I have a Uniden VHF which worked fine last season and receives fine this season. However, I can not transmit this year. Can anyone suggest what I can check to diagnose the problem?
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In addition to checking
antenna and cabling connections as suggested below, it may be the 'push-to-talk' button on your mike is corroded or otherwise ailing. It may be worth seeing if you can find another fellow boater with the same mike/connections and see if you can borrow and test it on your boat. Also, transmitting takes a lot more power than receiving so make sure your 12vdc system is fully charged when testing the radio. Finally, not sure how old your Uniden is, but all things have a life span. I had a Uniden on my old boat and it gave great service for many years -- and then just died....
antenna and cabling connections as suggested below, it may be the 'push-to-talk' button on your mike is corroded or otherwise ailing. It may be worth seeing if you can find another fellow boater with the same mike/connections and see if you can borrow and test it on your boat. Also, transmitting takes a lot more power than receiving so make sure your 12vdc system is fully charged when testing the radio. Finally, not sure how old your Uniden is, but all things have a life span. I had a Uniden on my old boat and it gave great service for many years -- and then just died....
The antenna should have been connected when the mast was stepped. I was not there, so, I can't say for sure, but, I am told it was. Today I connected another boaters radio (which he knows is working) to my antenna lead and was again unable to transmitt. So, it does appear to be the antenna or the connection. It looks like a trip up the mast to check the antenna and the connections at the top. If that fails it appears to be the connection at the mast step. Thanks for your info.
That Happened To Me
I could receive loud and clear, but I couldn't transmit. When I keyed my mike, the TX icon appears on my head unit, but no response to a "radio check" request. I bought a VHF radio and antanna test meter at WM. According to the meter, "zero" watts of power when I key the mike. It was a big expense to buy the meter ($50). The problem was either the radio, one of 2 sctions of coax, or the antenna. The meter was worth the price of climbing the pole or dropping my mast to find out the real problem. It would cost me $50 just to take the radio to a marine electronics shop to be tested. I may not ever use the meter again, but I'll have it just in case .... and I kept my feet on the deck! BrianW
I could receive loud and clear, but I couldn't transmit. When I keyed my mike, the TX icon appears on my head unit, but no response to a "radio check" request. I bought a VHF radio and antanna test meter at WM. According to the meter, "zero" watts of power when I key the mike. It was a big expense to buy the meter ($50). The problem was either the radio, one of 2 sctions of coax, or the antenna. The meter was worth the price of climbing the pole or dropping my mast to find out the real problem. It would cost me $50 just to take the radio to a marine electronics shop to be tested. I may not ever use the meter again, but I'll have it just in case .... and I kept my feet on the deck! BrianW
For $100...
...you can buy a new radio. That might be a safer route than investing another $50 in the old one, although you didn't say how old it is. Plus the newer models have DSC you can tie into a GPS. I am thinking about upgrading just to have that feature, although my current VHF is 50 watts and all the new ones seem to be limited to 25W for some reason. Bob
...you can buy a new radio. That might be a safer route than investing another $50 in the old one, although you didn't say how old it is. Plus the newer models have DSC you can tie into a GPS. I am thinking about upgrading just to have that feature, although my current VHF is 50 watts and all the new ones seem to be limited to 25W for some reason. Bob
Failure to communicate followup
The problem was the antenna. Replaced it with a new one and we are communcating again. I didn't know an antenna could go bad. I can add that to a very long list of things I never knew.
Thanks for all the responses.
s/v Just Ducky
The problem was the antenna. Replaced it with a new one and we are communcating again. I didn't know an antenna could go bad. I can add that to a very long list of things I never knew.
Thanks for all the responses.
s/v Just Ducky
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