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I have been on a couple of offshore boats that have more than one VHF radios. I am going to be doing some offshore trips this year. Should I invest in another radio.
VHF Radios
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PARROTHEAD wrote:
I have been on a couple of offshore boats that have more than one VHF radios. I am going to be doing some offshore trips this year. Should I invest in another radio.
Yes absolutely; it's not really even acceptable to only have one radio even on an inshore boat, between the radio's, antenna's, and wiring VHF's are about the least reliable electronics we have on our boats and they often fail or work poorly.
Keep in mind though once you get about 15 miles away from land or the nearest boat VHF is useless and you need to employ a different technology.
If you run into questions about what type of VHF, it pretty much comes down to price range and your personal taste.
I'd reccomend pretty much anything permanent mount (ie 25 watt vs. 5 watt handhelds) that does DSG. On my boats I buy Uniden (they are also sold as "West Marine"), they work, are reliable, and have the features I want (ie submersible rated, programmable scan, with DSG and a manual squelch) for a good price - that model is about $150..
As far as antenna's, I'd reccomend buying the best you can in the length you want with a good quality stainless mount.. under $150 for an 8 ft and the mounts are under $50.. however with that said sometimes my cheaper antenna works better than the expensive one, which is pretty much the bottom line 8 ft. glass whip that you can get in a metal base..
Most of the time though the expensive antenna does work better and for the heavier guage wire it's equipped with alone, it's worth the added investment.
Jon
I have been on a couple of offshore boats that have more than one VHF radios. I am going to be doing some offshore trips this year. Should I invest in another radio.
Yes absolutely; it's not really even acceptable to only have one radio even on an inshore boat, between the radio's, antenna's, and wiring VHF's are about the least reliable electronics we have on our boats and they often fail or work poorly.
Keep in mind though once you get about 15 miles away from land or the nearest boat VHF is useless and you need to employ a different technology.
If you run into questions about what type of VHF, it pretty much comes down to price range and your personal taste.
I'd reccomend pretty much anything permanent mount (ie 25 watt vs. 5 watt handhelds) that does DSG. On my boats I buy Uniden (they are also sold as "West Marine"), they work, are reliable, and have the features I want (ie submersible rated, programmable scan, with DSG and a manual squelch) for a good price - that model is about $150..
As far as antenna's, I'd reccomend buying the best you can in the length you want with a good quality stainless mount.. under $150 for an 8 ft and the mounts are under $50.. however with that said sometimes my cheaper antenna works better than the expensive one, which is pretty much the bottom line 8 ft. glass whip that you can get in a metal base..
Most of the time though the expensive antenna does work better and for the heavier guage wire it's equipped with alone, it's worth the added investment.
Jon
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NewLove wrote:
at least a handheld.
As stated above I would not even count that as a backup for offshore use. Handhelds are only 5 watt and pretty much have 1/5 the range of a permanent mount. Good for within a couple miles of shore or kept in a ditch bag but useless otherwise.
I do keep one on my boat that's equipped with a floating case, however that's in addition to two permanent 25 watt units with 2 antennas.
Jon
This post edited by leakyrivot 09:54 PM 02/16/2008
at least a handheld.
As stated above I would not even count that as a backup for offshore use. Handhelds are only 5 watt and pretty much have 1/5 the range of a permanent mount. Good for within a couple miles of shore or kept in a ditch bag but useless otherwise.
I do keep one on my boat that's equipped with a floating case, however that's in addition to two permanent 25 watt units with 2 antennas.
Jon
This post edited by leakyrivot 09:54 PM 02/16/2008
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If you do get a handheld, get an adaptor so you can hook it up to your boat's VHF antenna. Aside from wattage, the antenna hieght on a hand-held is the biggest limiting factor. Five watts will get you sme decent distance on an eight foot antenna.
Jon, the Uniden/West Marine VHF's are the only radios that I have heard consistently negative feedback on.
Paul
Jon, the Uniden/West Marine VHF's are the only radios that I have heard consistently negative feedback on.
Paul
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CaptPaul wrote:
If you do get a handheld, get an adaptor so you can hook it up to your boat's VHF antenna. Aside from wattage, the antenna hieght on a hand-held is the biggest limiting factor. Five watts will get you sme decent distance on an eight foot antenna.
Jon, the Uniden/West Marine VHF's are the only radios that I have heard consistently negative feedback on.
Paul
Hi Paul,
What was the feedback?
The two problems I've run into have been the connectors the earlier ones were equipped with suck and rotted out; easy fix is just directly wiring the radio or using a 4-pin trailer plug. The new radio's have a new waterproof connector that doesn't seem to fail.
The other problem is on one radio, that literally got soaked in salt water quite a few times, the knobs stopped turning freely; that was corrected by WD40.
As far as performance I can't verify how well they really work compared to another brand, however they seem to have the range and clarity that everyone else does and never questioned it.
Jon
If you do get a handheld, get an adaptor so you can hook it up to your boat's VHF antenna. Aside from wattage, the antenna hieght on a hand-held is the biggest limiting factor. Five watts will get you sme decent distance on an eight foot antenna.
Jon, the Uniden/West Marine VHF's are the only radios that I have heard consistently negative feedback on.
Paul
Hi Paul,
What was the feedback?
The two problems I've run into have been the connectors the earlier ones were equipped with suck and rotted out; easy fix is just directly wiring the radio or using a 4-pin trailer plug. The new radio's have a new waterproof connector that doesn't seem to fail.
The other problem is on one radio, that literally got soaked in salt water quite a few times, the knobs stopped turning freely; that was corrected by WD40.
As far as performance I can't verify how well they really work compared to another brand, however they seem to have the range and clarity that everyone else does and never questioned it.
Jon
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Spare....
PARROTHEAD wrote:
I have been on a couple of offshore boats that have more than one VHF radios. I am going to be doing some offshore trips this year. Should I invest in another radio.
A spare radio and antenna is a very good idea if you are traveling out.
What you spend on a radio doesn't matter much, but the antenna does. No plastic ferrules. Galaxies (5225-?) and Digital antennas are very good.
If you find you are hearing too many one sided conversations out there, put your primary antenna on an extension. I use a 4 foot extension. Since the antennas range is line of sight and swells can reduce your range a lot when you are down in a trough, an extension can make a huge difference in improving your range.
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PARROTHEAD wrote:
I have been on a couple of offshore boats that have more than one VHF radios. I am going to be doing some offshore trips this year. Should I invest in another radio.
A spare radio and antenna is a very good idea if you are traveling out.
What you spend on a radio doesn't matter much, but the antenna does. No plastic ferrules. Galaxies (5225-?) and Digital antennas are very good.
If you find you are hearing too many one sided conversations out there, put your primary antenna on an extension. I use a 4 foot extension. Since the antennas range is line of sight and swells can reduce your range a lot when you are down in a trough, an extension can make a huge difference in improving your range.
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Grounding Plate
I would also check into installing a grounding plate for all your electronics. This boat I have know came with one installed already.
A direct ground can improve performance on almost anything, especially a VHF, also mentioned height and type of antena you use.
I would also check into installing a grounding plate for all your electronics. This boat I have know came with one installed already.
A direct ground can improve performance on almost anything, especially a VHF, also mentioned height and type of antena you use.
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17,059 Posts
If you are getting a new radio, look into the DSC capable ones.
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