VHF Radio

I'm thinking about purchasing a VHF and am totally clueless on them.
What are you using? Pros and Cons etc..
Best place to purchase?
Thanks

This is what I use (gotta replace mine cause I lost it at Big Sur last week   )

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00009V32Z/ref=pd_luc_mri/102-0335051-7474527?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance

Here's what I use ... and on sale at West Marine for $119.99

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10001&langId=-1&catalogId=10001&productId=132279&catalogId=10001&classNum=542&subdeptNum=64&storeNum=3

I bought it mainly because in tests that West Marine did across all the brands they carry, they found this one to be able to maintain its waterproofness the longest.  Interesting enough, they found that many so called waterproof radios lost their waterproofness rather quickly under normal use condition.

-Allen

this is good info from KZREELRODS

KzReelRods



Joined: 07 Dec 2004
Posts: 187
Location: Santa Rosa, CA
 Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2005 10:48 am    Post subject:    

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A word to the wise for those shopping for a VHF radio... and I know this has been discussed before.

The designation of "waterproof to JIS-7 specifications" does not mean that the unit is waterproof. It can withstand some water exposure but water can still infiltrate into the inside of the unit.

I'm seeing a lot of units marked "submersible" which appears to be a more waterproof designation. I'm told by a West Marine sales guy that "submersible" means they are rated to withstand submersion to 3-feet for 30 minutes.

I have a Uniden Voyager that I am sending back for warranty service because of some problems related to saltwater intrusion, even when the unit wasn't dunked per se.

If I were going to do it again, I'd look for a unit with no "twirl" type knobs and no port for accessories such as microphones and such. These types of features are avenues for water intrusion.

West marine has one nice little unit on sale right now (VHF 50) that looks pretty appealing... they are made by Uniden but under West Marine's brand. No twirl type knobs and rated as "submersible" and very light weight... plus they'll throw in a free waterproof VHF bag for it. Here's the link...

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10001&langId=-1&catalogId=10001&productId=132279
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Kunz's Reel Rods
www.geocities.com/[email protected]

KZ and me are talking the same radio for the same reasons.  I was just too lazy to type all the info he did.

-Allen

FYI: I just found out that West Marine will match their price with any competitor - just bring a copy (with a date) of the sale item (or print it out from the web page)

Thanks for all the great info and advice on radio selection. Very Much appreciated. I will be calling West Marine today to put in an order.
Dave