Why You Need VHF Radio

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Your "mobile" won't work real well a few miles offshore whereas your VHF works great and can communicate at least 15 miles in ALL directions and will be heard by ALL boats and ships across about 30 miles in all directions.


More than that for some..

Your mobile in many areas will deliver 30 range your vhf from sea level will struggle to deliver 5-7 nm

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Your mobile in many areas will deliver 30 range your vhf from sea level will struggle to deliver 5-7 nm

VHF is line of sight, if your antenna is 3 metres above sea level and the receiving station has an antenna at 30 metres the range is about 15 miles.
Most yachts have, of course, an antenna much higher than that.

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by Sailer_Med

What kind of idiot would ever say a cell phone was sufficient?

About 20 years or more ago I was shopping at the Melbourne Boat Show for a hand bearing compass.
On three different stands I was told 'you don't need a compass if you have a GPS'.
The message was identical from each of them - I think they had all been drinking the Garmin Koolaid.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

About 20 years or more ago I was shopping at the Melbourne Boat Show for a hand bearing compass.

On three different stands I was told 'you don't need a compass if you have a GPS'.

The message was identical from each of them - I think they had all been drinking the Garmin Koolaid.

Thankfully we live in a technological world and old ways die out and quite tightjy embrace the tech

[Baby tug]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

VHF is line of sight, if your antenna is 3 metres above sea level and the receiving station has an antenna at 30 metres the range is about 15 miles.
Most yachts have, of course, an antenna much higher than that.

Nothing wrong with having a hard wired VHF , however I find in most cases There pretty useless , I have one on my current boat because it came with it nothing wrong with having one like I said they’re inexpensive relatively speaking , but a lot of people don’t even listen to them and it cannot tell you how many times I’ve tried to contact a small fishing boat , Crab boat never to get a response , I carry a handheld so I can communicate with Someone right next to me or coming in and out of port, If you’re out of cell range I would suggest a sat phone , however I cannot tell you how many stories of Coast Guard rescues I hear on a regular basis, Because I live right next-door to one of the biggest Coast guard Station on the west coast , nine times out of 10 they go out with a gas powered trash pump , water pump , to pump a boat and maybe tow it happens on a regular basis probably every one of those was called in with a cell phone , coverage on the west coast of Washington state is pretty good , I would go out without a VHF but I would never go without my cell phone , and if I was north of Vancouver Island i would have a sat phone , Gas powered water pump and all the other safety gear flares liferaft etc. and of course handheld VHF so I can communicate with a boat once I see it coming , you need to be able to self rescue , relying on a vhf is a joke

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Baby tug

Nothing wrong with having a hard wired VHF , however I find in most cases There pretty useless , I have one on my current boat because it came with it nothing wrong with having one like I said they’re inexpensive relatively speaking , but a lot of people don’t even listen to them and it cannot tell you how many times I’ve tried to contact a small fishing boat , Crab boat never to get a response , I carry a handheld so I can communicate with Someone right next to me or coming in and out of port, If you’re out of cell range I would suggest a sat phone , however I cannot tell you how many stories of Coast Guard rescues I hear on a regular basis, Because I live right next-door to one of the biggest Coast guard Station on the west coast , nine times out of 10 they go out with a gas powered trash pump , water pump , to pump a boat and maybe tow it happens on a regular basis probably every one of those was called in with a cell phone , coverage on the west coast of Washington state is pretty good , I would go out without a VHF but I would never go without my cell phone , and if I was north of Vancouver Island i would have a sat phone , Gas powered water pump and all the other safety gear flares liferaft etc. and of course handheld VHF so I can communicate with a boat once I see it coming , you need to be able to self rescue , relying on a vhf is a joke

All rescue agencies will confirm your stories 80 % is the proportion of communication now received by module Phone , most expect within 5 years nothing will come in via vhf

[Pizzazz]

If you are boating, you need a compass and a VHF. A cell phone is good to have but a VHF is a must. I agree that a handheld VHF is a lot more useful, cheap and easy to replace. The fixed VHF gives you DSC (that nobody uses) but often you have old cables, connector corrosion, etc. On the other hand, the handheld gets wet every now and then.

In general, if you want to practice safe boating, it pays off to be more conservative and have multiple ways to do the same task, i.e. multiple GPS, multiple radios, multiple charting solutions. It is inexpensive and safe. Add new technology slowly and gradually.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Pizzazz

If you are boating, you need a compass and a VHF. A cell phone is good to have but a VHF is a must. I agree that a handheld VHF is a lot more useful, cheap and easy to replace. The fixed VHF gives you DSC (that nobody uses) but often you have old cables, connector corrosion, etc. On the other hand, the handheld gets wet every now and then.

In general, if you want to practice safe boating, it pays off to be more conservative and have multiple ways to do the same task, i.e. multiple GPS, multiple radios, multiple charting solutions. It is inexpensive and safe. Add new technology slowly and gradually.

Loads ps use for dsc I keep my radio station programmed in as with my buddy friends no misses that alarm going off

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Your mobile in many areas will deliver 30 range your vhf from sea level will struggle to deliver 5-7 nm

Here cell phone can barely show video whereas VHF lets you know what it happening around you.

I just crossed the Thimble Shoal Shipping Channel.

Both hand held and mounted VHF radios are on

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TOdSCDHb2s

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

All rescue agencies will confirm your stories 80 % is the proportion of communication now received by module Phone , most expect within 5 years nothing will come in via vhf

I think that depends a lot on where you are. In some places that may be true, in others, not at all. Some places have great cell coverage, some hardly have any. And some have lots of rescue assets nearby, others don't. In that last case, a VHF call is much more useful, as it's likely to get a few people in the area heading your direction while comms with the CG happen and they get an update on who's coming, ETA, etc. during the however long it takes to get their (or another agency's) assets on scene.

Keep in mind, at least in the US, the majority of calls for assistance aren't a "mayday" level call. Where I am, for the all too common "we're in a small boat, don't have brains, and we're out of gas" type calls, the USCG often won't even send a boat, they'll just offer to call TowBoatUS or SeaTow. And if the person declines that, they'll put out a general request for anyone willing to tow them in.

Depending on how far the nearest USCG station or tow boat location is, it's not uncommon to hear the first response be from a nearby boat offering a tow, at which point the CG will generally collect some information, thank the boat giving the tow and request to be notified once the disabled boat has been towed in successfully or if the situation changes. I've seen a few cases where someone was already on scene and setting up a tow before the USCG was done collecting information, let alone ready to do anything else.

For a big rescue, yes, good coordination is critical. But those problems aren't going to be solved by Bob who's on his way back in from fishing anyway, while some of the small problems can be.


As far as VHF range, 5 - 7 miles is probably about right for a handheld. But a good fixed mount VHF with good antenna and cable will go much further, especially mounted up high on a sailboat mast. I know from experience I can talk to a sailboat from 10 miles with some land in between (antenna height of 17 feet on my boat, not sure on the sailboat). It's also possible to communicate with the Canadian Coast Guard (using their nice, big radio towers) from 40 miles away. Keep in mind, the US Rescue21 system is meant to hear a 1 watt handheld 2 meters off the water from 20 miles. So a 25 watt fixed mount with a much higher antenna will be heard from significantly further.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

VHF is line of sight, if your antenna is 3 metres above sea level and the receiving station has an antenna at 30 metres the range is about 15 miles.
Most yachts have, of course, an antenna much higher than that.

Near the USA, coastal VHF stations operated by the USCG are typically installed around 300 feet above sea level (see https://continuouswave.com/whaler/re...1Stations.html). They utilize 6 dBd gain antennas. A typical "radio horizon" calculation using a 60 foot antenna height on a sailboat will give a 35 mile range (see https://www.qsl.net/w4sat/horizon.htm).


Actual useful range is somewhat greater because the VHF radio horizon is not absolute due to the presence of tropospheric scatter and the gain on the USCG antenna helps with this.


The carefully modeled USCG coverage charts are based on the very conservative assumption of a 1 watt transmitter 2 meters above sea level. Nonetheless, there is coverage 30 miles off shore in some areas. Here's an example:

[goboatingnow]

I don’t think we are arguing vhf isnt useful and clearly itvus. My point is any suitable communications is useful and

[donradcliffe]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Your mobile in many areas will deliver 30 range your vhf from sea level will struggle to deliver 5-7 nm

In the USA you have it backwards. The USCG Rescue 21 system is operational with a system specification of a minimum 20 miles offshore from a 1 watt
vhf antenna located 2 meters above the water.

I have had clear USCG VHF communications with a broken mast from 35 miles offshore, using an emergency antenna consisting of a length of steel measuring tape.

https://www.amazon.com/Radiowavz-Ant.../dp/B01M4NV336

OTOH, there are vast areas of our coastline which are cellular deadspots.

[goboatingnow]

I merely base my comments on feedback from several uk Irish and European radio stationsa and rhey all report the same comments that almost all leisure reporting is by mobiles

Gmdss was my built on the basis of point to point communications and this will probably prove prescient