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barato
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Posted: Tue Jan 8th, 2008 08:22 pm |
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realized on last trip i needed some real safety gear, even (especially?!) if i am in a small inflatable.....this IS the friggen Pacific Ocean, mas o menos. duh. grew up in Fla and should know this but New Mexico doesn't have too many lakes big enough to worry about suchlike on.
anyone have any experience good or bad with any of the handheld marine VHF radios? i note Uniden has one that combines VHF with a GPS, which seems logical combination....nice to be able to let folks know not just that you're in trouble but where you are.
any suggestions on other stuff i should carry would also be appreciated. looking at some flares, strobe, post-freon horn, gallon of water, 1st aid kit (didja see pic in fishing forum of guy who caught about 10/0 hook through his hand?) as minimum.
thanks in advance! please excuse if there's been discussion on this (i did search first).
Last edited on Tue Jan 8th, 2008 08:26 pm by barato
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Vince Radice
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| Joined: | Wed Oct 26th, 2005 |
| Location: | San Carlos, Mexico |
| Posts: | 354 |
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Posted: Wed Jan 9th, 2008 12:19 am |
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I have a port supply account. Port supply is the whole sale distributor for West Marine so if you are interested in anything from West Marine let me know and I can get you the whole sale price for that and have it shipped to anywhere in the states. The Vhf radio built in with gps does sound nice but pricey as well. Check out what the coast guard recomends for safety gear. Are you on a sail boat or just cruising around in an inflatible? If you are just hanging out in San Carlos a simple hand held VHF will do fine and west marine does have a nice one that I have been using for years now and have been pretty happy with it. It is water proof supposedly but I wouldn't drop it in the water to check it.
Hope that helps.
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barato
Member
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Posted: Wed Jan 9th, 2008 02:06 pm |
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quite a bit, yes, thanks. i'm not admanant on the radio/GPS unit as it looks like one could maybe get both units for less than the $400 i've seen for the combined one. thanks for offer....i'll look at what West has and may be PMing you. i may be buying 2 units (see below....) so keeping price down where feasible sounds good.
any idea what kind of range one could generally* expect from one of these handheld units? i expect that rocks in SC would interfere with transmissions from most anywhere on shore?
*i'm aware of the million variables affecting radio transmission/reception range; looking for rough average in typical conditions
this is an 11' inflatable/2hp Honda that may not ever venture out of the bay, or along coastline when wind permits. i may be going overkill on the safety gear in light of this but
a) i may get more adventurous and have read many stories on this site of weather turning "interesting" really fast in SOC 
b)overkill here makes wife happy. happy wife tolerates more fishing widowhood.
c)i'm a firm believer in Murphyproofing...if you have it, Murphy will ensure that you don't need it, just to spite you. whereas......you know the rest!
i'll check USCG site and will post back here for anyone else with similar Qs. gracias!
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cantremember
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| Joined: | Wed Apr 5th, 2006 |
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Posted: Mon Jan 14th, 2008 05:05 am |
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You are very wise in your understanding of how Murphy operates. This
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/producte/10001/-1/10001/136071/377%20710%201234/0/Epirbs/Primary%20Search/mode%20matchallpartial/0/0?N=377%20710%201234&Ne=0&Ntt=Epirbs&Ntx=mode%20matchallpartial&page=CategoryDisplayLevel1&isLTokenURL=true&storeNum=8&subdeptNum=52&classNum=53
little device or something similar can save your life, not only in the Sea of Cortez but anywhere life's adventures, (and Murphy), takes you.
The young woman kayaker lost in the sea, (south end of Carmen I believe), 2 years ago, the fellow lost in Oregon with his family last year and a local woman here in Humboldt County CA out painting recently and falling breaking her hip a 1/2 mile from her pickup well may be alive today for a few hundred dollar investment in one of these.
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taoswheat
Member
| Joined: | Wed Jul 25th, 2007 |
| Location: | Taos, New Mexico USA |
| Posts: | 79 |
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Posted: Tue Jan 15th, 2008 01:41 pm |
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Here is a link to a new, less expensive emergency beacon:
http://www.roguewavemarine.com/store/product.php?itemid=sptspot1
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barato
Member
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Posted: Tue Jan 15th, 2008 03:50 pm |
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i've been looking at the SPOT unit, but you realize that it's a proprietary system where you pay an annual fee (i think $99) and presumably have to depend on reliability of their service (and them staying in business)? i do like the feature where it will also call several cellphone #s and fact that you can apparently also transmit a non-distress signal to fretful spouses etc.
also seen several conventional EPIRB units that go for <$200......their downside is that they transmit on 121.5 MHz instead of the 406 MHz of pricier units. aircraft and satellites currently monitor 121.5 but i've been told that satellite coverage of this band will be discontinued in/after 2009. less ideal than 406MHz units but those seem to start at abt $600.
anyone have any thoughts on the 406 vs 121.5 MHz EPIRB units, or on this SPOT device? thanks!
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taoswheat
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| Joined: | Wed Jul 25th, 2007 |
| Location: | Taos, New Mexico USA |
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Posted: Wed Jan 16th, 2008 01:41 pm |
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Marine Beacons on 121.5MHz are illegal as of January 1, 2007. See this link for info:
http://www.sarsat.noaa.gov/
Look down the page for a reference to 121.5 Beacons.
Last edited on Wed Jan 16th, 2008 01:46 pm by taoswheat
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Hook
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Posted: Wed Jan 16th, 2008 05:46 pm |
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Stick with something by Standard Horizon or ICOM. They are the most reliable and really arent much more expensive than the Uniden/WestMarine brand or others.
Get one that has a rechargeable battery pack AND ALSO ACCEPTS alkaline batteries. Very important if charging is not convenient.
I have a Standard HX 471S. It receives AM and FM radio, weather channels, aircraft channels and it will transmit on the marine band, the FRS band, the MURS band and the GMRS band. Pretty versatile. Comes with a charging stand for AC or DC that could be hard-mounted to a location and a nifty bungee strap that keeps it in the stand in rough conditions. Submersible. Has connectors for external mic and headsets. Accepts GPS inputs for emergency transmission of your position. Comes with a belt clip, too. Very small size.
The only drawback I see is it does not have a removeable "rubber ducky" if you wanted to use it with an external antenna.
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barato
Member
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Posted: Wed Jan 16th, 2008 06:18 pm |
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Marine Beacons on 121.5MHz are illegal as of January 1, 2007. See this link for info:
http://www.sarsat.noaa.gov/
Look down the page for a reference to 121.5 Beacons.
thanks for that info! you just saved me from wasting $200. somebody oughta tell West Marine, as they are still selling two 121.5 units.......oh, that's right, they're not illegal to sell, just to utilize in emergency situation 
wish someone made a 406 MHz unit that was a bit less than $600 as that's a pretty big jump from 200, but my wife probably figures (most days......) that me coming home is worth $6-800.
and Hook, thanx for info on VHF units. i'd been heading the same direction you recommend....Icom & Standard stuff seems to get better reviews than West units, and i'd already ruled out Uniden et al as crappo consumer disposatronics you wouldn't want to trust your butt to......
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taoswheat
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Posted: Wed Jan 16th, 2008 09:11 pm |
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I have a Cobra MR HH325 submersible handheld from Bass Pro (about $99) that seems to work well. Used it in SC last October with good results for a handheld VHF.
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