VHF Quandry?

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Good day to all. Again I solicit your help, this time I am looking for some feed back on the subject of the radio. The net site's are a great place to shop but to a new guy somewhat overwhelming due to their vastness. The long and short of it is that I don't know a thing about these radios but want to make good decisions when purchasing mine. I have a Simrad plotter and have looked at their stuff as well as the seemingly popular Furuno. I'm sure that a good answer is lurking out there in Brat Land.
Thanks, Mike on Huda Thunkit
 
Well, I am sure that most of them will do the job. The two companies best known in the ham radio world who also make marine radios are Icom and Yaesu. Icom marine radios are marketed as Icom, but the Yaesu radios are marketed as Standard Horizon (I am deducing this by appearance.) I have had Icom M402s on both the CD22 and the CD25. All radios are going to do just fine on the marine band (actually, antenna selection and mounting are more important than the radio itself for optimum range) and the weather band. I suppose the most important thing is to make sure you get one that has DSC (digital selective calling) and can connect to your GPS NMEA output so that it can automatically transmt your vessel ID and lat/lon coordinates when you press the panic button.


Alasgun":38g8kvtp said:
Good day to all. Again I solicit your help, this time I am looking for some feed back on the subject of the radio. The net site's are a great place to shop but to a new guy somewhat overwhelming due to their vastness. The long and short of it is that I don't know a thing about these radios but want to make good decisions when purchasing mine. I have a Simrad plotter and have looked at their stuff as well as the seemingly popular Furuno. I'm sure that a good answer is lurking out there in Brat Land.
Thanks, Mike on Huda Thunkit
Click to expand...
 
I'll second Pats advice on the two manufacturers above. I've used Icom Ham radios for years and have always had good things to say about them.

I've actually worn a couple of them out to the point where I had to take them in for service. Having the Regional Factory service facility in town sure makes it easier to go with Icom though. Any time I have dealt with Icom's service department I have had excellent service.

I have a brand new Icom m402s going into the 27'

As Pat stated the Antenna is a critical component to how well the radio is going to work. Being on a boat that is rocking all over I would prefer to have a very wide lobed antenna over one that has a narrow lobe. When I upgrade the antenna on the 27 I'm going to be looking at the "Digital Antenna" company http://www.digitalantenna.com/vhf500.html . I liked their presentation at the SBS.
 
Mike and Gary,

I installed a Digital Antenna vhf antenna, model 528 WW last year. It's 4 ft. long and is very well made. The end of the cable has a two part connector so you do not have to install the connector to the cable yourself, and it fits thru a 3/8 in hole. It works much better than my old 8ft antenna. I got it at Defender Industries in New York for about $85.
 
I just installed my Christmas presents. A Raymarine Ray84 VHF radio
http://www.raymarine.com/raymarine/Prod ... ct_id=1748
and a Shakespeare 5102 8’ antenna
http://www.shakespeare-marine.com/anten ... 102ant.htm
I read reports and read individual reviews before buying my own Christmas gift, just to make sure I got what I wanted.
This is my first marine radio; however I have had many other types of 2 way radios and radio phones and my biggest complaint to most, was the sound/speaker quality in noisy conditions. The reviews of this radio by individuals, not so called experts, rated this best in noisy conditions. I have not had a chance to try it, other than inside my boat storage shed with the antenna laying down. I was able to receive transmissions from 9.7 miles away. I live in a small valley with hills all around me so there is no direct line of sight anywhere.
 
I concur with Pat all the way. Power Boats also gave the ICOM 402 an excellent nod. Locally, here on the lower Chesapeake Bay, the DSC is just beginning to be functional. The USCG is not aboard, yet, but they are scheduled soon.

I'm running the ICOM502 and have been very satisfied with the sensitivity and audio quality. Not knowing your layout plans, you may want to also consider an external speaker that would be closer to the helm position.

I also went with the 8' Shakespeare Ant. I ran one on my last boat, 18' SeaRay, for 16 years without a single problem.

I would suggest, not that you wouldn't, to pay particular attention to the hull feedthru and its wx proofing/seals. Next would be the proper routing and proper assembly of the PL259/ UHF connector that mates to the rear of the radio. This may all seem obvious, but I have seen many problems where I have repaired this connector due to a lack of proper assembly. The most common would be the braid has been either pulled out, or a minor amount, due to being cut too short, making contact with the shell. Corrosion would be the next.

If you are not familiar with these connectors, you may want to find a ham radio operator who could throw it together for you in abt 5 minutes.

:roll: Oh my! This was a little more than 2 cents worth.... :oops:

73s
Sea Angel
 
I concur on the Icom choice. I would reccommend the Icom 602 for several reasons. It is, of course, a DSC capable set. It has a loudhailer function with amplified listen back, a feature we have found very handy. With the loudhailer horn installed, it also becomes an automatic fog signal. And we do boat in the fog on the Straits of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound. When using the fog signal feature, the radio still functions as a radio unlike the Standard Horizon.

If a second radio is desired, and it's always a good idea, the Icom 502 matches nicely but lacks the hailer features.

The only problem is where to put all this nice hardware!

Cheers, Roger
Dreamer
 
Thanks floks, I always get my moneys worth when I take the time to inquire. Mike on Huda Thunkit
 
Larry,

Thanks for the comments on the Digital 528VW antenna. I had been thinking that was what I would like to use as well. If I remember correctly the rep said that they were 5/8 wave rather than a typical Dipole like the Shakespear. This should result in a higher gain from the antenna. Sure it could all be hype but looking at the lobe patterns they were showing me I can see how this antenna would perform better.

I have nothing to complain about with the Shakespear. They have been making antennas for a long time. And they should work just fine. But when you see what is inside of them you have to wonder how they can charge so much!
 
Roger, et all;
I concur with ICOM602 as very flexible. May I suggest you can have the best of both worlds if you have the space.

Suggest the ICOM502 [abt $265]..... same as the '602 but much cheaper & does not have the hailer /horn functions. Add a Standard Horizon 'LH-5' hailer w/Fog Signals [abt $243].

When the '602 is used as a hailer or fog horn I believe the radio function is disabled. For the redundancy and operational features I chose this route. The Standard also allows you to listen & hail/speak to several locations... very handy if you are working a tow.

The common cost items would still be there, i.e., ant & speakers, etc..

As the 5/8 verses 1/2 wavelength goes.... There are many notes on these points. Just remember that the narrower the vertical beam width , the more stable the platform has to be to hit the horizon of the receiving antenna, or the direction/bearing you want to make contact with. From the roof of most CDs you will probably have a horizon of abt 7nms, plus the receiving ant. height 's horizon.

Hope this helps...

73s
Sea Angel
 
Deal alert:

Icom MV1 handheld regularly $290.00, now available for $145 at your friendly West Marine store.

Seriously, Froogle the MV1 and you'll see it's the best price out there. Ignore the "Internet Only" price, the stores will match it.

After receiving a bundle of West Advantage Plus reward cards, I stole mine for $1.76.
 
Hi Mike, It seems everybody agrees that the Icom is top drawer stuff. Lo and behold, a new Power and Motoryacht freebie Mag comes today with a Boater's World Ad. Icom 402 Close Out special! With mail in rebate $129.99. 1-800-826-BOAT. I ordered one as a backup. :wink:

Regarding my earlier endorsement of the Icom 602, the radio function remain functional when using the hailer or fog signal functions unlike my Standard Horizon "Spectrum".

Roger
Dreamer
 
Bottom line is all the major manufacturers radios are good stuff. I agree with many that Icom is pretty much the peak of the heap. I've had one of their VHFs for many yrs and own a couple of their FRS radios too. I now own a WM radio for the 18 and am quite happy with it. MY buddy bought a ray-marine for the tug and it is also great. Whichever brand get DSC and get a grey or black radio. my white Icom turned yellow from sun exposure and looks like crap....still works great just looks nasty. Probably not as much of an issue in the closed cabin of a C-Dory but I still went with grey this time. My advice is look for the features you want and find the best price for those features. I wanted a hailer this time and the WM brand radio was on sale.
Norm
 
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