Looking for advice on marine radios

[Mucho Gusto]

Hey guys... Hope everybody's summer is going well and lots of hours are being logged on your boats!

Recently, my company switched cell phone service from Verizon to AT&T. Needless to say, i essentially have zero reception at the lake. We're not boating in the ocean or anything, but the lakes that we go to are fairly large and we occasionally stay overnight. We've wanted to add a marine radio to the boat for a while, but now seems like the time.

Does anybody have any experience with these that they could share? Do I need to simply pick something up like what's linked below or will I need to purchase additional hardware? Any brands or specific units that you would recommend?

https://jet.com/product/detail/7a8597c8 ... lsrc=aw.ds

[kryptonite]

Does anyone monitor the marine radio on your lake?

[Mucho Gusto]

That's the kind of feedback I need! Thank you! Great question, I'm not real sure but I will find out.

[zoom650]

I'd take a look at a nice hand held unit as opposed to a fixed mount unit. The unit you linked to will need an external antennae.

I had an Icom on my old center console. 8 foot antennae mounted on the t-top would pick up the Coast Guard in Mobile, 177 miles away. I could not transmit that far! As a back up, we carried an Icom hand held. It was 14 years old when the rechargeable battery failed. The aftermarket battery ($50) must have been as old as the radio as it never worked again. I'm going to pick up a new hand held. Just haven't gotten 'round tuit yet.

Here's an option for you: http://www.cabelas.com/product/uniden-r ... oof+radios

[urbnsr]

Depending on how large these lakes are, I would also want to know how far away a monitoring station could be if no one one the water has a radio. A handheld's transmit range might be as low as 3 miles. That depends on many things and a main one would be the antenna height of the monitor. If marginal, at least at times, I would look for a handheld that could use an external antenna if needed.

[JaqnKat]

I picked up an ICOM M-36 for that very purpose. When DNR is on the lakes around here they typically monitor channel 16. On high power the radio is rated to transmit 6 miles. Probably more radio then I'll ever need but I'd rather have and not need it then need it and not have it.

[Capt Sully]

The DNR is not on the lakes everyday and they don't monitor the radio from any station unless they are on the water. Rule of thumb is, all boats with a radio should monitor ch. 16 as needed. The distance you will be able to transmit will depend on area your in, Flat water, Hills, Buildings and the Terrain. Same would be for cell phone use. Reaching another boat on ch 16 could mean that the other boat could make a call and extend your call range. Or at least someone else could hear your call if all boats were on ch 16. If you just wanted to talk, you should move off ch 16 to keep it open for others.

[Cowracer]

If you want a cheap (and I mean CHEAP) radio...

You can buy a Baofeng UV5r for around $30. It's a cheap little chinese handheld that works suprisingly well. It's not a dedicated marine radio, but its easy enough to program it for marine channels. I have 2 and use them a lot on both Marine and FRMS bands.

They are cheap enough to let you try out radio action on your lake, and if you drop one in the water, no big loss.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/1908355093 ... noapp=true

Tim

[joe20toon]

If you want a cheap (and I mean CHEAP) radio...

You can buy a Baofeng ...

I was looking into those but, couldn't decide on which model. Some like the older one's, some the newer radios.

[urbnsr]

I wonder how Baofeng deals with allowing (or blocking) transmitting in the 144-148MHz and the 420-450MHz ranges? An Amateur radio license is needed to transmit there... Although marine band isn't directly adjacent to 2 meters, someone could hear traffic and want to join in, maybe without realizing the legalities.

[Cowracer]

I wonder how Baofeng deals with allowing (or blocking) transmitting in the 144-148MHz and the 420-450MHz ranges? An Amateur radio license is needed to transmit there... Although marine band isn't directly adjacent to 2 meters, someone could hear traffic and want to join in, maybe without realizing the legalities.

They block nothing, as far as I can tell. My guess is they assume you have your ticket. Hell, they even allow CTCSS so you can hit repeaters and whatnot.

tim

[urbnsr]

I was afraid that was going to be the answer...

[joe20toon]

I was afraid that was going to be the answer...

Anyone researching these radios hopefully will get the 'radio' license. These days, it's not near as bad as actually "learning" Morse Code .... I wonder about the "life" of a $40 radio...

[Bugsbunnyboater]

Standard Horizon makes great vhf radio in fixed and handheld. I just put a fixed mounted on my bennington 2275cc
A good vhf is a god send.

[brianD]

I'm on the Mississippi. I like to know where the barges are, and have the ability to talk to them and lock masters when locking so I use a Standard Horizon with AIS pumped into my chart plotter, and have a backup Standard Horizon Handlheld, just in case. I have an 8 foot Shakespeare Antenna to match. I also have the LoudHailer hooked up. Great fun to holler at jet skiers and others.

My vote is for a fixed mount, but as others have said, make sure you have someone to listen...