KISS-SSB in Media
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Full one page testimonial for one of the most famous cruising magazines, Latitude & Attitudes Winter edition 2019/2020, tested and written by Mr. Bob Bitchin himself. In this article Bob shares his direct results of using our KISS-SSB for over ten years with perfect results. In his words he states: After years of using copper foil through out the bilge he came across the KISS-SSB ground plane. A simple-to-install, no-maintenance ground plane that made it so my SSB was actually clear. |
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Check out the June, 2012 issue of the Blue Water Sailing Magazine
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Captain Marti Browns 2nd edition of SSB for Idy-yachts with two full pages dedicated to the KISS-SSB |
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Commander Terry Sparks new edition of Icom IC-M802 is now out with a few pages dedicated to the KISS-SSB
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The KISS-SSB is proudly represented at the coveted site of NEMA™ (National Marine Electronics Association)
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KISS-SSB™ Customer Testimonials
Va7uw <[email protected]> 15:03 6/26/17 (17 hours ago) Hello again, Figured I'd give you an update, I got my KISS Ground Plane last week, did a make-shift install with my AH-4 tuner in the lazerette of my steel sailboat, the Ground Plane running along a shelf beside it, and a 14Ga wire running up my mizzen mast as an antenna. I've noticed a 4Db increase in RX signals, and a considerable increase in TX ability! I even connected to an Australia winlink on Pactor 3 on 20m at about 10 at night local time! I've never connected to that system EVER!! And I had my radio turned down from 150 watts to 25 watts!! I'll be showing off this system as often as I can!! Thanks so much for such a simple, easy install, and incredibly advantageous system! Cheers, Mike Christensen Subsurface Dynamics
Thank you Mike for going out of your way to send us a very nice testimonial! We must admit that the naysayers have nearly disappeared but their ugly comments online stay for ever on the internet, the strange thing is that not one person that used or tried the KISS-SSB was ever unhappy (nearly 8,000 sold now) but the few old ignorant ones that just assumed the KISS would not work years ago had to get on their soap box and complain. One of them was the owner of Sailmail / Winlink (Stan Honey) of all people. But we figured out why, his main tech guy (Shay Westin) also owns a boat repair yard in San Diego and of course makes a lot more money on haul-outs and ground plate installations so he poo poos the KISS that only costs $150 and 45 minutes of labor. You would think that he of all people would promote easy SSB installations and see more customers using his Sailmail / Winlink sites? I love it when I hear just how simple people like you just raised a piece of copper wire and used the KISS for nearly perfect antenna/Ground Plane match, That is what ham radio is about! Ten years ago we were not sure if we should call the KISS-SSB just that, but now we are glad we did, keep it simple stupid is so very much appropriate. Thanks again, and now go enjoy Paradise! Carl Nichols RadioTeck / KISS-SSB
Hello and good day. 10/12/15 I recently purchased a KISS-SSB and installed it on my Tayana 55 Honalee. I am located in Guna Yala (San Blas), Panama and did tests with a station in Tampa, FL. Before installation of the KISS my tuner was grounded to the ship's bonding system which included the tanks, mast, rudder, etc. I was told that my signal was good and I was readable. I then hooked up the Kiss and disconnected the bonding system and I was told that my signal came up. That should have made me satisfied but the biggest improvement was the elimination of the background noise on the SSB by not being connected to the bonding system which added noise from the solar panels, wind generator, inverter and lighting! I am very happy with my purchase and will no longer have to crawl around the hull cutting my hands and knees installing/replacing copper foil! Allen Badner sv Honalee Guna, Yala, Panama
To RadioTeck / KISS-SSB 8/14/15 I wanted to let you guys know about something many of us cruisers were discussing over drinks. There were 8 of us talking and 5 of us use the KISS-SSB for our ground plane, 3 use the cooper foil to a copper plate. Five of us feel that the KISS-SSB works perfectly, we decided for the fun of it to test it against the conventional copper foil and dynaplate. Three of us took and disconnected the copper foil and dynaplate and connected a KISS-SSB in it’s place and tested it with another cruiser 450 miles away from us, in all three tests the KISS-SSB was heard with a stronger signal and the reception improved. We then proceeded to switch back and forth between the two on all three boats to make sure it was not just propagation, and every time the KISS-SSB worked better. The reason we did this testing is that one of us had been talked out of using the KISS-SSB by Offshore Outfitters in San Diego, Shea Weston, and was told it would not work with Sailmail, thus charged an arm and a leg for copper foil, a haul out and a dynaplate, thousands over and above the cost of using the KISS-SSB. Guess what, even that boat had significant better results with the KISS-SSB ground plane. We then connected up his fresh copper foil and tried to connect up to a Sailmail station in New Zealand and it would not connect up, we then quickly disconnected the copper foil and connected up the KISS-SSB and was able to connect up to the New Zealand station and at a decent speed rate. We will pass the word on how installing companies are attacking, and being dishonest to cruisers wanting a working SSB onboard by saying that your KISS-SSB does not work and that they need to spend thousands of dollars more for the copper foil and dynaplate system. Keep up the good work and great customer service, we’ll pass the word for you!! William Marns, S/V Shasta
I felt compelled to write you back and let you know that my wife and I couldn't be happier with your KISS grounding system. We removed all the corroded copper foil, it makes everything under the sole boards look so much better now without all that clutter. It only took about twenty minutes to install your Kiss-ssb system, and it presents itself very well. We have an Icom 802 onboard and a built in SWR meter, after testing on most SSB channels we found that not only did your system work as well as you advertised, but it worked even better. All frequencies were 1.2 to 1 or better. I was talking to a friend later that afternoon on 6A and before I even told him of my new ground plane system he stated that my signal was really good and that the audio was better than what he was used to hearing from my rig. I went on to tell him about your system and he said that he is going to contact you for one himself. Even faster connection speed to Sailmail too! Thanks for delivering a product that lives up to it's advertised words and is reasonably priced. We will help you pass the word and wish the best for you getting your wonderful product in the mainstream. In this day and age it is very refreshing to be so pleased. Mike Blount, Pensacola, FL
Wholly Cow, what a difference, my radio is thanking you!! My poor old radio that I was about to replace, most certainly is grateful, almost as much as my wallet! After years of using an older SEA SSB transceiver, that always ran hot and the signal was always one of the worst out there, other boaters are asking if I have a new radio. It was a pleasant experience to rip all of that old copper foil out, and as soon as we do a haul-out remove the Dynaplate. Installing your KISS system was a very simple few minutes and I must admit, the name says it all. My radio runs cooler and people are saying that I have a very strong signal, what more could I ask for. Keep up the good work, and thanks for keeping the price down. Robert K. San Diego
I do not normally ever write a company back, but I want to say thank you for spending the time with me on the phone and giving me so much of a better understanding of my Marine SSB antenna system. It took me nearly two hours to remove all the old copper foil, and then only 20 minutes to install the KISS SSB system. I tuned in most all of the SSB channels and am very pleased with the results, just like you said everyone was 1.2 to 1 or better. I called a friend after I installed the KISS that lives on his boat nearly 500 miles away and while we were on our cell phones we made contact on the 8A channel of the SSB. I could hear my own voice that he was receiving on his ssb on my cell phone, it was strong and clear. Thank you very much for your support and such a great product that really does work well. The KISS works better than a dynaplate and costs less. Thank You ! Brian Hebner, Pensacola, FL
Considering all the gloom and doom in todays economy it has been a pleasure to use and install a product that works perfectly, it was simple to install and saved me money and time. You guys did name this product spot-on. I'll pass the word, it's KISS-SSB. George D. Maine
I am a full time fisherman off of the coast of Maine. Our SSB radio is our lifeline to land when we are out there. After years of fighting the old copper foil and two bronze plates that just seem to want to be self-destructive it has been a pleasure to eliminate all of that and just put in one of your simple KISS radial systems. When I am out fishing sometimes for weeks I make a daily contact with my wife at home on the SSB there, every time we talk now she just keeps saying how nice and strong our signal is. The other boats are also saying how much better our signal is, I am sure you will hear from them. Thank you for a great product, if you come this way I've got a lobster for you. Mike Long
I have a complaint, after all these years, and many boats with copper bonding ground planes why is this just now available? It's good to see that we still have good ole human inginuity, your KISS ground plane system is the best thing since sliced limes for a Corona. I would suggest that you guys promote the KISS system to the 170 some boats that do the annual Baja-Ha-Ha, there was sure a lot of boats in that fleet that had some weak signals in the daily roll-call. We are setting to do the "Puddle-Jump" in a few weeks and it is nice to know that our radio is working so well now that we scrapped the copper bonding system and put in a KISS-SSB. As a lady 2nd mate it is a nice peace of mind knowing that we have a radio that can reach out 1,000's of miles. Keep up the good work. Linda H. S/V Sabatical
I felt compelled to write you guys and let you know just how pleased we are with our KISS-SSB ground plane system. If you recall our problem was with not being able to use our autopilot while we were on the SSB radio as it would upset our set direction and the autopilot would steer off course. With that being said that meant that every time we went to pick up weather or checked in with a cruising net someone had to hand steer for up to a half an hour sometimes. Now that we have done away with the copper foil and bronze plate system and changed over to using your KISS-SSB radial system our autopilot doesn’t skip a beat and we no longer have to hand steer when we are on the radio. Plus our contacts that we make daily have all told us that our signal is nice and strong. We are sure our signal strength is maybe even better now when we connect up to Sailmail, we now get a lot faster connection. Thanks for putting out a well made product that lives up to everything you promised ! Bill H. New York
Got your KISS SSB Ground Plane earlier this year and finally had a chance to try it out both in San Diego and also in Mexican waters. I was coming through "loud and clear" to several contacts on 40 meters which were in TX, CO, NV and So. Cal. while at the Police Guest Docks on Shelter Island, San Diego Bay. In Mexican waters , off the Baja Coast and south of Ensenada, I was "5 and 8" in the southwest part of the states.Just wanted to let you know it was working great. I had been worried about the limited space I had below the cockpit floor of my small sailboat (Cape Dory 25) but apparently the installation, though simple enough, was adequate for some great transmissions!I run an Icom 700 series transceiver through an Icom Antenna Tuner AH-4 and then to my insulated backstay. Thanks for a great product. Feel free to use this email in any promotions or recommendations Sincerely,.One very happy customer! Dana Vincentsv "Gladys Erzella"Cape Dory 25, 1977 Hull #541 San Diego
Bay Hi: Just wanted to let you know that the new KISS-SSB ground plane I installed this season is working very well. My SSB was able to reach out better than ever during the Bermuda Race this year.. Much better than when I first installed the unit in 2003 using that dumb copper foil grounded to the fuel tank and engine. When I ripped out the old copper foil it looked liked Swiss cheese with holes everywhere! My SSB struggled to get a signal out a year after the initial install and now I can understand why. Thank you for your great product. Regards, Hiro
We are just back from a trip to Maui and back to Seattle on our little 35 foot race boat, Terremoto! The race over was grueling. Susan broke 4 ribs early on but wouldn’t let us stop. We pressed on with just 3 able bodied crew and won! We were the first boat to cross the finish line. The smallest boat in the history of the race to win line honors and the 8th fastest of the 22 races run before us. It was a great climax to the 12 months of preparation that proceeded our finish. I am telling you all of this because we had your KISS counter poise as part of our SSB system. The KISS worked perfectly. We were often the boat relaying messages from others because our SSB radio with the KISS counter poise worked so well. The radio boat on the Vic Maui race said they could hear us better than 99% of the other boats. Our boat was the smallest in the race. So, weight was a huge consideration. The KISS allowed us to save a lot of weight by not having to install copper sheets in the bilge. If we would have installed 100 sq ft of metal in our carbon fiber boat, which was built to be super light, it would have reduced our advantage significantly. Anyway, thanks again for all your assistance during the installation process. We couldn’t have been happier with the results of the radio – and the race ;-) Scott and Susan Terremoto! First to Finish the 2010 Vic Maui Race http://team-moto.org
Hi Carl, As promised, I said I would give your KISS-SSB a try and let you know how it worked out. I've finished up the radio install and gave the radio a little workout. I kept in mind that I was in the middle of the marina area, and typically the reception isn't worth snot, so I really wasn't expecting much. Boy was I surprised. I use an ICOM M802 and a Pactor III modem in my setup. The radio tuned on all bands in under three seconds and all the contacts reported very clear signals. And I was even able to send an email through the Winlink station in San Diego on 40 meters. I never was able to do that one the old boat with the foil to a thru hull as my ground. On the first set of trials, I had no flashing lights on the electrical panel. Funny thing happened when I switched out all my G4 bulbs with LED replacements. One or two of the cabin lights will flicker. And it changes which bulb flickers with the band being used. Only happened on a rainy day, so I'll have to see what happens on our next sunny day on the boat. Good news is that should be tomorrow. But either way, I have far less RFI and a better signal out, and couldn't be more pleased with the KISS-SSB. That other Karl who spells his name correctly... Karl Kirkman S/V Maka Le'a
I've now had some time to use the KISS Ground Plane for a bit and test it with airmail, jvcomm32 and just using the radio.It performs flawlessly. Thanks so much for creating such an easily installed device that works so well. Ken
David and Donna sykidnapper 4/13/12 Hi I have just finished installing one of your KISS-SSB ground planes into my wooden yacht, here in Mooloolaba, Queensland Australia. It is so good to see the old corroding copper strap gone. I gave Taupo Maritime Radio in New Zealand a call on 16 megs, they said that I had a very strong signal. Wow I am impressed, as I normally have a great deal of trouble raising them from here in the marina. A fantastic product. I will certainly be spreading the word. Cheers
