Marine Radios Any Suggestions???

[Sawyer]

I'm Thinking about putting a Marine Radio in the new boat.
I have looked at some in cabella's but not ever having one i seek your advice.
Thanks.

[hard knox]

I have had my share of marine radios and well i do have a fixed radio aboard i also have a marine radio made by ICOM witch i really like it is more reliably ,it floats as well and will work when you are floating around in a life jacket !!! and will flash a light when in the water witch can help you locate it as well as you can be located in the dark better .It has 1 or 5 watt power output and is rechargeable and batter last a long time i clip to my pfd when lake Champlain is being nasty fixed radio is of no use if you get swamped .THEY HAVE GREAT REVIEWS AND ARE UNDER 200 BUCKS CK THEM OUT YOU BE HAPPY . PS MAKE CERTAIN IT HAS 5 WATT OUTPUT

[Sawyer]

i like the idea of a handheld as we have two boats

[FishnChef]

I have the cobra hh350 floating radio. Works well and has different power options as well. Ahout 100 bucks

[Sawyer]

so do the handhelds have the same reach as fixed radios

[BottomDollar]

so do the handhelds have the same reach as fixed radios

No, VHF is "line of sight" transmission. So an 8' antenna will have much greater range.

[digitroll (ron)]

I used a 3 feet antenna one time years ago thinking it would have similar range without this huge 8 ft antenna on my boat. What I found was using a smaller antenna like this had the range of about 3 miles. Instead of 20 miles with my 8 ft. Changed it back after 1 season. Especially on Lake Ontario I noticed this. I could imagine a handheld range is much less.

[drachma]

If someone really wanted a hand held for the convenience, they could always use an 8' antenna and use a coupler adapter to connect to the hand held. I did that for a while many years ago.

Michael

[Sawyer]

All good advice, It's got my thinking hard about this subject.

[popster]

A handheld VHF is a good backup only for Champlain. They only put out 5W compared to 25W on high power for a fixed mount VHF with a decent 8' antenna. I suggest don't skimp on this if you're going to spend any time on Champlain.

[Sawyer]

Thanks Bill. after getting caught in a very rough inland Sea last year with 5 to 6 footers i'm taking this radio thing very seriously.
Thanks DON

[finsntins]

bill is spot on,fixed mount vhf is 25 watts,so your output power is 5 times stronger then a handheld.having a handheld is a good idea for a "ditch radio",but if you can only afford 1,i would go with a fixed mount and an 8' antennae.if you go this route,get a swivel mount for the 8' antennae,so you can drop it down if need be.also,there are some features that i like to have,that not all vhf's have.i like to have one that has a programmable scan mode and priority channel,so you can scan the most active channels,but if 68 is your priorty channel,it will go to that channel even if there is talking on another channel.also,i feel is a very important feature is some units have a weather alert mode,so if you go to weather alert mode,you can still listen to the vhf channels,but if the weather service puts out a warning,like a severe thunderstorm warning,it will cut in and sound an alarm and then give you the info.as far as brands,i have had many over the years,so i dont think the brand is as important as getting one with the features you want.

[C-Hawk]

And then there is DSC, Digital Selective Calling. I received a radio for Christmas last year with this feature and I wasn't sure if I would ever use it, and I haven't yet, but it is something to be aware of. If you get your 9 digit code and integrate your radio with the gps, the Coast Guard can tell where you are when you call them. There are also many other features, such as group messages, something that works like caller I.d., and the ability to have private conversations with one or more boats.I'm not sure that many are using this feature yet on Champlain, but it may be the way to go in the future. If you buy a radio with this technology, you can still use it like any other radio. I believe we could conceivably set up numbers that only LCU members could access to get the hot fishing report, but so far I think this is more tech than most of us want to deal with.

[digitroll (ron)]

Texting is a great way to sharing info.

[J.R.]

Hi Don - I had an Icom VHF fixed mount radio, which are expensive, and within a few years it "crapped" out. When I called Icom service dept and told them I had a problem they gave me a "Ridiculous" "minimum repair estimate " something like $80 minimum labor cost plus parts, return postage charge of $20 etc. etc. ... The guy told me it was probably a "bad mic". I told him I could buy a new one for what he was telling me repair cost would be... I told him "forget" it and threw the ICOM in the trash !!
"I will Never Buy another ICOM Radio" THE CUSTOMER SERVICE SUCKS BIGTIME !! ...
I now own 2 STANDARD HORIZON VHF RADIO"S and wouldn't EVER buy ICOM again !! Left a "FOUL" taste in my mouth !
I have 2 Shakesphere 3 ft wire antenna's, with fold down mount, and like them alot. The range is less but I get 5 -7 miles distance across water which I am satisfied with. What I like about the shorter wire antenna is it doesn't get in the way of rods & planer mast lines running out the side of the boat...! That's my 2 cents !!
Also I have a handheld VHF for a back-up ie. dead boat batteries or emergency situations. It has limited range but portable so they are a good thing to have also.