Radio Question

[Marcia]

This is probably a pretty dumb question, but I'll ask it here anyways. I have a (new to me) small 23' sailboat to singlehand and I want to put some form of comms on it in case of emergency. Can I just buy a hand held VHF radio unit as a stand alone unit, or do I also need to rig an external antenna?? Is the antenna on the hand held unit sufficient to summon help if needed?

 

[Ross]

A good hand held will work as far as you can see

and probably a little farther.

 

[Patrick S/V Shangra-La]

Line of sight

a vhf will broadcast to just past line of sight. the farther up the mast your antenna is, the farther you wil reach, then there is power. Most hand helds broadcast at max of 5 watts some at 6 watts. A mounted base will broadcast at 25 watts so you can reach out farther. You need to decide how far you must reach in an emergency.

 

[Warren Milberg]

A lot depends on where

the "help" you may need to seek comes from -- or how far away it may from you when you call. I've found that for most coastal cruising situations, a good hand-held VHF, as Ross states, is probably good enough. Some factors to consider would be making sure that your batteries are always up to speed as it takes about 5x more power to transmit than to receive. If you have some way to plug a hand-held into a ship's battery, that is a good alternative. Also, you may want to consider buying something like a Shakespeare emergency antenna (seel link)that you connect the hand-held to and place, by suction cup or other means, as high up as possible. I don't think transmit wattage will be as important as antenna height. I routinely sail the Chesapeake and am never out of sight of land. I use a Uniden hand-held VHF when in the cockpit. While I have a 25-watt Icom in the cabin, with an antenna at the mast head, I've found the 5-watt hand-held has no trouble connecting to whomever I'm calling.

 

[Paul Akers]

That's Why...

...antennas are usually mounted at the top of the mast - range.

 

[sailortonyb Allied Mis]

I see you have .....

I see you have a Cal 34 on the Chessie.This wil lead me to believe that you will be beyond line of sight at times. In this case, a hand held is an expensive piece of useless communicatiions. I would recommend a hand held as an emergency second or third radio, but definately not your primary radio. Plain and simple....not enough power for distance. This can be debated on here, but in my opinion a cell phone is far more useful than a hand held. I have 2 stationary VHF's and 2 handhelds. One I paid a lot of money for and the other was left by the previous owner. I rarely ever use the handheld except to communicate with friends within a mile or 2 away. IMHOTony B

 

[Ross]

Here on the Chesapeake you very rarely

are out of sight of another boat. Relays are not common but neither are distress calls.

 

[Brian D]

A handheld should work just fine.

If you want, you can rig an antenna on the mast and have the cable routed to the cockpit. There you just remove the rubber ducky antenna and connect the mast antenna. Just make sure the connector match. A 5 watt handheld is just as effective as the low power setting on the fixed radio.

 

[Ross]

Joe when I put the magnetic VHF mount on my bronze winch

how far away from the compass should it be?

 

[Stu Jackson]

Not for us

Reply #9 wrote: "Another thing is that the handheld in normally off to conserve batteries while the installed VHF is normally kept on when you are sailing so other people can call you."We disagree completely. That's why it's called boating! We have a rechargeable battery pack in our Horizon handheld, with a 12V connector, and a 120 V connector to the charging base, AND a down-below fixed mount with a masthead antenna. We also have a ready-to-go alkaline battery tray for the handheld. The fixed mount is almost always off and the handheld is ALWAYS on listening to 14 (VTS) and 16 in the cockpit. We also do bridges a lot and need the handheld to raise them.Marcia, it all depends on where you plan to sail. I suggest reading West Marine's discussions about radios in their catalogs or online, answers all your questions.Your boat, your choice.

 

[elle]

Here's how I decide...

Marcia,I 'm also a lady sailor who singlehands a 22' sailboat....Here is how I would make this decision:If you were out on the water and needed assistance, how much would you be willing to pay for help ?? $50? Get the handheld....$100-150? Get the fixed mount VHF w/masthead antenna. ...Would I miss the money or my life more.....Safety first.elle

 

[Paul Brinkley]

Heh! Ross, when youu put your magnetic mount....

...on your bronze winch, just let go of it, and it will be far enough away from your compass very quickly....;D ;D

 

[Joseph Shirley]

To Ross & Paul, and also

To Ross & Paul; I have self Tailing Winches with Chrome Bronze drums & Bases, But The Gears , Pawls, Drive Squares and Assembly snap rings on the top are not bronze. No Company has made an all bronze winch since Merriman Bros. Inc. went out of the marine hardware business in 1967 (I was the Marine Products Engineer for Merriman). My bronze winch and sometimes my halyard clutches feeding them provide a semi-permanent mount for my magnetic mounted Satalite radio antenna, although I will admit that a non 300 series stainless plate (with enough Iron to accept a magnet) would be better.--- and Stu - you have spent a lot of money and a lot of extra effort to make your hanheld work like an installed VHF, but you still only have 5 watts. and if you use it to open bridges its probably OK, --- but if you were offshore or within sight of only one other boat, and you were sinking, you would probably be praying that they weren't depending on a handheld that might be turned off. Remember helping fellow sailors at sea is a two way street.Joe

 

[Mike B]

Go with the fixed mount

Go with a fixed mount VHF. Either get one you can mount in the cockpit so it's handy or if it's down below get a remote so you can use without going below. While many days a handheld will work fine there are others when it just wont do. If you're out only on weekends there a good chance someone will hear you on a handheld. Do the same on a weekday when the bay is empty and it can be another story. Handhelds make nice backups and are great for the dink but I would avoid depending on one for a primary radio.

 

[Ross]

Joe the last time I looked the strength of a magnetic field was inversely propor

cube of the distance from the poles.

 

[Marcia]

This got COMPLICATED

very quickly, didn't it? Yes, we do own a Cal 34 that has both a handheld AND a mounted unit with external antenna on the mast top. My assumption has been that this was all one intertwined unit - hence my original question about using a handheld alone. The PY23 I want to singlehand is a recent aquisition to my fleet and will be sailed close to shore in the Chesapeake Bay. I've been working on it all winter and have about 2 months of work still to do before I can sail it. Thanks for all the great advice. I love the thought provoking, intelligent questions and answers on this site.

 

[Landsend]

Go the fixed mount with a mast mounted antenna.

Handheld have a very short line of sight range.

 

[Maine Sail]

Some things to consider

1) Fixed mount 25 watts of TX power2) Hand held 5 watts of TX power3) The higher the antenna and the more powerful the output the safer the VHF4) If you have a VHF it MUST be turned on and you MUST be monitoring it (batteries)5) Hand helds KILL batteries quickly in the 5 watt TX mode and are less than a mile or so at 1 watt TXCarry LOTS of batteries or a way to keep a hand held charged!VHF Regulations regarding monitoring:"In general, any vessel equipped with a VHF marine radiotelephone (whether voluntarily or required to) must maintain a watch on channel 16 (156.800 MHz) whenever the radiotelephone is not being used to communicate.Source: FCC 47 CFR §§ 80.148, 80.310, NTIA Manual 8.2.29.6.c(2)(e), ITU RR 31.17, 33.18, AP13 §25.2"This law is VIOLATED by many, many boaters but should not be. The bottom line is if you have a VHF you MUST monitor ch16 at all times unless transmitting!!! This is just one of many reasons why a fixed mount is a prudent choice..

 

[seadaddler]

Wow IT's Pretty Hot Here

Well I guess you should have given all the details in the beginningit's so hot here I am turning on the AC.Since you are still working on the boat and maybe if the mast is downwhy not add a VHF antenna on top of the mast,the hand held might be OKfor you but it can't hurt to have the antenna up top so you can add a better a radio later it can't hurt.Nick

 

[Joseph Shirley]

Mainsail is right on and Stu you are correct but you digressed a

long way from my recommendation. Marcia get the handheld at your peril or as a second radio, but install a std VHF for your safety. Please! --- and remember--- some advice is worth more than you pay for it, and some isn't.Joe