Off shore raido

[SPOONFEEDER]

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.

[PatSea]

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.

[Dr.Ed]

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.

[sherman51]

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.

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.

and you want to get a stainless mount and not one of those plastic mounts.