Hey guys looking for any advice on a good marine raido thanks !!!!!
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Hey guys looking for any advice on a good marine raido thanks !!!!!
Most any radio will do. Some just have more features then others. Get one in your budget range. I recommend an icom or standard horizon. The biggest thing is the antenna. Don't skimp on it. Get a good quality antenna. Like a shakespeare galaxy. The taller the better. What ever fits your boat. Just my opinion.
Most if not all of the new VHF radios will have DSC mode. This is the button behind the little red door on the front of the unit that you push in an emergency that will send a notice to the Coast guard. If you have set it up properly with a connection to a GPS they will know instantly where you are located and they will know exactly where to send help. Eliminates the "search" in "search and rescue". Not only will they know your location but they will have a description of the boat and more. Unfortunately many people with VHF radios have not set them up properly with an MMSI number.
My advice here is know where you are on Lake Erie at all times so when the rescue guys ask you where you are you can tell them. I carry a second GPS portable Magellen as a backup. If you go wandering aimlessly around the reefs, sooner or later, one of them will come up suddenly and bite you in the #?*#. I also carry a Portable Cobra VHS radio to cover all the bases. It's my Gemini spirit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jdff21
I used this site to help me decide on a hand held radio. It was informative on features.
http://www.boats.com/reviews/five-fa...ld-vhf-radios/
Kent
If you have a nema 2000 network in your boat get a marine radio with a nema 2000 hookup. It is way easier to hook up to your fishlocator then the nema 183 thin wires. I beleive icon just came out with one. Lowrance has them also. Lowrance hds fishfinders are getting a little iffy using 183. If you are not going to hook it up to a fishfinder the standerd horizon 1700 has gps built in. Check around as some of these radios have mail in rebates.
I second the get a good antenna statement. I did some research several years ago and bought one of these. I have the 4', 4.5dB gain model mounted to the T-top of my center console. Radio is a Raymarine I purchased lightly used off of eBay. Setup has worked very well since I've had it.
http://www.digitalantenna.com/vhfantennas.html
you can get the Shakespeare 5225 xt for around 110.00 or the xp for around 150.00 on ebay. they are both good antennas. I went with the 5399 9'6" antenna and haven't had any regrets. I found it on ebay for 168.00 when I bought it. there selling for around 200.00 now on ebay. I had one of the cheaper antennas and thought it was doing what it was supposed to do. then I read where the antenna was the most important part of the system. so I started doing some research and found the antenna is more important than the radio for getting better service. anyway after installing the new 5399 antenna I'm getting much better reception and talking to boats much farther away. it should be a one time investment as a good antenna should last for many many yrs.Quote:
Originally Posted by SPOONFEEDER
and you want to get a stainless mount and not one of those plastic mounts.