Re: VHF Radios

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: I found this post informational and titillating. : Thank You Steve!!! : : : : : I will try and keep this simple. : : There is an international standard for marine VHF radios. Maximum power allowed is 25 watts. There is a low/high power : : switch on all radios as required by this international standard. The idea is to use the low power setting whenever possible. This : : keeps your signal from going somewhere it doesn't need to. An example would be if you are sitting in the boat in Black Sound : : and want to talk to someone in Bottom Harbour. If you use the 25 watt setting, they are going to hear you in Treasure Cay, : : GBH and possibly Rock Sound. You are cluttering the channel. : : As for a hand-held radio, I would not want to be out on the water without a back-up radio. If your big radio fails, electrical : : system fails, etc., you can still communicate. : : Hand-held radios come in various power levels. Some have outputs as high as five watts. However, the performance and power : : output of the radio is determined by the battery. If you use a hand-held at the five watt level, your battery won't last very long at : : all. Probably a couple of hours of actual transmit time if that. There are low/high power settings on hand-helds too. Use only : : the amount of power required to communicate. : : VHF radios are basically the same in terms of electrical specifications. What makes one perform better than another is the : : type of antenna you use and its location. The better and higher the antenna, the better the signal. That is why you can hear a : : sailboat with a mast head antenna in Harbour Island clearly in Governor's Harbour. However, a power boat with its antenna near the surface probably : : won't be heard. : : The antennas on hand-held radios are virtually worthless from an electrical standpoint and meant for short-range : : communications. : : If you buy a hand-held radio, buy an EXTRA battery for it or get a separate battery pack that takes AA batteries. This way, you : : can count on the radio in the event of an emergency. : : It is interesting to note that the use of VHF radios in the Bahamas violates international conventions. You are not supposed to : : use a VHF radio to communicate with an unlicensed shore station. There are severe fines for this in the US. The Bahamas did : : try and enforce this some years ago as residents of Marsh Harbour might recall. However, they gave up due to public opinion : : and the already accepted use of the VHF radio as a vital means of communications. : : I personally think it is great that virtually everyone from the hardware store to the taxi drivers uses the VHF radio. If you get : : in a jam on the water, SOMEONE is going to hear you. : : Regards, : : Steve

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