Marine Radios
 

I lost my Marine Radio on my last landing. It was in a pocket and not secured, my fault completely.

So now that I'm replacing it, any suggestions? The one I had was kind of big and bulky and heavy. I'd like to find something a little lighter and easier to stuff in a zipper pocket or clip to a PFD, preferably without sacrificing range too much.

I know, tall order. Open to suggestions.

I just bought the Standard Horizon HX290, its $130 and there is currently a $20 rebate on this radio through Standard Horizon. I could be wrong but I believe most if not all of the handheld radios are 5watts max so spending any extra money may only get you bells and whistles that you may not need.

One of the main reasons, wait, three of the main reasons I bought the HX290:

1. I am receiving a $25 customer loyalty coupon from Standard Horizon

2. I am receiving a $20 rebate from Standard Horizon

3. The radio has a speaker/mic connector, if you've never used one of these speaker/mics you're missing out.

It is a little bulkier than the HX 471 that I had but not by much. Most of my radios were/are used for basic two way communication so a the extra bells and whistles like DSC, gps, etc. are more than I need.

I like the west marine line of radios I have a west marine vhf160 floating 6 watt. Cost me $160. The reason I went with it:

6 watts
Floats
Not bulky
Ergonomic
One of the best waterproof-ratings
Comes with a rechargeable battery but also a seperate tray that takes AAA's
Affordable
Mic input


So far I love my radio I've taken it out 4-5 times and still has 4 bars on the battery, although that's not heavy use.




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I was looking for a marine radio. Would you recommend that? I didn't want to spend over $100 and was looking for something just for an emergency situation. I guess, I'm asking what is the minimum requirements your looking for in a radio? Power life? Gps? Float or not float? Small vs large? Any input would be great. Thanks.

Edit: I see people posting pros and con now. I'll just monitor the post. Lol thanks again.

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+1 Standard Horizon HX290 I got it too. nice radio with rebate even better!

Standard Horizon HX290 at west marine ... it floats too. 109.99 after rebate

Thanks, John. Ill look into it.

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I got this one from amazon its cheap and its lasted 2 days so far without a charge needed http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00126K8BM/..._E7Svtb1JMXJZH

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Same radio as YakDout - works great, and for its size actually fits in the pocket of my Kokatat PFD. And best yet - even sitting for months of winter non-use maintains a full charge. (though I doubt most on here actually stay off the water for more than a week)...

I have the same one and I have no complaints. Doesn't float though so I guess I'll complain when I drop it. But as far as a budget radio goes, conversion is always clear and battery life is good.

Can you elaborate on the benefits of the mic/speaker feature?

I usually just push the transmit button when I use my radio. Thanks

Minimum requirements for me are Floating, Submersible, and 5w.

Marine radio etiquette is something im not really sure about, so i did a little research. I was wondering what are channels that are monitored by the Coast guard and how would one transmit an emergency call. If we are in distress, how can we transmit our location without a GPS. Is DSC (Digital Selective Calling) important feature to have on a radio? What is VHF? What is the range of a handheld radio? Why is wattage important? Most of all, how does all this apply to us kayakers sharing the same waters as boater.

So for basic radio protocols etiquette here is a link i found.

http://www.coastalboating.net/Cruisi...dioBasics.html

TL;DR Channel 16 is used for hailing and distress signaling.

This link gives good examples of "DONTs" of radio etiquette and some explanation of radio jargon:

http://www.frugal-mariner.com/Ettiquette.html

TL;DR its a good read. go read it.

Some information for VHF radios; http://www.sierracgaux.org/vhfradios.html

TL;DR

VHF- Every channel on VHF radio has a specific purpose and transmission power is generally 6 watts or less and the transmission or the radio is directly related to its antenna height.

DSC- is an acronym for Digital Select Calling. This feature is a part of the Coast Guard's modernization of our nation's marine communications known as Rescue 21. As the name indicates, DSC is a digital transmission over channel 70 in the vhf spectrum. You must register any radio with DSC to be able to use the feature. Once registered, your radio will have a unique MMSI number ( Maritime Mobile Service Identity ). When you register, you give important details to the Coast Guard including the name of the vessel, type and length of vessel, home port, emergency contact information, and owner information. DSC can also be utilized to privately contact another vessel with a known MMSI number. This is akin to having a contact number of another cell phone. The receiving station can send a digital response. Communications would then be established by voice on a working channel such as vhf channel 68. All newly manufactured radios must have DSC. A future boating education article will go into further detail about DSC, an important innovation in marine communication.

As for GPS, it can locate your exact location when using DSC. Im not sure if paying for the extra money for the GPS feature warrants the buy, but it does give some peace of mind if youre in distress.


Since most of us are not going to hail a bridge or be out in the high seas, at least i dont think you guys do, while on our kayaks, I thought it was still good to know the procedures, protocols and etiquette of our boater brethren. I am new to kayaking and anything marine related, so looking for all this information has given me a better idea of what to expect. This is not the end-all info for radio etiquette and I am sure others can chime in and add or counter anything that i posted.

Didnt mean to hi-jack this thread, but I was looking for a marine radio and these are the issues I was wondering about. I hope this will help educate others as well. /tangant

Airborne

Question about you w the 6w and Greg w the 5w requirement:
Do you always transmit at the higher wattage?
Ive found that the half power is definitely adequate for kayak and mothership communication. Depending on how much you transmit you can double your battery life.
If I was in distress I would kick up to full wattage. Also w the 2.5w you arent talking over others who dont want to hear your conversations anyway since most of us dont follow. proper radio procedure.

I am pretty sure I broke EVERY single rule of radio use.


I've yet to use ch 16 .....:eek:

we all agree on this one.

It's not the rules of the radio you break that concern most, it's the rules of personal hygiene.

compact
easy to use
light weight
allows the main unit to be secured in a pocket/pouch

I purchased a new MHS75 Uniden submersible radio with all the the things you need except it doesn't float. I purchased as a new never used product from E-Bay for $70 in December. It works great. Best buy and Walmart have it online for $99.98

Uniden 135 comes in at 135.00 and is bigger than your criteria. But, it floats, has DSC, AAA and rechargeable power, handset, car charger etc. Sales guy at West Marine says their branded models are Uniden. True?