling the KISS radial ground system on many motor and sailboats. They all worked just fine.

As I've said repeatedly, this is definitely NOT the best possible RF ground system. However, for most folks it's a perfectly adequate one, and there's not doubt that it's by far the easiest to install.

The earlier comment about "no financial interest" is a joke. Yes, I'm a dealer for the KISS, but it's certainly not a profit center for me. It's the ONLY product for which I am a dealer, and I carry it mostly for the convenience of my customers.

What about all the naysayers and "tests" which purport to show the KISS "isn't resonant" or "isn't any better than a length of wire 14' long"? I'm not saying you should discount these reports completely, but what I am saying is that our understanding of RF grounding systems in use on a boat with random-length end-fed antennas (usually the insulated backstay or a whip) is definitely not complete.

About the only thing we CAN say with some confidence is:

1. It's definitely not the best possible RF ground system; and

2. It definitely works pretty well for the many hundreds of marine installations we know of, both in terms of ease of installation, tuning and in radiated power.

Every day I talk to and listen to boats which I know have these systems on both the ham bands and the marine bands; most all of them seem to have signals comparable to other boats using more traditional RF grounding systems.

FWIW,

Bill
WA6CCA
 
#17 ·
A quick question re the kiss counterpoise. If I purchase one and install - but do not have an insulated backstay (and cannot afford one) - can I literally just hoist an insulated wire up the mast? Or what might be a reasonably priced antenna for a hundred bucks or less? It's a ham system - Icom 718 and AH-4 tuner I bought used. Trying to figure this out on my own has been a whirlwind of info. Any thoughts appreciated thanks.
 
#20 ·
Thank you both for prompt replies. I just hoisted about 48 ft of insulated copper wire (12 awg) that I had a spool of. I ran it up alongside a halyard, using a few clamps to keep the wire stable and somewhat taut. I went up the stern, keeping away from backstay, stopping about 6 ft short of top of mast. At deck, I did wrap it a few times around a SS stanchion before dropping it into an aft lazarette and connecting it to the AH-4 tuner. As a temp counterpoise, I cut an old 50' extension cord in half and ran the two 25' lengths forward and down below, keeping them parallel but at least 4-6' apart. Then I grounded the radio to a bronze thru hull w SS hose clamp. Should that theoretically be working?

Yes, surprising I passed both the tech and general tests. For me, quite a learning curve and all of this new. I'm not a techie but wanting to understand obviously. So much info out on the internet thats both useful but also completely contradictory. Thanks for any patience and suggestions for this no budget newbie.
 
#21 · (Edited)
Then I grounded the radio to a bronze thru hull w SS hose clamp. Should that theoretically be working?
I'm with you on all but this. Hose clamps don't make good electrical connectors. Drill and tap a small hole and crimp a ring terminal (or use copper strap with a hole) to bolt the ground to the thru-hull.
 
#23 · (Edited)
I would say you are good with a hose clamp. Your RF ground system should work. I understand you wrapped the long wire antenna around a stanchion. I would not do that. The RF from the antenna will get grounded. you could tie a line to the stanchion and then to the antenna wire to insulate it from the ground. Even though your antenna wire is insulated- this is not a RF insulator.
 
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