Marine Radios

[Pezman38]

I am planning a trip to Erie the spring of 2010 and was curious to if a marine radio is a must?

I would like to get one for those just in case situations. Can you tell me what a good model would be with range/price as the main considerations? I would like a unit mounted in the boat as I don't see the need for a handheld unless someone can convince me otherwise.

[rebs]

It is a really good idea to have a marine radio and I prefer one that is mounted in the boat as to a hand held.
There are a lot of good ones, lowrance, uniden, Icom, sheakspeare and so forth. Make sure you get a good antenna, the cheap ones work but not as well. When you buy think of it as safety equipment that could save your life one day and buy good stuff

[Pezman38]

Thanks for the tips rebs. I don't know much about them at all. What kind of features are a must, and what features are a more nice to have but perhaps not worth the price tag?

[K Gonefishin]

Nothing fancy, I have a channel button and hi/low on my mic which is nice but not a must IMO. I had a very simple raymarine on my last boat and have a fancier one on my new boat and I like my old one better. turn it on, go to whatever channel, tune in the squelch and talk. You don't need the DSC feature as the coast guard isn't even equipped to use it for rec boaters yet so I wouldn't worry about that. Any 85-100.00 Lowrance, ICOM, Raymarine radio from BPS, Cabelas or any online retailer will suite your needs. If you do want to spend any sort of money buy a nice 8 ft antenna. Shakespeare are what everone uses and buy a stainless steel mount the plastic ones aren't worth a crap.
These will work perfect.

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_58954____SearchResults

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_97808____SearchResults

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0052356019557a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH_all&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&No=18&Ntk=Products&QueryText=VHF&sort=all&_D%3AhasJS=+&N=0&Nty=1&hasJS=true&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.form23&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1

[ShadTaxi]

For me my RayMarine radio has been flawless. Earlier on I had a Uniden that bit the dust.

[Pezman38]

Thanks a bunch guys, I will prolly go with a Raymarine and spend a bit more on an antenna and mount. Any preferences on where to mount it so that it is out of the way but easy to install?

Any color better than another as well? My boat is mostly white with black stripes. I found the following, not sure if I want black though http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002HSJAQ8

[Bill Krejca]

Several ideas:

You will probably end up mounting it under the dash, or somewhere not completely in line with your ears. If you are like me, hearing the radio, with the speaker on the bottom of the unit and the motor running is somewhat of a challenge. I purchased and plugged in an additional speaker, which is mounted via Velcro, on the dash. It really improves the hearing.

Although the radio may be waterproof, the mike - at least mine, is not. Plan on providing some type of protection for it from rain.

Bill Krejca

[rebs]

Several ideas:

You will probably end up mounting it under the dash, or somewhere not completely in line with your ears. If you are like me, hearing the radio, with the speaker on the bottom of the unit and the motor running is somewhat of a challenge. I purchased and plugged in an additional speaker, which is mounted via Velcro, on the dash. It really improves the hearing.

Although the radio may be waterproof, the mike - at least mine, is not. Plan on providing some type of protection for it from rain.

Bill Krejca

Bill
where did you get the speaker ? I tried radio shack but the couple they had were kind of cheap and very light weight so I think they would not be suitable.

[Bill Krejca]

Bill
where did you get the speaker ? I tried radio shack but the couple they had were kind of cheap and very light weight so I think they would not be suitable.

I picked mine up at Cabela's several years ago - it made a "whale" of a difference.

I just happened to keep the box - it is made by Standard Communications Corp, called a 101 MiniSpeaker, 5 watts, cost $35.

Bill Krejca

[yarcraft91]

buy a stainless steel mount the plastic ones aren't worth a crap.

My experience has been different. I put a nylon antenna mount on my boat 19 seasons ago and have had zero trouble with it. Only disadvantage is that it doesn't clean up well- always looks dirty. It holds an 8' Shakespeare antenna that I raise and lower on every trip.

[Smitty]

Lots of good advice here, and personally I would say yes a marine radio is a must on Erie. I've had Raymarine, Uniden, and Lowrance units and all have served me pretty well. A couple things from my experience:

*As others said, get a good 8' antenna.

* As far as features, the big thing because the radio is somewhat tucked under the dash normally is what controls do you want on the mic.. Channel control would be a must for me, and one other handy feature that my Uniden had was the ability to program certain "favorite" channels to memory. This way if you normally run Ch. 79, rather than running up from 16 (which is where most default when you turn them on) you hit a button on the mic and presto you're at Ch. 79. Not a must, but it was a nice feature.

I too haven't had issues with the nylon swivel after about 8 years, but mine doesn't get out/used nearly as much as some of the others here. Also as others have said make sure you mount it where you can get the mic out of the weather, on the models I've had they're not waterproof and a wet mic can cause issues transmitting.

[Pezman38]

I will be mounting it under my dash so the MIC will be protected all the time unless I am using it.

Any suggestions on mounting the 8 foot antenna besides mount itself? I hesitiate drilling into my boat so i want to make sure I have the right spot the first time.

[Smitty]

The only suggestion I would have about mounting the antenna is really think about how it will stow securely and deploy and what might get in the way. Try to have it stow inside the boat and where you don't have to remove rod holders, etc to stow or deploy. If when it's down it's not resting firmly on a surface, think about how you might be able to secure it so that it's not bouncing around or rubbing on something.

[wicked1]

anybody have or delt with the uniden oceanus radio at all? looking for something simple to use and has the weather band channels (like listening to them of course) alos like the ide of having a fav channel option button on the unit as well, not sure if the unidens carry that or not. and of course the 8' anntena as well but will the nylon moutn hold up to ruff water and weather or would the stainless be a better choice?
Sorry for the high jack

[Pezman38]

Wicked1,
No worries man. I bought the Uniden Solara radio based on several members liking it on here. Nobody had mentioned the Oceanus that you mention, but other brands were Icom and Raymarine that people recommended. I found the later to be much more expensive than the Uniden, and most people told me to spend more on a good antenna instead of a top of the line radio.

Several mentioned getting an external speaker for the radio as well. Radio shack supposedly carries them.

[Pezman38]

The only suggestion I would have about mounting the antenna is really think about how it will stow securely and deploy and what might get in the way. Try to have it stow inside the boat and where you don't have to remove rod holders, etc to stow or deploy. If when it's down it's not resting firmly on a surface, think about how you might be able to secure it so that it's not bouncing around or rubbing on something.

Smitty,
I plan on mounting the antenna like this except a bit closer to the throttle for a bit easier deployment. This pic came from Walleye Central and I have no idea who deserves the credit, but if this is your boat and antenna then thanks for sharing.

[ohiojmj]

You might check specs for the recommnended distance between receiver and antenna. Some suggest 3 feet. I'm about to mount my antenna as pictured and have to slightly bend antenna around side of windshield when stored in the down position. Mine will be close to 3 foot apart. Looks like the pictured rig has velcro straps to hold the antenna from bouncing around during trailering or non-use. I'll vecro mine to a tite-lock rod holder triple pedestal base.

[chitterchad]

anybody have or delt with the uniden oceanus radio at all? looking for something simple to use and has the weather band channels (like listening to them of course) alos like the ide of having a fav channel option button on the unit as well, not sure if the unidens carry that or not. and of course the 8' anntena as well but will the nylon moutn hold up to ruff water and weather or would the stainless be a better choice?
Sorry for the high jack

I have the Uniden Oceanus DSC with a Sharesspare 5225 Galaxy XT 8' antenna & ratchet stainless steel mount. I'm very happy with the Oceanus I fish Saginaw Bay & Eire and it gets great reception and it easy to use. The screen is easy to see and you can also change the channel from the microphone. It has lots of other function too, if you hook it up to your GPS there a button that you can push called Distress and it will send your Lat & Long to the Coast Guard and any other boat in the area that has this. From what I recall I think this is how all the newer marine radio we be. Nice to have just in case and if you ever need help they'll know where to start.

[Knot Tellin]

I have the Uniden Oceanus DSC with a 3-4' antenna. How much more of a difference will it make if I go to a 8' antenna. What kind of range are we talking about. Also won't the 8' antenna whip around alot in rough water?

[chitterchad]

I have the Uniden Oceanus DSC with a 3-4' antenna. How much more of a difference will it make if I go to a 8' antenna. What kind of range are we talking about. Also won't the 8' antenna whip around alot in rough water?

I'm not sure how far your's will reach, so difference between a 8' & 4 I'm not sure. But when I was at Eire last July fishing out by Breast Bay I was talking to a guy that was out by Put-In-Bay. I'm not sure how far that is but he was crystal clear.

If it gets to rough I put it down and I have a clip that holds it in place so it don't bounce against the gunnel, I can't talk but if it's rough I won't be talking any ways I'll be driving and keeping my eye's on the waves.

[wicked1]

Thanks chitter it seemed like a decent radio from what i read on the reviews. Not sure about the cobra i knew that cobra was a big name in reg cb style radios not sure if they are as decent in the marine radios. Anybody else wlling to chime in with the uniden oceanus