Pactor Modems for SSB communication

[Zanshin]

Has anyone here used the Pactor 4 protocol and the Pactor Dragon 7800 modem yet? It has been around for over a year and the technology is most likely solid, but the surcharge above and beyond the Pactor 3 modems is pretty hefty and I'm debating which of the STS modems to get.

[Rhapsody-NS27]

I don't have a Dragon or anything with P4. I have a SCS PTCIIUSB for P3 and love it. I think I saw something recently that they repackaged it (the USB version) into a smaller case now. I did know a couple people who did upgrade their equipment with the Dragon and heard it works very well and still compatible with P3 and earlier modes. The SCS modems do cost quite a bit but their very well built and work great for many digital modes.

Which ever SCS modem you get, I'm sure you will be satisfied with it.

[Zanshin]

The old 106x series is discontinued and they now offer the 107x series. In addition, they've packaged the Dragon into a smaller "lite" version with a somewhat more acceptable price tag, but I haven't been able to figure out the actual differences between the two dragon models as it applies to using the Pactor for offshore digital communications. SailMail seems to have adopted the Pactor 4 modems, which might make that a better option given the theoretically faster speeds and limited airtime.