|
|
|
|
Marine radio
On 14 Jun 2004 19:12:13 -0700, (Mitchell Gossman)
wrote:
I own a new 21 foot boat, and will probably get a marine radio since
some of the lakes in Minnesota are big enough, and a few times a year
I'd like to tour near-shore Lake Superior and Michigan, e.g. Apostle
Islands and general lakeshore.
Questions:
1) What brand radio is a reasonable feature/price ratio? A personal
communication from a rec.boat-er recommends Standard Horizon.
2) Do they pretty much all have weather radio?
3) What's the consensus on handhelds? Ones I have looked at do have 1
& 5 Watt switches so it seems transmitting power is good.
4) What other uses are there when there's no emergency and you will
seldom if ever need to talk to a bridge operator or use ship-to-ship
or marine telephone?
5) Should I be able to find someone to install it for me in the
Minneapolis/St. Paul area? I'm squeamish about cutting holes.
6) Is there an antenna that is easily removed or bent down to get it
out of the way of the cover?
Mitch
If you're considering a hand-held, while most features are standard,
battery configuration could a major consideration. My Hummingbird VHF5
uses 8 AA batteries as opposed to a battery pack. While less
convenient, it's easy (and cheap) to carry a fresh pack of Alkalines
as a backup. When used regularly, Ni-Mh work well and will reduce the
running costs. Replacing a dud, sealed battery pack could cost almost
as much as the radio it'self.
One feature I wish it had, is a 12 Volt Aux. plug, and a charging
circuit, but this could just more stuff to go wrong?
Out of interest, the elevation of the antenna has much more relevance
than the Wattage output. 1/2 Watt FRS radios can shoot a signal 70 to
100 miles in a line of sight situation. The curvature of the Earth and
transmitting over water, both contribute to reducing the range.
Ideally, a fixed, and a hand-held, onboard covers most situations.
|