Re: VHF radio
Whoa here for just a minute. First off worry very much about the size of the antenna. It is the single most important feature of any of the marine antennas on the market when it comes to your communications range. Also, virtually every one sold by any of the major marine antenna manufacturers is either 1/2 or 5/8 wave. Then on that gain - no, you do not of necessity want the highest gain antenna you can lay your hands on. The reason for that is that with each increase in gain of 3 decibels you not only effectively double your power but you also cut the width of the radiating pattern in half. That in itself wouldn't be a bad thing if it were not for the fact that boats rock. That means that the more focused beam of outgoing energy will tend to spend a lot of its time beaming either off into space as the boat rocks one way and then down into the depths as the boat rocks back the other way, with just a brief passing in the middle where your radiation pattern is pointed in anyting resembeling a useful direction. Then there is the coax question. Actually the coax you are going to get to use is the coax that came with the antenna on a small boat. None of the marine manufacturers are producing any antenna that doesn't come with its own attached coax so what you see is what you get. As luck would have it Shakespeare uses RG8X on all of their top of the line antennas (including the 5225 series, which are very nice antennas) and Digital Antennas (my own favorite of the manufacturers) for all of theirs, use this heavier cable. And yes, you should check your SWR if you have the ability throug a friend or maybe even have one of those inexpensive meters that Shakespeare markets. Its not that you are going to find that a correctly connected radio and antenna are going to have a problem and its not like you could do a thing about either the radio or the antenna even if they didn't have a good match, but really just to check the condition of your antenna connector (the PL-259 that is on the end of the antenna cable) from time to time. They do corrode and degrade over time and if you check the SWR now and then you can see it comming. I just cut mine off in the spring and put a new one on. I hook up the meter to make sure I got it right and if its OK I probably won't stick a meter on it again until about the 4th of July, and again in the fall.<br /><br />As for the original question. There are a pretty good number of suprisingly well made radios on the market these days for not too much money at all. For around a hundred and a half you can buy an ICOM 302 or one of the older ICOM model 45. Also, you could do a lot worse than to go take a look around E-Bay for a deal on a used radio. I saw an almost new ICOM M-127 sell there for less than $300 just last week. You should confine your search to radios by either ICOM or Standard Horizon, avoid all the rest. A good antenna is going to cost you about a hundred bucks. You can find the Shakespeares for a little less than that (their top of the line Gallaxy models) and you'll pay a little more for that if you buy one made by Digital Antennas. The Digitals are the better made antennas, but you pay for it.<br /><br />Thom