WHAM or seperate VHF radio?

[galernikus]

Hello,

I have an 10 year old Standard Horizon VHF and mast mounted antenna. The radio is mounted inside and I need a VHF radio atthe wheel while I am sailing/motoring. I came up with two solutions and I am asking for your opinions...

1.
Buy a new WHAM compatible VHF radio with a WHAM mike for about $350 total.
2.
Buy a new VHF radio for about $100 and new VHF antenna for additional $50. Keep the old one inside and mount the radio with the new antenna at the wheel. Now I have two radios and antennas that provide a back up.

What do yo think?

[msmith10]

How about another idea. Replace the old below-decks unit with a DSC compatible unit. The WHAM mic is great but my battery life is only about 5 hours, even with no transmission use. Instead of the WHAM, get a handheld for use at the wheel.

[brak]

i have a WHAM with my VHF - it's one of my favorite pieces of electronics. Battery life is indeed about 5 hours so it is shorter than my usual daysail. So I installed the WHAM cradle/charger in the cockpit and hang it there. That way it charges and stays with me as a second station.

[BarryL]

Hello,

Two years ago I installed a Standard Horizon GX1500 Quest X DSC radio and remove mic. I believe I paid about $150 for the radio and $100 for the remote mic. The remote mic is cabled, so no battery issues.

I went that route because I only needed 1 antenna, the DSC feature is available at the nav station and the helm, and it was easy to wire everything.

I also have two handhelds for backup.

Barry

[btrayfors]

I have a Standard Horizon DSC VHF belowdecks with a remote mic (wired) in the cockpit. Works fine, like it. However, I think that a second VHF in the cockpit -- in lieu of the remote mic -- makes a lot of sense. Small waterproof units are available for relatively little money these days, and a small VHF antenna on the pushpit or radar arch is all you need for most communications from the cockpit. The redundancy is good, too, especially in case of a dismasting. Additional amperage draw is negligible (on receive).

Bill

[newpbs]

I second the use of a small handheld in the cockpit. I just purchased one this season as a backup. What I found was that it is quite handy to have and easy to keep charged up. It will survive a dismasting so it truly serves as a back up piece of equipment. Besides, you can perform your own radio checks with the portable.

Paul

[labatt]

Ditto on the WHAM wireless base installed in the cockpit - it works well that way and you don't have to worry about battery issues. The only issue I've found is that when the mic gets wet nobody can hear you, and it doesn't have that cool feature that shakes the water out.

[sck5]

I also have a quest dsc with a wired remote in the cockpit. It works great and you get the full 25 watts at the helm if you want it or you can use it low power instead. More important, you are using the antenna at the top of the mast which can "see" a much bigger area than an antenna lower down. I still have a handheld as a backup but I never use it.