VHF Marine Radio ?'s

[stpauliguy]

Hey guys looking at putting a marine radio in my boat for this year. Not very familiar with these at all so wondering what I need to know about them or what I need in a radio. I appreciate any info in what to look for. Thanks

[Fisherman For a Lifetime]

Good choice to do so!

I bought & put in my own, depending on where you're going to go, get a longer antenna to reach longer distances since you're dealing with the curvature of the earth. Try not to buy the cheapest unit & antenna. They all should be waterproof.

[PerchJerker]

A couple of features I like are a good speaker so you can hear the radio, especially when running. And a big display so it's easy to see what channel you're on, and channel up/down buttons on the microphone. I bought an Icom a couple years ago, I'd done some research and they rated out really well against similiarly priced radios. I've been really happy with it.

[NAMASafetyDirector]

I have the Lowrance Marine Radio installed in the SnoBear and it worked really well for me all winter. The antenna is the biggest part of the deal. Do yourself a favor and get the best antenna you can afford it makes all the difference in the world! I have a 12 foot installed and was able to talk up to and occasionally beyond 15 miles on the lake this winter.

[Capt. Don*]

I am required to have six radios installed in my boats, 5 out of 6 are Icom, as the other brands die the replacement is another Icom. They have to be inspected, tested and certified each year for commercial service and the FCC inspector has nothing but praise for Icom. Get a Shakesphere or Digital antenna with an

Icom radio and you will be set for good.

[hitthebricks]

Cap. Ron, I recently replaced my radio and hooked it up, tested it and it worked fine, then I decided to read the owners manual and found I wasn't supposed to opperate it with a antenna with more than 3db of gain. I know my standard 8ft. has 6db gain, why would that damage the radio? htb

[2 pounder]

The db gain on the antenna will not hurt the radio.The Gain factor is a ratio of what a "perfect" antenna would radiate in space versus what the theoretical output actually is. The actual gain is misleading because of the surrondings of the unit.IE:on salt water,in the woods,height above ground,and so on. Most amatuer radio operators must know these facts to be licensed.

[sparkyaber]

hitthebricks, do you have a lowrance 850 by chance? If you do, I have the same radio as you, and raised the same question. After numerous calls to lowrance, the manual is suppose to read "at least" not "less than" 3db of gain. The manual and the online manual are incorrect.

[stpauliguy]

What about a hand held unit? I guess could be nice cause could use it anywhere (or nowhere if theyre bad i guess!!) Thanks for input

[hitthebricks]

Sparkyaber, Your right it is the 850, I also spent 45 min. on hold with Lowrance trying to get an answer about it and finally hung up and went and bought a new radio and returned the lowrance. Thanks for the answer. HTB

[DinkADunk]

 Originally Posted By: stpauliguy

What about a hand held unit? I guess could be nice cause could use it anywhere (or nowhere if theyre bad i guess!!) Thanks for input

It's all about range and the handheld units don't have range due to a lack of power and antenna height. If you want a handheld for very close range communication then go for it.