Best radio for widest communication?

[AquaMan]

I fish mainly in the MN, WI, ND and ONT lakes. I have a 16 foot tiller and rarely venture into "big waters" However, in the event that I should find my self in a bad situation, what is the best band/frequency to have in the boat? Now before you all jump to marine band, lemme add this: I would like some portability beyond the boat. Why have a marine band in the boat, a CB in the truck, A set of FRS band hand helds for hunting, etc?

I guess my real question is: Is there a band(s) that are shared or compatable between all three and, therefore, would the hand helds be adequate or am I asking for trouble when in trouble? By hand helds I am referring specifically to the Motorola TalkAbout Distance FRS (5 Miles).

Thanks for the feedback.

AquaMan~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Grampa_Joe]

Aquaman,
Let me first say, I have a couple Talkabouts and I wouldn't count on that 5 mile claim. None of the radios will cross over from one band to the other. Whatever you choose, if you are making long distance calls, turn off your GPS. They will interfere with a VHF.
-Joe

[Mongo]

Aqua,
I have been using the VHF radios (both hand held and permanent mount) for the past ten years. Basically have it for emergency purposes, but they are nice for communicating with others in your fishing party. The distance you can commnicate is line-of sight, so what's between you and the person you are trying to call will have an effect on the transmission. I assume the same would be true for the Talkabouts...how far they would transmit would depend on the same things. I feel that the communication distances that are claimed are overblown(with the possible exception of CB's, and I'm not sure what the regs are concerning CB's for marine use). One benefit that I see with the VHF is that on the larger bodies of water, most resorts as well as the Coast Guard use the VHF, so if you're looking for safety, the VHF is the way to go. Just my 2 cents....by the way, my new boat will be here next week......Mongo

[Time to Move]

1. USCG monitors VHF, not CB.
2. USCG can determine your position when you transmit on VHF, not CB.
3. Other Law Enforcement use VHF, not CB.
4. VHF has greater range, clarity, etc.
5. Can call your wife if your late by phone patch through a marine operator with VHF, not CB.
6. VHF has more features like weather, digital selective calling, etc.
7. Can't use VHF on land, CB OK on water.
8. Can monitor what other fisherman are doing on VHF plus a wealth of other information (i.e. water depths, hazards, etc.)

[Airwave(OH)]

So what one do you think he should get...lol Just kidding. Just a warning for those who may not have known you can use your VHF as a telephone ;if you do decide to do this be prepared for the bill. Better work some overtime..:) Get my drift!!!

[AquaMan]

Thanks for the insight, Mongo.

By the way, when do you want to hook up with this new boat and run it through its paces???..<grin>.

AquaMan~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[AquaMan]

Thanks to all your solid info.

It is apperent that VHF is the way to go. I have been looking at the new Marine cataloge from Cabela's and there are several different brands. Uniden, Ratheon, Shakespeare and a few other brands all in the $159-$189 range. Ratheon has a big name in big-boat electronics, Uniden is another old name in electronics and don't know much about Shakespeare.

Q: This seems like a very small price variance between the Mfrs or is this selection based on that price point?

Then there are hand helds by the same field of Mfrs. (Hummingbird offers a hand held, but not a mounted unit) with a similar price and range as the deck units.

Q: For the money, am I giving up a lot of distance with the hand units vs the deck units?

Again, thanks for the second round of answers in advance.


AquaMan~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Den]

The hand held unit will definately NOT reach out as far as the unit with a longer antenna. good luck and good fishin.
Den

[Ernie]

I picked up a hand-held Humminbird last year and find it pretty effective. I like the scan feature to listen in on the conversations between other fisherman and the launches. The hand-held works for me because my tiller doesn't have a real good place for mounting; plus, my regular fishing partners do not have marine band radios in their boats and I take mine whenever we go together. I consider mine more of an emergency radio. I also have FRS, but this is more for wife to call the kids and I in off the water of the panfish lake where we spend our weekends with the family.

[Time to Move]

Yep, thats right. They charge a connect fee plus long distance charges from their antenna which can be pretty expensive but sure can be handy! Once i ran out of fuel and i called my fishing buddy through the marine operator who came out in the lake with a gallon can and saved my butt!