TOPIC: Marine VHF/HF radios?

friends,

over the last couple of weeks (including at an antique boat show that i attended last weekend), i've been asked about:
1. SHOULD I BUY a Marine "2-way" radio?
2. if so, WHICH marine radio(s)should a recreational boater have,
3. do i need a license?
and
4. how do i know what to buy, without getting "ripped off"?
(i'm both a ham radio operator & state militia officer, so i get a lot of these questions referred to me by the AG's commo NCO.)

let me first say that i am FAR from an expert on boat restoration/repair, engine repair/maintainence & a lot of other boating subjects
but
i do know a good bit about:
1. what kinds of radios to buy to assure your safety,
2. what is "a waste of money",
3. generally, where to get a "good deal" on radios/antennas,
4. which antenna(s) & coaxial cable to buy,
5. how to properly install VHF/HF marine radios & antennas yourself
and
6. how to avoid "getting ripped off" by salesmen.

fwiw, i'm NOT "in the business" & do NOT sell VHF/HF commo equipment, so i can give you "neutral advice", if you want any.

yours, satx

I carry a handheld Icom water resistant VHF radio in my boating bag. It's been a great radio, given what little use it gets. IMHO, you shouldn't need to install one in anything under 25 ft, unless you are doing some serious off shore stuff on a regular basis.

thetudor,

that's what makes horse-races.

i do NOT trust ANY VHF handheld transceiver out of sight of land.

make mine a 25watt, permanently installed, "brand-name" VHF transceiver, with at least RG8U coax, feeding a half-wave mobile antenna, anytime that i'm out of sight of land.- to me handhelds are OK in rivers, lakes, creeks & harbors.
(my current VHF is an "old school" Motorola Poseiden.)

just my opinion.

yours, satx

I use a hand held Marine VHF radio as I'm not out far from land. Handy since it can go from boat to boat.

satx78247 wrote:

make mine a 25watt, permanently installed, "brand-name" VHF transceiver, with at least RG8U coax, feeding a half-wave mobile antenna, anytime that i'm out of sight of land.- to me handhelds are OK in rivers, lakes, creeks & harbors.
(my current VHF is an "old school" Motorola Poseiden.)

just my opinion.

yours, satx

I agree. For both our VHF and GPS/depth electronics we purchased extra mounts,transducers,quick disconnects,etc which makes them somewhat portable and transferable from boat to boat.

kensikora,

there are certainly "handy" for that sort of work.

yours, satx

Oceans2,

fwiw, i must have a half-dozen 25w VHF radios in my storage locker. - i get them off junked boats & my buddy, Michael, repairs them to like new condition, as he is THE guru on mobile radios around here.

yours, satx

Since the marine VHF radio's are line of sight it may not be worth while for most inland boaters. The King Cat antennas are 28' off the water and I can normally reach about 30 miles. The Coast Guard weather is not very good by todays standards. I get my weather before going out online, Sirus weather on the water, the radar gets used mainly for spotting feeding birds. A VHF radio can come in handy for many things. If you loose power or sink a fancy radio mounted is not going to be much good. A radio is an important item to have in a ditch bag, one of many. A GPS is very important also, if you reach someone on the radio it's nice to be able to tell them where you are and which direction you are drifting. We also have an EPERB on the King Cat. The best thing you can do don't cost anything. Tell someone where you are going and when you'll be back, a float plan. Cruise in groups, crossing to the Bahamas is about 70 miles. Part of the trip you cannot pickup a shore station, everyone crosses in groups. Unlike a cell phone you do not need to be in range of a tower to use a VHF radio, justin range of another radio. We use a Raymarine 280 on the main helm and the remote on the flybridge. They work great, even have a feature on the chartpotter that marks boats location every time they key their mike.

CAT*FIN*k,et.al.,

fwiw, i regard "crossing to the Bahamas" in ANY of our Fiberglassics as HIGHLY UNWISE, if not downright SUICIDAL.

fyi, i once had a BIG Owens "woodie" sedan & i would have been quite willing to"convoy" over there but NOT without a marine HF SSB like an ICOM M-802, with a HIGH QUALITY marine NVIS antenna.

just my opinion, satx

If you are going to be out of sight of land, that changes things. I've done enough ocean sailing to get that and the larger installed stuff is the best way to go.

Most of the boats here are runabouts and pocket cruisers that probably will never be and should never be out of sight of land (I mean over the horizon, not counting fog, etc). For that situation, I would think a hand held VHF would be adequate. I carry a handheld and my iPhone (in a Pelican box) with me every time I go out. That gives me multiple ways to communicate with someone, should I need to. My glassics are all inshore or lake bound so I feel OK about it.

thetudor,

fwiw, i've been frequently 15-30 NM out into our Gulf to chase wahoo, kings, ling, BIG sharks, etc. "to the car bodies" & off-shore oil rigs BUT i would NOT try going out into the Atlantic and/or the Bahamas in an open fishing boat.
(in my younger & MUCH more reckless days/DAZE, i've been "out to the rigs" in an 18' Lone Star with a pair of 40HP OBs!)

yours, satx

I use a portable Handheld VHF- And my Cell phone. In my boating area, the cell phone is really a better means of general communication, because the vast majority of boats here, with the exception of the larger ones, are NOT radio equipped... The cell phone comes in handy.

BUT, the VHF is there for emergencies. Those who I would NEED to get in contact with are radio equipped (Coast Guard, Local Marine Patrol, TowBoat US...) and the VHF would survive a dunking if the boat sinks, unlike the cell phone!

In my area, I don't think that a fixed mount VHF would really offer any great advantages. The widest part of 'my' lake is about 2 miles, I can just yell if I have to

-Andrew

Andgott,

fyi, there are doggone few cell towers out where i do most of my fishing!

IF i was fishing rivers/lakes in TN & no place else, i probably wouldn't have a marine VHF, either!

yours, satx