VHF's; RAM mic's? location & mounting options?

[Godot]

Too late.  The radio is bought (I bought it new at a deep discount, around $75, almost two years ago ... just now getting it installed), and so is the WHAM.  I don't think the Uniden Oceanus offers wired remotes, anyhow.

[s/v Faith]

Adam,

  Something you might want to consider is to mount the radio to the overhead inside the companionway.

  This is where we have it aboard Faith, and it has worked out well.  It is not out in the weather (or in sight when the boat is locked up).  It is easily reached from below, or from the cockpit. 

  We have mike brackets both on the inside and outside of the companionway, and can keep the mike within reach.  I do use a small external speaker that Kurt gave me to hear more clearly (mostly when motoring).

  I think I have a picture in the gallery that shows the location... will look for  it when the gallery is back up.

 

[Godot]

Adam,

  Something you might want to consider is to mount the radio to the overhead inside the companionway.
 

That was an option I considered, and may eventually go to if the current location doesn't work out.  I'm gonna try this for a season, at least, though.  It makes the cabin look less cluttered, and just seems more comfortable.  Plus, with the WHAM I can use it with the cabin buttoned up tight.  That has turned out to be an issue in the past. 

I do have an external speaker that will end up in the cockpit.

[AdriftAtSea]

I'd have to agree that being able to button up the companionway is a good thing.  There are just days where leaving it even open a bit will get so much water in to cabin it isn't worth it.

[Leroy - Gulf 29]

FWIW, I read somewhere, IIRC the CSBB, that wireless mikes are a battery hog.  May want to carry a bunch of extra batteries for it.

[Godot]

First, sorry about a repetitive thread.  I had forgotten about my original post in February 2007 (given I'm just now installing the radio, you can see how far behind I am in boat work).

Second, regarding the mic being a battery hog, that would not be a great thing.  The mic comes with a rechargeable NiMH battery and provisions for using AA batteries, so I suppose I could survive even if I have to replace the batteries somewhere during the day.  This is very undesirable, though, and could possibly be a deal breaker.  A possible solution might be to generally keep the mic off and monitor VHF via an external (wired) speaker in the cockpit.  That might depend on how quick the WHAM will power up when needed.

And here's a less than flattering review on Amazon:

I purchased this WHAM mike and a Uniden Oceanus about 18 months ago. The radio works fine but the Wham microphone is worthless. I returned it to the
manufacturer and was told it is working to specs. The Mike has a long lag time between the radio and the Mike.This makes it almost impossible to hear a conversation or even have one using the mike.The battery life is very low and will barely run 5 hours at best and often only 2. Many times the Microphone will not link to the radio at all. I have tried numerous locations on the boat for the sending unit to no avail. Uniden has been totally unresponsive to my complaint and I will avoid them in the future. Hope this helps someone avoid my grief....

Suddenly, I feel less confident about my choice.

There's nothing for it but to try it out and see how it works.

[Godot]

Oh, and if it doesn't work as well as hoped, I'd still like to keep the VHF in the existing location.  I may ebay the whole package and get a different radio with a WIRED command mic. 

What the heck, it's only money.   :-\

[AdriftAtSea]

Where did you buy it from??? If you bought it from West Marine, you could probably return it for full credit towards another unit with a wired mic.  :)

Also, the problem with opening a WHAM mic or something like that while sailing is that the unit is now much more vulnerable to salt spray, since you're breaking the integrity of the casing.  I can't imagine trying to deal with changing the batteries in the WHAM mic in heavy seas and winds would be very successful or fun. :)

[Godot]

Where did you buy it from??? If you bought it from West Marine, you could probably return it for full credit towards another unit with a wired mic.  :)

I don't remember where I bought it.  I was at the Annapolis sailboat show.  I no longer have the receipt.  I think I'm stuck.

Interestingly, I just dug through my pile of stuff, and it turns out I have the WHAMx2 mic as well.  I don't remember purchasing a second WHAM; but there it is.  That means if one runs down I can use the other.  I'm not much of a VHF gabber so hopefully I'll do better than the 5 hours mentioned above (especially since it takes 14 hours to charge from dead).

In addition to the negative review above, I did read a few good reviews.  Fingers crossed.  The mast should be stepped on Thursday.  Give me a couple of days to get the wiring squared away and I'll test it out.  Should be interesting.

[s/v Faith]

Thanks for admitting this Adam.

Interestingly, I just dug through my pile of stuff, and it turns out I have the WHAMx2 mic as well.  I don't remember purchasing a second WHAM; but there it is.....

  Glad I am not the only one.   ;D

[Godot]

I finally had a chance to use the new VHF setup, and it works fine.  There are some quirks to the WHAM mic; but no deal breakers.

Quirk one: When operating the buttons on the mic, changes seem to happen at the radio quick enough; but it takes a few extra seconds for the mic to respond.  This was frustrating at first; but it is easy to adjust to.

Quirk two: For incoming transmissions, the WHAM mic sometimes loses the first couple seconds.  I dealt with this annoyance by turning the volume up on the VHF and down on the WHAM.  When I install the remote external speaker in the cockpit, I suspect this will become the default mode.

The good news is that transmissions seemed to work just fine.  And the batteries didn't run down for probably 12 hours.  Of course, I don't transmit much.  While listening to the radio during the day it became obvious that some other folks transmit a whole lot.  So maybe that has something to do with the reported low battery life.  Having two WHAMs, I always had one on the charger which worked well.

Gear rating: Adequate.   A wired remote mic would probably have suited me better; but NOT enough change my current setup.

[Bill NH]

When I install the remote external speaker in the cockpit...

Think this one through carefully before you cut the hole...  I've seen several boats where people have installed speakers (usually for a stereo) down by your feet in the vertical sides of the cockpit.  In the event of cockpit flooding/pooping, this only leaves what is usually a paper cone (in automotive-type speakers) keeping the water out of the interior spaces.  Not sure what material is used in "marinized" speakers but I'm fairly certain that it is not designed to hold back standing water when submerged, just to not fall apart in rain and spray...

[AdriftAtSea]

Bill's got a very good point.

The speakers on the Pretty Gee are mounted into a compartment that drains overboard and has the rudder trunk in it... so flooding the boat isn't a problem. 

But on many boats, where the lockers that the speakers are mounted in are open to the bilge, like the cockpit lazarettes on many boats, I highly recommend mounting the speakers behind deckplates that you can close off when sailing in heavier weather.  Getting pooped and suddenly having two new six-inch diameter holes letting water into the bilge is a very BAD thing.

[Godot]

When I install the remote external speaker in the cockpit...

Think this one through carefully before you cut the hole...  I've seen several boats where people have installed speakers (usually for a stereo) down by your feet in the vertical sides of the cockpit.  In the event of cockpit flooding/pooping, this only leaves what is usually a paper cone (in automotive-type speakers) keeping the water out of the interior spaces.  Not sure what material is used in "marinized" speakers but I'm fairly certain that it is not designed to hold back standing water when submerged, just to not fall apart in rain and spray...

Happily, the speaker I have is a little bracket mounted speaker like 'B' below (I sure wish our gallery was working again so I could have trimmed the photo and uploaded it ... I'd hate having to deal with another site).  I don't need to cut a big hole in the boat, just a tiny little hole to sneak the speaker cable in with.  Actually, I'll probably bring it in through the hole the fishfinder uses, which is rather high up and not a threat to the integrity of the boat.

I've used this speaker for a couple of years on my old VHF, and it works just fine.  I never mounted it, and snaked the cable in past the companionway slats.  It has been banged around in sloppy weather, and once spent a day or so sitting in a puddle of water with no harm.  Well worth the $20 I spent on it.

[s/v Faith]

Some advice I just posted to a new-to-VHF user on a local fishing forum.. he got the radio for Christmas, and was going to go out to 'try it out' this weekend (it will be cold here, He may not hear much).

Of course there is a lot I left out.. the fishermen do not care about hailing commercial traffic, or bridge operators..


Keep it on ch16 when you are just sitting around, if someone is in trouble and you are nearby you can save someones life just by having it on.


Don't get carried away with the radio checks, some days you can hardly stand to have the radio on for all the radio checks... good advice from the poster above about not doing radio checks on 16.. usually plenty of traffic on 68.


If you are not calling for someone or reporting an emergency don't talk on channel 16. If you have an emergency, you can interrupt other conversation with the word 'break'.... never 'breaker breaker'.. unless your handle is 'bandit' and you are driving a kenworth.... good buddy* _{(see below)}.


The normal procedure is to call the vessel you want 3x, and wait. If they do not answer, repeat if you really need to, but do not do it over and over... Ex, Faith, Faith, Faith.... (your name here).


Drop the 'CB' lingo. Things like 'you got your ears on', obscure '10 codes' and 'good buddy' DO NOT make you cool. Also, saying 'over' at the end of each transmission makes you sound equally silly.


Do not use profanity. Remember there are others sitting fishing with their children... and it is illegal, but it is unlikely to be caught.. by the FCC... your brothers here will likely bust your chops on the board though. ;)


If you hear foreign language chatting away constantly on channel 16, it is permissible, (even encouraged) to hunt them down and kill them....

....really.

[s/v Faith]

I am on record of being no fan of AIS, however if someone were looking for a small boat solution that would give some AIS data without having to add another display or running a fragile laptop power hog, this may be an answer that will work for you;

TheStandard Horizon GX2100 unit will provide a mini AIS display and ability to call listed targets directly via DSC functions and at a rather low price and all with only one antenna.

I understand that Defender Marine has it selling now for less then $350... ...



http://www.standardhorizon.com/indexVS.cfm?cmd=DisplayProducts&ProdCatID=83&encProdID=F858763BB81027701141A0167DE2A031&DivisionID=3&isArchived=0

This site has good pictures, details and specs.
http://www.starmarinedepot.com/Standard+Horizon+GX2100+Matrix+AIS.html?gclid=COK7wrThop8CFchn5Qod9D4KrQ

[Godot]

I think that is very cool and was wondering why VHFs weren't incorporating AIS yet.  A bigger display might be nice; but, if far offshore this would be quite adequate, I suspect, for the occasional contact. And if things get busy the power hungry laptop could be powered up and used to keep track of heavy traffic.  Plus, being able to easily call specific  boats (DSC) almost makes it worth while on its' own.

Interesting points, of all the ships sighted on my recent trip, NONE of them responded to VHF calls.