VHF Aerial question

[CamH]

I'm going to replace the 27meg in my CC boat with a VHF. The one in there now is a GME 27MHZ and the VHF I'm going for is an ICOM-M302. The aerial now is detachable and screws in a sort of elbow joint that sticks out the side of the console (I assume the actual aerial cable is attached inside the console to that joint). Most VHF aerials I see have a base that is installed somewhere and then the aerial itself attaches to that. Does anyone know if I could get a VHF aerial that would be comptible with the joint that is already there? Thanks.

[Steven78]

Bias might beable to help or BCF you should beable to find something that would suit.

[boyzie]

yeah you can get a GME VHF aerial which will fit the same base and wires as the 27 meg radio just have to check if the aeiral is compatable with the new vhf. i'll suss it out and get back to you

[CamH]

Thanks for that fellas.

[JB]

I am also looking at changing my setup the same as above, ditch the 27 (most unreliable piece of crap radio ever) and replace with an icom vhf . I am a bit paranoid when it comes to ordering from overseas, and would like to find somewhere locally that i can buy / get it installed. The new bcf fishing joint, do they sell vhf's ??

Basicly anyone that has purchased one from the brisbane / gold coast area that was happy with the price and installation of one, i would love to hear where and how much.

Thanks and bring on the vhf!

JB

[CamH]

I've found the local BCF here in Toowoomba has only the GME brand of radios but the BIAS Boating chain of stores stock the full range as well as Witworths.

JB - on another topic, is that story in the December edition of BNB about Dane the quadriplegic fisho your mate?

[SundownMarine]

JB,

We sell and fit VHF's here.
The GME GX600 is what we usually fit into boats that go through here.

Give us a call for more information.

Sundown Marine

[Dave]

Just bought a GME GX600 with the aerial mount, aerial(2.5m), From BCF for $340. Put it all in worked fine. Tried it on the water and near the jumpinpin bar i was clearly recieving boats talking to coastguard mooloolaba.

[CamH]

I wasn't trying to give the impression that I thought the GME radios were no good. I really don't know but I've just heard a lot of good things about the ICOM so I thought I'd give it a go.

[25_ponies]

Mate, I've got the M302. It's only had limited use, but so far I'm happy. It's got DSC so I've hooked it up to the GPS which seems to work well (just need to test it with another DSC radio owner).

The only downside of the M302 is that the display is quite small so the channel text and DSC info scroll instead of being displayed all the time.

I bought the radio a while back now and think I paid somewhere around $350, plus another $60 or so for the 1.8M antenna. Here are the various GME VHF antennae - http://www.gme.net.au/marine/antennas/vhf_aerials.php

The longer the antenna, the better Tx and Rx, but the bigger a pain it will be to manage.

For anyone that's interested, according to the GX600 specs - it doesn't have DSC - so if anyone is buying one of these keep this in mind.

Cheers,
Ponies.

[CamH]

Thanks Ponies, I wouldn't really consider DSC as being a factor in buying a VHF unit anyway. I think DSC is made out to be way more than it actually is.

Most VMR's won't monitor channel 70 (the DSC channel).
You can only use general text messaging to another DSC enabled radio.
You have to know the MMSI of the other radio you want to sent messages to.
The broadcast mayday will only be picked up by other DSC enabled radios (and only if they are monitoring channel 70).
The broadcast mayday will be switched off if another boat acknowledges they have received it.
The standard procedure for mayday sent by DSC is to switch to channel 16 after it's initiated and broadcast a verbal mayday which really defeats the purpose of the DSC in the first place.
Only real pro I can see is that it will give your position if connected to GPS.

[JB]

CamH, yes DC is a mate of mine, i havent read the article yet or seen the latest b&b yet for that matter. Might have to pop down at lunchtime and see if its in the stands yet.

Jas

[CamH]

Hi Jas,

He sounds like a top bloke to get through all the hardships and get into fishing. I noticed in the article they wanted to know if anyone had an old VHF radio to donate to help make his boat a bit safer. I sent an email to BNB offering to go one better and front up the cash for brand new one for him. Do you know if there has been any contact from them or if it's taken care of what else might help?

[DaneCross]

CamH,
I seem to be the now-famous Dane, thanks to Webby ;) I haven't seen the article yet but have already heard that Webby did a great job on the write-up. I really didn't expect to gain anything from the article and wasn't expecting Webby to throw the bit in regarding the VHF. As much as I appreciate your offer (and anyone else who has or is considering helping out), I was only aiming to raise a bit of awareness for myself, and anyone else in a similar situation to myself, who is getting out there and not allowing their disability to inhibit the way they live their lives.
On the topic of VHF's, since my trip out with Webby, I have purchased an ICOM IC-M402S from the States and at $142US (+$38US postage) I think I got a great buy (Whitworths have them for $419AU). It arrived in the post yesterday, (3 working days after ordering it!) I'm yet to have it installed and will also be in the market for an aerial. Have you had any luck finding an aerial? I'm considering this one - http://www.whitworths.com.au/main_itemdetail.asp?cat=114&item=70003&intAbsolutePage=4 any opinions?
Cheers,
Dane

[CamH]

Hi DC,

I didn't even realise that was your AusFish user name on other posts around the site. It was a good article and I just wanted to help out if you needed a hand with anything but sounds like you got it under all under control as far as the radio goes. I'll be at the sunny coast on the weekend so I'll have a serious look around for a matching aerial then. I guess it doesn't really matter if I can't find one to fit the joint on the console, I'll just have to mount it with the base somewhere else.

[25_ponies]

Dane,

I've got one of those GME AE50 VHF antennas. It's not a bad unit and seems to be pretty sturdy. The 2 way swivel base works well. There's a shot of it at http://www.gme.net.au/marine/antennas/vhf_aerials.php

Let me know if you want to see a photo of it mounted (or if you're not in a hurry we can catch up next time you're out on the bay)

Cheers,

Ponies.

[DaneCross]

Gday Ponies,
Thanks for the info. If you have a pic of it mounted I'd appreciate having a look at it.
I just had a bit more of a look and for $1 more, I can get the 2.4m one, which I guess would give me more range?? Is this true, or would it just be a bit of over-kill??
Dane

[25_ponies]

No worries mate, will take a shot on the weekend (usually when I'm home during the week it's dark :()

The only thing that might be a problem with the 2.4M is finding a place to mount it so you can lay it down when not in use. If I remember correctly, your rig is a 4.8M ? - mine's the same and the 1.8M lays down perfectly along the gunwalls (will show you in the photo)