"Dr. Jonathan Smithers, MD Phd." wrote in
:

My marina neighbor had a Uniden (not sure of the model) and was never
pleased with the sound quality. He compared it to the my Standard
Eclipse and ended up replacing his.

I have always felt that Standard and Icon both made good products.



I had a Standard Eclipse Plus destroy my battery in my jetboat. Seawater
leaked in around the "sealed, waterproof" speaker...drizzle back along the
main circuit board into the pins of the RF power amp brick which is ALWAYS
powered up, even when the radio is off. The salt caused the brick to draw
about 3A of current and killed the boat's battery REALLY dead. The radio
was destroyed as the salt ate the components off the board.

In ANY of these little VHF radios, it's a good idea to disconnect the power
from them any time you are not using them....breaker or disconnect switch.
Their RF power amplifier ICs do NOT go through the "power switch", which
only switches off the main radio. These ICs draw no idle current....unless
what happened to me happens to you.

After losing two Standard Eclipse Plus radios to leakage, I got an Icom M59
for the boat and it worked fantastic for years. The guy who bought the
jetboat is still using it.

gould0738 wrote:
I would suggest stepping up enough to get DSC.
They may not even offer VHF without digital
select calling anymore, I haven't checked
recently. My VHF is 15-20 years old and still
going strong, as are a probable majority of
units from the same era. My next VHF will have
DSC, and maybe one of the microphones that can
change channels etc.

Yes, I agree that having extra controls available
on the mic is not inconvenient... but I think
the recent fad of "wireless mics" is... *INSANE*.

Yeah, I'm weird.

But, again, I've already had one cell-phone jump
off my belt and head for the bottom of the Gulfport
Marina. My daughter was concerned whether the fish
would eat it and got a laugh when I told her I was
more worried that they'd make long distance calls
with it...

If your boat is a single helm model, save enough
money for a decent hand held VHF to go into the
spares locker. The odds of both radios crapping
out at the same time are almost zero, but you
will have more limited range on the hand held.

Not just a spares locker-- a spares metal box that
will shield spares from the EMP of a "nearby"
lightning strike. A coupla packets of silica gel
would probably not hurt either. Keep a hand-held
(spare?) GPS in there too.

On a sailboat the main VHF unit is not always
immediately accessible so a hand-held is also nice
to get bridges open...

If travelling in a group of boats, consider some
FRS radios which don't have much reach but don't
need much when travelling close enough together.
Less interference on the marine channels and the
like... but it'd be *real* nice if some of the
bridges down here were monitoring something other
than VHF ch9. (These FRS rigs are very handy at
other times, too, like w/ multiple cars, visiting
Home Depot or Lowes and the like.)

It's strange but when looking for "basic electronics"
(be it GPS or VHF or whatnot) the prices don't look
quite so insane compared to a simple 3:1 boom vang.

--
John R. Campbell Speaker to Machines soup at tampabay dot rr dot com
"Grace is sufficient so Joy was let go." - Heather L. Campbell
"Faith manages ... even though she didn't get promoted" - me
Why OS X? Because making Unix user-friendly was easier than debugging Windows

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 09:13:09 -0500, "JimH" wrote:


"Dr. Jonathan Smithers, MD Phd." wrote in message
...
My marina neighbor had a Uniden (not sure of the model) and was never
pleased with the sound quality. He compared it to the my Standard Eclipse
and ended up replacing his.

I have always felt that Standard and Icon both made good products.


You can always use a remote extension speaker. They are fairly cheap,
directional (can be mounted anywhere) and vastly improve the sound quality.

I had a small 2 1/2" "Poly Planer" on mine and it was terrific. The speaker
was waterproof and corrosion proof.

Make sure you don't mount it near a compass. :-)


Rodney Myrvaagnes J36 Gjo/a

For your upscale SUV: Dingle-balls hand knit of natural Icelandic yarn

On 11 Mar 2005 05:35:59 -0800, wrote:

I would suggest stepping up enough to get DSC.

=============================

Is there a test process for VHF/DSC? My latest boat came with two DSC
capable ICOMs but I have no idea if the feature is even hooked up, let
alone working. Also, I have no idea what vessel ID is programmed, if
any.

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 12:35:27 -0500, Larry W4CSC
wrote:
I had a Standard Eclipse Plus destroy my battery in my jetboat. Seawater
leaked in around the "sealed, waterproof" speaker...drizzle back along the
main circuit board into the pins of the RF power amp brick which is ALWAYS
powered up, even when the radio is off.

===========================

Larry, with all due respect, a real boat would have the radio wired
through a circuit breaker and/or battery switch.

In article ,
"Steve" wrote:

I now have my VHF mounted just inside the companionway and the mike is
mounted to a clip within hands reach from my tiller station. I still have to
leave the tiller for some features however my mike does have channel
up/down, 16 and works (marginally) also as a remote speaker. I would like to
add a cockpit speaker for next season.

Steve
s/v Good Intentions



Hey Steve,
Are you coming north this summer?

Bruce in alaska
--
add a 2 before @

It's strange but when looking for "basic electronics"
(be it GPS or VHF or whatnot) the prices don't look
quite so insane compared to a simple 3:1 boom vang.

Ain't that the truth!

"Wayne.B" wrote

On 11 Mar 2005 05:35:59 -0800, wrote:

I would suggest stepping up enough to get DSC.

=============================

Is there a test process for VHF/DSC? My latest boat came with two DSC
capable ICOMs but I have no idea if the feature is even hooked up, let
alone working. Also, I have no idea what vessel ID is programmed, if
any.


There is no license or test required to be a voluntarily-equipped DSC-GMDSS
vessel, the category which most recreational boaters fall into. But you must
register an MMSI (Maritime Mobile Service Identifier) number to YOUR vessel.
The number (if any) that was in the used radio is not valid any longer.

Also, a U.S. vessel that plans to dock (or communicate) at a non-US port of
call, must have a restricted radiotelephone operators license. This good for
life (of the vessel you own and operate) and also does not involve any exam.
The license covers vhf, hf, gmdss and radars with no description of
equipments required. It will include applying for an MMSI to be used
internationally.

Changing the MMSI on a radio can be done by the owner, providing you have
the owner's operation manual which provides these instructions. Many radio
manufacturers provide manuals online. BOAT-US has an 800 # for you to call
where an experienced associate can walk you through the procedures involved.
That number is: 1-800-566-1536 (working hours). Or you can simply walk-in to
any BOAT-US store with your radio(s) and do the same.

Also be advised that BOAT-US provided registration of MMSI (free to all who
apply) does NOT register your MMSI for international voyages. Americans must
apply to the FCC for an MMSI to be used in conjunction with a restricted
operators license and international travel.

Best regards,

Jack Painter
Virginia Beach, Virginia

In article 5UpYd.61628$7z6.35203@lakeread04,
"Jack Painter" wrote:

Also, a U.S. vessel that plans to dock (or communicate) at a non-US port of
call, must have a restricted radiotelephone operators license. This good for
life (of the vessel you own and operate) and also does not involve any exam.
The license covers vhf, hf, gmdss and radars with no description of
equipments required. It will include applying for an MMSI to be used
internationally.

Again, jackie is extending information that he doesn't understand.......

HEY JACK, How about you "GET A CLUE before you confuse folks with your
uninformed information.

First: A Restricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit is for a PERSON
not a vessel. It is an "OPERATORs" and a vessel can't be
an operator.

Second: A US Flagged vessel, if it is to operate outside US Territorial
Waters, AND communicate with non-US Coast Stations, must have
a valid Ship Radio Station License issued by the FCC.

Third: If, and only if, the vessel has fitted, only VHF Radios and,
or, a Marine S or Xband Radar, and does not communicated with
non-US Coast Stations, it MAY be covered by the Blanket License
issued by the FCC, which covers all such vessels in perpituity,
and does not require any action on the owners, or operators
parts as far as licensing is concerened.

Fourth: If, and only if, the vessel is operating under the Blanket
License, an Operator Permit is NOT Required to operate the
fitted equipment.

Fifth: If, and only if, the vessel is operating under the Blanket
License, the owner/operator MAY request a MMSI from the
dually appointed Voluntary MMSI Registrant, and that MMSI
will be recorded against the Documentation Number (either
US or State) of the Vessel.

Sixth: When a vessel is issued a Ship Radio Station License the
FCC will issue a MMSI along with the Callsign, which is
recorded against the Documentation Number (either
US or State) of the Vessel.


Now that we got that straight....... Carry on.......


Bruce in alaska who wishes that USCG would refrain from distributing
uninformed information.......
--
add a 2 before @

In article ,
Dave wrote:

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 18:32:17 -0500, "Jack Painter" said:

an experienced associate

Also known as a clerk.


also commonly refered to as a "Salesdroid"..........


Me