On Board Radio?

[alex1young]

Hey everyone,

We run a small 17 and 1/2 starcraft, and we don't have an onboard radio. I was just wondering if anyone can tell me about their radios. I have a ton of CBs and antennas for them but from what I've heard most guys have VHF etc...

[quality time]

VHF radio is a must for safety. If you get in trouble on the water your radio is best chance for rescue. We all watch out for each other on the water and things do happen. A torn boot on an I/O , broken livewell fill line, blown cooling hose on I/O forgot the plug not mention weather related problems can land you in trouble in a hurry. Radios are cheap and if you do not have alot of room they make nice handheld ones. You could call for help on a cell phone but it could take a long time for help to arrive. Many guys upgrade equipment and have old ones kicking around that still work fine. The antenna might cost more than the radio. The site has a "wanted to buy" section. Might be a good place to look. I'm looking to put a second radio in my boat. Wes

[Hookedup]

Like Wes said get a radio and a good antenna 8ftr, you may need help or need to help someone else someday. Or you might want to call for fishing info; a lot of us are more than willing to give up the info on the water. I have a handheld radio on the boat also, only problem with that is Jason likes to take it and call me from the back of the boat . Sean

[alex1young]

Haha thanks Sean,

When I pick one up I'll probably spend more time fishing for information then trout.

[Big Dave]

VHF radio is a must for safety. If you get in trouble on the water your radio is best chance for rescue. We all watch out for each other on the water and things do happen. A torn boot on an I/O , broken livewell fill line, blown cooling hose on I/O forgot the plug not mention weather related problems can land you in trouble in a hurry. Radios are cheap and if you do not have alot of room they make nice handheld ones. You could call for help on a cell phone but it could take a long time for help to arrive. Many guys upgrade equipment and have old ones kicking around that still work fine. The antenna might cost more than the radio. The site has a "wanted to buy" section. Might be a good place to look. I'm looking to put a second radio in my boat. Wes

[Mortigan]

VHF all the way - not expensive, chatter surfing is great but knowing the Coast Guard is just a call way - priceless. Cell is hit or miss.

[OldTex]

Get a VHF....Radio and 8 ft. antenna for less than $200.00 if you shop around...Small price for safety....and peace of mind...Also ...they have the NOOA weather channels...and a beacon in case the boat capsizes.....Fish just one day on Ontario and listen to the calls for Coast Guard on a windy day....Trust me you'll be glad you got one

[Mortigan]

I found I still had this bookmarked from last season when I had the same question: http://www.marine-electronics-reviews.c ... e-vhf.html

We have an 18 ft starcraft and added a uniden vhf with an 8 ft mast for I think $150 total.

[lavarock64]

Can these be adapted to 110 volt? I'd like to put one in the camp to hear any distress calls........Thanks

[quality time]

Thinking more on this post I wanted to explain more on the purpose of the vhf radio. The first thing you should do is search the web for info on using the radio's. All radios built after 1999 have DSC which is a digital signal which the radio can use for several things. Most important distress signal. Your radio when set up has a number somewhat like a phone number that gives a data base your info, boat type, name, size ect. If the radio is hooked up to a gps it will also give location. In the event of abandon ship with the distress button pushed your location and boat info is known but you must have the radio hooked up to gps. This can be a life saver. All coastal waters and most the great lakes have coverage for this. Not sure the flx. The bad side of this is if the distress button gets pushed by mistake rescue will show up and then you could be in trouble so mount the radio out of reach of small kids and pets. We were fishing a derby last year when a mayday came over the radio I'm getting ready to cut my lines and run to help fellow boater when the boat says mayday again and then says I'm out of ice for my drinks! Thats a felony and could bring jail time and a fine of $5000 or more. Channel 16 is used for distress calls most of the guys use ch68 to chat. We hail other boats all the time when we are trolling. The radio has a high and low setting so when you are trolling the same depth of water as a another boat on a head to head course I would hail the other boat on a low power setting so the transmission is only going to the boats close to me and tell them which side I plan to pass them on. I would give them info on if I had boards out and how long of lines I am trolling. I run 600' copper most the time so you don't want someone cutting back to soon. We troll many boats in small area with few problems. The guys that do not have the radio are the ones in the past that have run over each others lines. We often call another boat on the radio and have them call us on the cell phone if we need to chat. This keeps the radio clear and we can chat on the phone as long as we want without jamming up the radio. Some think that we are talking about secret lures more than likely we are talking about the big one that got away