Radio

I know there are alot of gear discussions in some of the other forums, but as with many other things there are some techniques and equipment that may be excellent down south that aren't as effective up here. What do you recommend for a good marine radio?

That's a rigged question , floating or not, cheap or expensive, the ones with or without the one button sos feature. Personal preference and budget are the biggest issues.

+1 on what Mojo said.

What I told my husband (dannybay) is that anything that can save my life, I will not scrimp on price.  Nice tight dry suits, good PFD, good boots and a Standard Horizon HX870 Floating 6W Handheld VHF with Internal GPS was our choice.  But I'm a wimp when it comes to being on the water.

That's a rigged question , floating or not, cheap or expensive, the ones with or without the one button sos feature. Personal preference and budget are the biggest issues.

Definitely floating. <$200 if possible but will pay more if quality is better. SOS feature is nice, but dunno if absolutely necessary. AA or AAA battery operated instead of rechargeable if possible.

This is the one I just got the best deal I could find

https://www.google.com/search?q=standard+horizon+hx870&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari

Mine is an Icom IC M24 it floats and also has a flashing light when upside down floating in the water, I still lash mine to the PFD. Not too expensive easy to use but rechargeable not regular batteries.

Standard horizon is my choice. Quality radio that takes a beating. The DSC feature is nice if you can afford it. I wouldn't worry about floating as you should have it tethered to your PFD.

Standard horizon is my choice. Quality radio that takes a beating. The DSC feature is nice if you can afford it. I wouldn't worry about floating as you should have it tethered to your PFD.

+1

If you check the specs, some (most) Standard Horizon radios come with a battery holder for non-rechargeable batteries so you can use either.  Mine did.  I don't know about the other brands

Standard horizon is my choice. Quality radio that takes a beating. The DSC feature is nice if you can afford it. I wouldn't worry about floating as you should have it tethered to your PFD.

+1

If you check the specs, some (most) Standard Horizon radios come with a battery holder for non-rechargeable batteries so you can use either.  Mine did.  I don't know about the other brands

My Cobra has this as well. I prefer to use regular batteries because you can always toss a pack of fresh batteries in a kit and know they're there.  I put fresh batteries in before every trip, regardless what the indicator says. Cheap enough at Costco, and I don't go where I need the radio all that often.

My Cobra has this as well. I prefer to use regular batteries because you can always toss a pack of fresh batteries in a kit and know they're there.  I put fresh batteries in before every trip, regardless what the indicator says. Cheap enough at Costco, and I don't go where I need the radio all that often.

Good to know.  And opens up a lot of possibilities for CS.

Thanks for the info fellas. Not immediately, but sometime in the not too distant future when I'm comfortable and confident in my outfit and abilities I have thoughts toward multi-day excursions which wouldn't allow for recharging. that's why I like to be able to carry spare batteries.

Standard horizon is my choice. Quality radio that takes a beating. The DSC feature is nice if you can afford it. I wouldn't worry about floating as you should have it tethered to your PFD.

+1

If you check the specs, some (most) Standard Horizon radios come with a battery holder for non-rechargeable batteries so you can use either.  Mine did.  I don't know about the other brands

The HX870 (DSC) came with rechargeable batteries, a charging stand and a holder for AA batteries.   I keep the holder loaded with fresh batteries in a dry box.

I have the SH 870 I used it last summer in Alaska worked great no complaints well worth the money .