Are fixed VHF radios "old school"?

[jBlaze3000]

Was at my local marine parts store today looking for some coaxial cable to rewire the antennae on my H23. The 25 year old coax that is on there now is cracked where it comes out of the mast (top and bottom) which renders my VHF radio useless.

When I asked the gentleman in the store where the cable was he mentioned that the new handheld radios are becoming good enough that the fixed units are considered "old school". Keep in mind that this is in Minneapolis where most sailors are rarely even out of cell phone range. I sailed Lake Michigan a bit this summer and plan on doing more of it in the future.

Is it worth it to repair my mast antennae cable or should I just buy a good handheld?

Thanks in advance...

 

[justsomeguy]

I think it would depend on how far offshore you plan on operating your boat.
These antennae are line-of-sight.

 

[Calif. Ted]

Probably 90% of my VHF transmissions are local so a handheld might be enough, but for me to hear the CG I need a mast top ant. If I was looking for help I'd start with 25 watts from a mast top ant.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

I think it would depend on how far offshore you plan on operating your boat.
These antennae are line-of-sight.

Virtually all VHF signals travel line of sight. Height is the only variable although the so-called rubber duck antennas common to handhelds are all ineffective radiators.

Fixed mount radios don't fall overboard in an emergency...

 

[BrianW]

You'll be fine with the handheld.... as long as you don't get in trouble...... or if you do get in trouble, make sure it's inside of handheld range! BrianW

 

[woodster]

absolutely not..as a mater of fact they are great to have with all the options like AIS,DSC, and the option of weather and the option of high power or low power and you can't loose them over board like you can with a hand held.....the hand held is an after thought for me

 

[jBlaze3000]

Think I'll fix the antennae... Maybe keep a handheld as a backup...

 

[twodzusfittings]

I use both. Both are on when I am underway. The fixed unit is in the cabin and i have the handheld in the cockpit. When the water is rough and weather conditions deteriorating, I attach my handheld to my life vest so if I go overboard, I have a way to call for help. My handheld is submersible and has a distress button.

 

[BrianW]

A question: does anyone make a wireless microphone or remote unit that transmits through the fixed radio and mast antenna? BrianW

 

[BrianW]

"Both" is the way I go also. BrianW

 

[woodster]

A question: does anyone make a wireless microphone or remote unit that transmits through the fixed radio and mast antenna? BrianW

standard horizon and i com make a remote mic that hard wires to the fixed unite

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

A question: does anyone make a wireless microphone or remote unit that transmits through the fixed radio and mast antenna? BrianW

Yes. Among others, Icom 504 and 604 models. Both are wireless.

 

[BrianW]

Thanks Woodster and Don. I should have looked before I posted! BrianW

 

[navigator97]

I Have a W.M. VHF-550 VHF/DSC Fixed Mount Radio at the Nav Station below on my H-33.5. It was made by Uniden for W.M. I also hve a Uniden Polaris WHAM-BK Remote Handheld Wireless Mic that I use at the helm. The wireless mic controls Volumne, channel change & also hailer mode (the VHF-550 has a selectable hailer mode which works with an external hailer speaker 2/3 up the mast). Another feature of this fixed mount radio is it takes Lat. & Lon.from the GPS Chartplotter and will transmit my location with a distress call to the Coast Guard. The automatically know exactly where I am.

Hand held VHF radio 9 Ft above waterline has a range of about 4 NM.
Fixed Mount VHF with a 40 FT Mast has a range of about 8.5 NM.
Fixed mount with a 53.5 FT Mast (mine) has a range of about 10 NM
These are transmit distances to the horizon. Another vessel or base will have similar distances to the horizon. The total communication distances would be the sum of your communication distance to the horizon and the other radios distance. I can receive Coast Guard transmissions from 25 to 30 NM away due to the height of THEIR antenna.

 

[Benny17441]

Get what works best for your area and type of sailing. I personally like the extended range provided by a masthead antenna but for talking to transit dockhands nothing is more convenient than a handheld.

 

[Bill Roosa]

Make sure you get the 50 ohm coax and not the household home depot 75 ohm. Might want to look up your local ham radio shop for expert advice. IMHO asking a sales person at WM is just going to confuse you. They sell stuff, they are in the business of selling stuff, they don't generally know much about what they sell though

 

[woodster]

Make sure you get the 50 ohm coax and not the household home depot 75 ohm. Might want to look up your local ham radio shop for expert advice. IMHO asking a sales person at WM is just going to confuse you. They sell stuff, they are in the business of selling stuff, they don't generally know much about what they sell though

as much as i try to avoid west marine ..i find that most of the part timers that work there are usually active boaters and fairly knowledge to a degree....but as you say the company full time personnel are about their bottom line and bonuses.... as for the coax i think SBO store and ammiture radio supply both have this

 

[quadrille38]

I'd suggest the guy at the store doesn't know what he is talking about. We sail Lake Michigan all the time and have both hand held and fixed mount on 62 foot mast.
As pointed out by other posters the hand held at best has a range of a few nautical miles due to low antenna height.
So using as an example the harbor we sail from - the closest harbor south is 10 miles and the closest north is 30 miles. Either direction we would be out of range with a hand held that at best has 4nm range.

And don't let them tell you the cell phone can take its place. If I'm going north there are 20+ miles of sand dunes around Little Point Sable and there aren't cell towers there. If something were to go wrong I wouldn't put our safety in jeopardy hoping my hand held is going to reach someone.

And if you are thinking of ever crossing the lake well the narrowest part of the lake is around 50 miles across. That would mean that on an average crossing you could be out of communication range for 5 to 6 of the 8 hours it would take you to cross. That's a long time.

 

[seadaddler]

VHF

A fixed VHF is best bet for when emergency happens because the top mast antenna goes far to reach CG or tow service or other boaters.
Yes a few years ago got a portable on sale but every time I really needed
it the batteries were low and so I always need to make sure batteries are good
or fully charged but the fixed VHF is always ready for when needed.
Try Radio shack.
Nick

 

[David in Sandusky]

Hand held for convenience, mast top for safety

In an emergency, we really want the range and power of our fixed unit. We bought a hand-held when the hard-wired remote on our fixed unit failed from corrosion or defects in the unit.