VHF with bells and whistles

Tacklewasher

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Sep 18, 2002
Messages
1,588
Looking into picking up a good VHF radio and am confused as to the bells and whistles I need (vs what the gadget guy in me wants).

I know I want the DSC but am also thinking it would be nice to plug it into my sounder/gps. I've got a Lowrance 522 that has NMEA 0183 and 2000 and I see Lowrance has a radio (LVR-880) that seems to connect to it and do some funky things.

Now this is probably more of a gadget than I need as I fish and play on Lake Okanagan and I don't think I've ever been outside of cell coverage. But the weather can turn quick (as we saw last year) and I am often out by myself.

Can other, non-Lowrance radios connect to a Lowrance GPS? I'm assuming yes, as long as they use a NMEA feature.

Cabellas sells it for under $200, but I'm not sure if that is a decent price or not. Given our dollar right now, that is going to be close to $300 Cdn (including taxes, shipping etc) and I am just wondering if a better deal is out there?
 

pvanv

Admiral
Joined
Apr 20, 2008
Messages
6,500
Re: VHF with bells and whistles

Any VHF that accepts NMEA will communicate with the GPS. But if you start tethering your handheld into cables, you have just negated most of the benefits of a handheld, and may be a lot cheaper off just getting a console-type VHF instead of a handheld.

Standard Horizon makes a handheld VHF that floats and has GPS built-in already. As I recall, it's well under $300.00 USD. Maybe that's more like what you want...
 

jhebert

Ensign
Joined
Jul 24, 2005
Messages
902
Re: VHF with bells and whistles

You should purchase a VHF Marine Band radio that has been certified as Class-D DSC; this is the U.S. Coast Guard recommendation, and most likely also the Canadian Coast Guard recommendation.

A Class-D DSC radio is really more of a computer attached to a radio than the other way around. Digital selective calling allows many nice features.

The most important feature for a DSC radio is to provide it with vessel position information for use in emergency DSC calls. This is done by connecting the radio to a source of position information using a NMEA interface. The typical configuration is to use a NMEA-0183 interface and to get the vessel position information from a GPS receiver.

Because of the vagaries of the wiring, connectors, terminology, and so on, many boaters have difficulty in making a serial data connection between two devices, and who can blame them. It is tricky.

NMEA-2000 is another vessel electronic communication standard which provides for simpler interfacing between devices. All devices connect to a NMEA-2000 vessel network backbone. This removes some of the difficulty in configuring communications between devices that often occurs when using NMEA-0183 wiring and protocols.

The LOWRANCE LVR-880 radio is somewhat unique in that it has a NMEA-2000 interface. It can be connected to a NMEA-2000 vessel network backbone and communicate with other devices, such as a GPS receiver, that are also connected to the vessel network.

If you already have a NMEA-2000 network backbone installed in your vessel, and you already have a GPS receiver on that network, then installing a LVR-880 will be a relatively simple way to get your VHF Marine Band radio communicating with your GPS receiver.

In addition to the basic function of having a vessel position supplied to the radio for transmission in emergency DSC calls, you can also use other features of the digital selective calling function. You can call other vessels using their maritime mobile service identity. You can request other vessels give you their position. You can display the position of other vessels on your chart plotter (if your chart plotter provides that functionality). If you have a chart plotter with an NMEA-2000 network interface installed on your vessel, you will be able to establish communication between the DSC radio and the chart plotter for the purpose of displaying the position of vessels that have sent you their positions via digital selective calling functions.
 

Tacklewasher

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Sep 18, 2002
Messages
1,588
Re: VHF with bells and whistles

As I said, some funky things ;)

I don't have the NMEA backbone yet, but plan on it for a few things, the radio being one of them. But it does sound like this radio will do what I'm wanting (more of a geek thing than a need thing).
 

Tacklewasher

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Sep 18, 2002
Messages
1,588
Re: VHF with bells and whistles

Is there a good primer on VHF stuff I can read?
 

dingbat

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Nov 20, 2001
Messages
15,417
Re: VHF with bells and whistles

I personally would never use a ?backbone? to transfer DSC data from the plotter to the radio. A backbone adds an additional source of failure into the mix. Hard wire the plotter and the radio together (solder two wires together) and be done with it.

Take the time to compare the performance specifications of the various radio manufacturers. Avoid those that don't publish detailed specifications for their radios. They may be hiding something.

What matters in a specification http://www.boatus.com/husick/c_vhf.asp

Not all DSC class D radios are created equal

http://www.yachtingmagazine.com/article.jsp?ID=21014386
 

dan t.

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Feb 28, 2008
Messages
1,131
Re: VHF with bells and whistles

take the Power Squadron VHF course. you need to any way to get your operators licence which is manditory in Canada. the course is easy and the rcmp or the CG will slap your wrist and hand you a ticket if you dont have it
 

Tacklewasher

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Sep 18, 2002
Messages
1,588
Re: VHF with bells and whistles

take the Power Squadron VHF course. you need to any way to get your operators licence which is manditory in Canada. the course is easy and the rcmp or the CG will slap your wrist and hand you a ticket if you dont have it

I was looking into the need for a license, and from what I see it is no longer the case in Canada. As long as I only use it in Canada, I don't need one.
 

dan t.

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Feb 28, 2008
Messages
1,131
Re: VHF with bells and whistles

you dont need a station licence anymore, you still need an operators licence.call the coast gaurd and check if you dont believe me
 

Mike Robinson

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jun 29, 2005
Messages
752
Re: VHF with bells and whistles

you dont need a station licence anymore, you still need an operators licence.call the coast gaurd and check if you dont believe me

Here is a quote from Industry Canada's web site;

<Licensing Requirements

Do I need a licence for the marine radio equipment on board my vessel?

You will not require a licence if you meet both of the following criteria:

the vessel is not operated in the sovereign waters of a country other than Canada.
the radio equipment on board the vessel is only capable of operating on frequencies that are allocated for maritime mobile communications or marine radio navigation. You can verify whether the frequencies you use are in the maritime mobile band by referring to Regulation by Reference RBR-2.
If you do not meet both of the above criteria, you will require a radio licence. You can contact your local Industry Canada office for more information. All of the Industry Canada offices can be found in RIC-66.

Does the licence exemption apply to everyone, including safety services and commercial operations?

Yes. As long as the exemption criteria is met, no radio licence is required. The exemption applies to all users who qualify, including government operations, safety services, and passenger ships or vessels.

Will compulsorily fitted vessels still require a radio licence?

As long as the exemption criteria is met, no radio licence is required.>
 

Mike Robinson

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jun 29, 2005
Messages
752
Re: VHF with bells and whistles

After further research it appears that the above quote from Industry Canada's web site refers to the station license and not the operator's license. I have also found that the Power Squadron's and Transport canada's web sites say they are required.
 
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