[hellosailor]

bird guano, etc. could be corrosive up there but I'd try to get a real person to listen to your transmission, to make sure the "static" is in your signal and not an artifact of the way SeaTow's recording is being made. Before you go nuts trying to chase down the gremlin, make sure it IS your gremlin, not theirs.

It can also be worth making, or picking up, an "emergency antenna" that plugs directly into the back of your VHF. As a troubleshooting tool, that will also tell you right away if a problem is in the cable and antenna, or in the radio.

Standard Horizon has outstanding customer support, it might be worth calling them and asking if they have any ideas on this. And if the radio is UNDER two years old? Maybe it had a 1-year warranty (some of them are 3) with a second year free warranty from your credit card company? It pays to check and if you've got some warranty, just send it in to SH for a tuneup and checkout if all else fails.

 

[hellosailor]

Wilhelm, I confess that I do not understand half of that article. It seems to be written for a specific audience who will know what it does not bother to say.

In the US, as far as I know DSC functions (and is monitored) only on VHF. At least, that's all that is used for small pleasure craft, or all that is publicized for out use.

And again AFAIK the use of 2187 for anything was obsoleted and formally discontinued perhaps five years ago, by the ITU as well as the USCG. Why anyone would be monitoring it, let alone why anyone would have equipment set to broadcast on it, totally baffles me. But then again, I'm easily baffled and definitely not an expert on these things.