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/st..._SearchResults

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/st..._SearchResults

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te...set=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]

Originally Posted by 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

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]

Originally Posted by rebs

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]

Originally Posted by K Gonefishin

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.