2/4/11 Question of the Day - VHF Radios

[Redfish12]

I really enjoyed Easton's question of the day series, so I'm hijacking and continuing it... hope you guys don't mind.

Got a please don't die radio for Christmas and now I have some questions...

- Who carries one?
- Do you keep it on?
- What channel should we be using?
- Code names?

[ictalurus]

I usually have it on me in the Bay. I keep it on and monitor 9, 13 (a ship channel), 16, 68, 69, and a few others. My radio has a scan function that bounces around all the channels I have set and will stop if there's a broadcast on one. It works pretty well and doesn't seem to kill the battery too quickly.

[Redfish12]

Ok I will check to see if I can do the same.

For M&G's or other group fishing, it would be nice to be able to tell the others if a pattern is working. I would hate to broadcast and then get swarmed by boaters though.

Romeo Foxtrot = Redfish.

[Memory Maker]

Got a new one for Christmas ........ will keep it on at all times ........ I shall be addressed and Martini Yachtsman .........

[mdmakaira410]

you can usually find me on 16 just give me a shout i go by "may day"

[DOGFISH]

I agree, the question of the day is good. I have offered a few myself.

I have a Standard Horizon. I don't keep it on, mostly due to not really having anyone to talk to about anything of substance. It would be nice at a meet and greet, such as if fish are breaking or something like that. There are some boat to boat channels. My radio has some channel titles that come up with the channel number, which tells the purpose of the channel. Some of the channels are like ship to ship, harbor operations, emergency and such. There are channels for talking back a forth, in the lower 70s. You can tell by this that I use my radio alot. I used to use the VHF in my boat quite a bit. Back then alot of the boats talked fishing. Now it is easier to use a cell phone, so everyone dosen't hear where the fish are. Back then I would talk to some other friends who were fishing. We had a little code of places, so if the fish were biting, others would not know.

I take the VHF, because the cell phone may get wet in an emergency. The VHF is waterproof and floats. It has a DSC feature, with GPS. I carry it mostly for safety. All in all, its worth having.

I'll just stick with my fish name "dogfish."

[DOGFISH]

you can usually find me on 16 just give me a shout i go by "may day"

Yeah, and I'll call you about three times.

[ictalurus]

Yeah, I wondered how we could signal other yakkers without calling in the fleet. The phone cards were the beginning of that--sorta like a phone tree. I never really got into any hot and heavy action at the M&Gs, though. Then there's the problem when Wayne and Don keep the location of the big fish to themselves. The radio is nice because everyone could be called at once, rather than multiple cell phone calls, but a clever code would definitely be needed. Maybe something tackle-related: fluoro = flounder, mono = mackerel, bobbers = blues, sinkers = stripers. Don't know what to do about locations, though.

[DOGFISH]

[DOGFISH]

I know some of the members were talking about getting handheld VHF radios. There are some on sale at West Marine, which seem like a pretty good deal. It is an ICOM, M34 Floating VHF, 5 watts, with a 1 watt/5watt selector, $129. They regularly sell for $169. I think they are on sale through the end of the month.

Whenever I see deals that look pretty good, I'll pass them on.

[surfdog]

Yeah, I wondered how we could signal other yakkers without calling in the fleet. The phone cards were the beginning of that--sorta like a phone tree. I never really got into any hot and heavy action at the M&Gs, though. Then there's the problem when Wayne and Don keep the location of the big fish to themselves. The radio is nice because everyone could be called at once, rather than multiple cell phone calls, but a clever code would definitely be needed. Maybe something tackle-related: fluoro = flounder, mono = mackerel, bobbers = blues, sinkers = stripers. Don't know what to do about locations, though.

thats a good idea, now i need to make a cheat sheat to remember the code.

thanks for the tip Dogfish, now redfish and i dont have to sing and hum to ourselves we can share over the radio

[DOGFISH]

Hey guys, thanks for the thought, but I have an IPOD.