Sabre602
Senior Member
- Joined
- Oct 19, 2017
- Messages
- 442
- Location
- United States
- Vessel Name
- Kingfisher
- Vessel Make
- 37' converted gillnetter/crabber
My old boat came with an old Standard Horizon combination plotter/VHF. It's a weatherproof unit that originally came off a Coast Guard or military RIB. It's been well used and occasionally reboots itself at random intervals. Other than that it works perfectly so I'm keeping it aboard.
Of course, that's not what I want to rely upon for my primary communications, so I added a new GX2200 upon the recommendation of a friend. At $260 after rebate, this unit is a steal with its integrated GPS and AIS receiver.
So I got the project all done: radio mounted, two new VHF antennas...er, antennae...for both units, a new loudhailer/listenback speaker (primarily for the foghorn function) and the NMEA output connections via RS232/USB cable, which send GPS and AIS data to the laptop running Coastal Explorer.
It all works beautifully! While testing it yesterday afternoon I even received an emergency relay from Coast Guard Station Victoria for a vessel taking on water. Wow! That alert is LOUD!
There is one small thing....
When on PA speaker listenback mode, it receives the soundtrack to a Bollywood musical. I'm not sure if that's an "issue" or an unexpected source of amusement.
Of course, that's not what I want to rely upon for my primary communications, so I added a new GX2200 upon the recommendation of a friend. At $260 after rebate, this unit is a steal with its integrated GPS and AIS receiver.
So I got the project all done: radio mounted, two new VHF antennas...er, antennae...for both units, a new loudhailer/listenback speaker (primarily for the foghorn function) and the NMEA output connections via RS232/USB cable, which send GPS and AIS data to the laptop running Coastal Explorer.
It all works beautifully! While testing it yesterday afternoon I even received an emergency relay from Coast Guard Station Victoria for a vessel taking on water. Wow! That alert is LOUD!
There is one small thing....
When on PA speaker listenback mode, it receives the soundtrack to a Bollywood musical. I'm not sure if that's an "issue" or an unexpected source of amusement.
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