VHF Radio

I'm considering replacing my current VHF radio which is fine but difficult to use. It was one of the first DSC radio's made and it takes several button pushes that have to be memorized to use the DSC or to broadcast a mayday with position. Therefore it won't be used for DSC because of the complexity.

Keeping cost in mind and getting the most for my boat bucs, what radio and features do I need. The only extra feature that I currently have, is a haler which I've never used but would probably want to include.

Tim

Other than DW and maybe tri-watch...simple DSC and the auto fog horn is all I ever really use....even on commercial boats. But I'm old fashion sometimes (lazy) and never use all the electronic tools at my disposal.

A nice feature for ease is the large display...allows for easier programming in many cases and will display lat/long in case your plotter screen went out (with NEMA producing GPS antenna).

Many features are nice...but just keep adding up.

Standard Horizon has a model that combines VHF, Hailer, and an AIS receiver that can be connected to a chart plotter to show the position of AIS equipped ships and boats. About $330 street (not West Marine) price.

More than some want perhaps, but it's in the future for my boat.

Here is a AIS site shows all the boat/ships world wide and in your area.

Live Ships Map - AIS - Vessel Traffic and Positions

Might have to play with the site. You can get a free AIS, and up load you loacation.

However the next VHF will have AIS and DSC.

I think you may be referring to this one: Standard Horizon GX2100 MATRIX AIS / DSC VHF / Hailer

What is your current make andmodel radio?
I have an Icom. no ais.
Like you said lots of buttons to push for the dsc but only one for the may day position report.
What other issues are you having?

SD

skipperdude said:

What is your current make andmodel radio?
I have an Icom. no ais.
Like you said lots of buttons to push for the dsc but only one for the may day position report.
What other issues are you having?

SD

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Actually no problems with it at all. It's a Ratheon, now Ray Marine built around '99. It has DSC, but it requires a confusing number of buttons to push to get out a mayday call, so if the DSC were needed it wouldn't be used. The new ones now I believe require you to push one button and done. Much more admiral friendly.

I haven't really decided to replace it but was wondering what you guys consider important in a VHF.

Phil Fill said:

Here is a AIS site shows all the boat/ships world wide and in your area.

Live Ships Map - AIS - Vessel Traffic and Positions

Might have to play with the site. You can get a free AIS, and up load you loacation.

However the next VHF will have AIS and DSC.

Click to expand...

I view that website from time to time. The information is from land based volunteers who have installed receivers at their homes or place of business and feed the information to the website. Coverage is spotty or non-existant in some areas and can be more than a few minutes old.

If you want to know who or what is on the water around you, and actual AIS receiver is a better choice.

Of course, AIS transponders are optional for most recreational boats so you may not see that 40' sportfish that's bearing down on you at 20 knots.

It seems to work fine in the Puget Sound and Islands. Being we are bigger than most boats I am concerned about boat that are bigger which are the commercial;/ferry/larger pleasure/ships/tugs. If you go under MY AREA can locate your area, and also tells you how to connect with your VHF.

I agree it's not as good as having AIS, but its better than nothing and its FREE. You can also up load apps for the smart phones.

rwidman said:

Standard Horizon has a model that combines VHF, Hailer, and an AIS receiver that can be connected to a chart plotter to show the position of AIS equipped ships and boats. About $330 street (not West Marine) price.

More than some want perhaps, but it's in the future for my boat.

Click to expand...

this is what we have and we have it linked to the GPS so we have the AIS display on the GPS as well. We have the VHF below with a remote mic up top. very happy with it, installed it last fall I think.

Features we consider essential in a fixed-mount VHF are dual and tri watch with a user-setable priorty scan, position reporting with DSC emergency broadcasts, a large display, dial selection of frequencies rather than up-down buttons, the boat's position displayed at all times on the screen along with the basic purpose of the selected frequency, an intuitive control layout and menu functions, an indication of your tranmit power on the display, and basic radio controls on the mic.

With all these in mind, it's pretty hard to go wrong with Icom. We replaced all the radios that came with our boat with Icom units and have been very happy with them. We've fed the radio at the lower helm a GPS signal from the Furuno NavNet so the radio displays the boat's current position and will include it with a DSC emergency broadcast if we ever make one.

We use dual watch a lot and tri-watch occasionally depending on where we are. We have a separate intercom/hailer unit so had no need of this function in the radio. We have so far found no value in AIS for our boating--- we have it on an iPad if we really care about the name of such-and-such a ship--- so we aren't interested in having that function in a radio. In the unlikely event we ever do get AIS we'll get it as a stand-alone unit.

We got and use a remote Command Mic with the lower radio--- we mounted the Command Mic on the aft bulkhead in the main cabin so someone sitting at the table can operate the radio, too.

We never operate our boat from the flying bridge so we have a simpler Icom unit up there alhtough it does have dual and tri watch capabilities.

An advantage for us up here is that we have an Icom factory service center in Bellevue, east of Seattle. So if one should have a problem with an Icom unit, warranty service or basic troubleshooting and repair is readily available if it's beyond the capabiilties of the local electronics shop.

We've had good luck with Standard Horizon, too, on our smaller boat. Its VHF went for some twenty years before losing its high-power transmit capabilities. We replaced it with an Icom. But when it comes to radios I think it's pretty even, Icom and Standard Horizon. Probably comes down to features and ergonomic layout preferences mainly.

Marin said:

................We've had good luck with Standard Horizon, too, ....................

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Standard Horizon's customer service can't be beat. MY SH radio had the full capacity of MMSI numbers programmed in and I could not put mine in. SH cleard the memory at no cost except for me shipping it to them. They even payed for the return shipping (on an eight year old radio that I didn't even buy). When I ruined the cord to my RAM mic, they sold me a replacement and sent me the schematic and technician's notes so I could connect it properly.

It would take a lot to get me to buy some other brand of VHF.

I have the Icom IC-422 with the remote CommandMic, priority scan, dual watch, triple watch, 1-button DSC and PA and RX Speaker. I love the features, but added a second speaker for audio quality on the flybridge so I can hear the radio better when I'm rocking out on the FB. I use the CommandMic at the lower helm to supplement the Standard Horizon VHF there. This model is no longer available.

I prefer a foghorn controller on my boat horn, not my radio, for a more piercing sound through the thick fog. It also frees up the radio for communications.

If I was shopping for a $300 radio today, I'd take a serious look at the Icom IC-M504A. It's got all the features, is AIS ready (with the IC-500TR) and has a larger speaker for even better audio quality. It also allows for remote mic mounting so your mic is not tethered to the radio mount location.

The 504 is what we have at our lower helm.

The Icom is my radio of choice. The Standard Horizons are very good radios also, you won't g wrong with either.
Stay away from Furuno VHFs, they are "less than ideal". Great Radars/plotters/fishfinders, lousy radios.
Just one mans opinion!

Bought one

I decided to buy a Standard Horizon GX-2100 from Defender. Cost was $239.
It includes DSC, AIS, and a Haler.

We are headed to the Bahamas next month and I wanted a reliable and easy to use DSC, something my current VHF doesn't have. I'm not sure how useful DSC is in the Bahamas, hopefully I won't find out. I also wanted a haler which my current VHF has, but have never used.

I'm not sure AIS will be useful, but for the very little more that it costs to add it I decided it may be worth it. The VHF has a display that can be used for AIS but the real neat thing about this capability is that it will display on a chartplotter if it's hooked up. That's what I plan on doing this weekend. I hope SH tech help is available on the weekends!

timjet said:

I decided to buy a Standard Horizon GX-2100 from Defender. Cost was $239.
It includes DSC, AIS, and a Haler.

We are headed to the Bahamas next month and I wanted a reliable and easy to use DSC, something my current VHF doesn't have. I'm not sure how useful DSC is in the Bahamas, hopefully I won't find out. I also wanted a haler which my current VHF has, but have never used.

I'm not sure AIS will be useful, but for the very little more that it costs to add it I decided it may be worth it. The VHF has a display that can be used for AIS but the real neat thing about this capability is that it will display on a chartplotter if it's hooked up. That's what I plan on doing this weekend. I hope SH tech help is available on the weekends!

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I believe SH has diagrams on their website for connecting the radio to most common plotters.

I probably would have already bought and installed mine but it takes a larger hole than the existing VHF and I spent much of my "working on the boat time" this winter replacing the carpet with teak and holly.

I'm headed out next week for a month long cruise. I might do it when I get back.

rwidman said:

I'm headed out next week for a month long cruise. I might do it when I get back.

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Where are you headed??

rwidman said:

I believe SH has diagrams on their website for connecting the radio to most common plotters.

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My Garmin 740 plotter is new and and uses NMEA 2000 protocol so it should interface with the VHF easily. I have an vintage Ray Marine RL80 C plotter that only uses NEMA 0183, I'm not hopeful I can hook this up.

timjet said:

My Garmin 740 plotter is new and and uses NMEA 2000 protocol so it should interface with the VHF easily. I have an vintage Ray Marine RL80 C plotter that only uses NEMA 0183, I'm not hopeful I can hook this up.

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the problem I don't think is the NEMA...many older plotters just don't have the software (not sure if upgrades are available)..

pretty sure Standard was one of the first to install the software on their plotters...they were showing it work between their plotters and radios around 10 years ago (if I remember my boatshow timeline correctly)

timjet said:

Where are you headed??

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From Charleston, SC to Jacksonville, FL and then up the St Johns river as far as Sanford. Mostly a "nature" cruise.

Sailor of Fortune said:

.
Stay away from Furuno VHFs, they are "less than ideal". Great Radars/plotters/fishfinders, lousy radios.
Just one mans opinion!

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Interestingly enough, some Furuno VHF units are simply "repackaged" Icom units. For example, Furuno sells a VHF that is virtually identical to the Icom 504 (because it is one) except for the color (Furuno's is their shade of gray) and the shape of the knobs.

psneeld said:

the problem I don't think is the NEMA...many older plotters just don't have the software (not sure if upgrades are available)..

pretty sure Standard was one of the first to install the software on their plotters...they were showing it work between their plotters and radios around 10 years ago (if I remember my boatshow timeline correctly)

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I think you're right. I just got off the phone with a SH tech and the hook up between the GPS and VHF radio is entirely NEMA 0183, though the AIS uses a high speed NEMA 0183 serial bus connection that was maybe not available on earlier models.

rwidman said:

From Charleston, SC to Jacksonville, FL and then up the St Johns river as far as Sanford. Mostly a "nature" cruise.

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Feb '13 I'm retiring and we're leaving for Maine. Hope to be cruising for 2 years except for the winter. One of our first side trips will be the St Johns south to Sanford. Claiborne Young's cruising guide to Florida's east coast has wet my appetite, especially his descriptions of the St Johns. Enjoy

timjet said:

Feb '13 I'm retiring and we're leaving for Maine. Hope to be cruising for 2 years except for the winter. One of our first side trips will be the St Johns south to Sanford. Claiborne Young's cruising guide to Florida's east coast has wet my appetite, especially his descriptions of the St Johns. Enjoy

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There's a lesser known book on cruising just the St Johns river. I can't tell you the name of it, it's on my boat. It has charts and lots of local knowledge.

Here it is:

http://www.bluewaterweb.com/p-814-st-johns-river-boating-cruising-guide.aspx

Phil Fill said:

Live Ships Map - AIS - Vessel Traffic and Positions

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I use this site almost every day - when I wake up in the middle of the night I hit it from my iDevice to see that my boat is still in its slip and transmitting!

It's a fun site / app to get extra info on boats that you might be curious about, but just like those "maps" (not charts) that say "not for navigation purposes", it is truly intended for entertainment.

refugio said:

I use this site almost every day - when I wake up in the middle of the night I hit it from my iDevice to see that my boat is still in its slip and transmitting!

It's a fun site / app to get extra info on boats that you might be curious about, but just like those "maps" (not charts) that say "not for navigation purposes", it is truly intended for entertainment.

Click to expand...

Yep, I sat at a dock in Savannah, GA on the river and told my friends the names of the ships that were about to pass.

But if you're out in the fog or at night, you need a real time AIS receiver.

Well, you only need it if you want to know where the ships are, their proximity, and direction. And name.

One feature, I understand, is that your plotter will plot a "collision course" so you have the choice of remaining on course or changing and avoiding a collision.

The Furuno radios I have been exposed to are definitely not up to to ICom standards even if they are produced by ICOM. Much the same way a Home Depot Dewalt tool is NOT the same as bought elswhere (non Big box store).
Wally World, Home Depot etc have products produced for them for a certain price point,not a certain standard.
I have been using ICOM radios for 30 plus years. In the mid 80's, ICOM came out with the M-100 to replace the VERY Reliable M-80. The 100 was a piece of junk that developed a bad rep for ICOM. It was replaced by the M126, which was a better version.
Only twice did I have Furuno radios on boats that I worked. They could not stand up to severe commercial service (both on crew boats). I wouldn't buy a Furuno radio any more than I would buy an ICOM radar. Even if the Icom radar was made by Furuno. Your mileage may vary.

I don't know that all of Furuno's VHF radios are made by Icom or other manufacturers. But at least one of them is, the model that is identical to the Icom 504.

When I upgraded electronics, I went with the Standard Horizon Matrix 2150. Moved the old Icom and rewired as an independent backup. I've never used the DSC, but (surprisingly to me) have found the AIS very useful in raising tows and other heavy commercial traffic. People just seem to respond better when you call them by name.