Another VHF question

Advice
#1

A friend has a VHF handheld that she will be bringing on an upcoming trip. We have information about weather radio stations that are broadcasting in the area we will be in.



Here’s the question: the radio only has discrete channels, but the weather radio is listed in MHz. Is there a listing that gives the frequency of each of the channels?



Should I – if I decide to buy my own VHF radio – ensure that I can tune to any frequency in the VHF range as well as getting the various channels?

Or do the available channels cover all the main frequencies used by weather stations in N. America?



TIA,

–

Darryl

#2

You got it right in your last sentence
The various channels cover all the main frequencies used by weather stations in N. America. They’re not playing hide and seek.

#3

All The VHFs I Played With
have W1, W2, W3, and W4 which represent the weather channels used to broadcast marine weather info. One old radio that I barly remember had thumb actuated rotary switches on the top and you had to rotate the ten digit wheel all the way around to find the W.



Other than that ask your friend to look it up in the manual.



Mark

#4

Freq. to channel chart
162.400 MHZ (WX2)

162.425 MHZ (WX4)

162.450 MHZ (WX5)

162.475 MHZ (WX3)

162.500 MHZ (WX6)

162.525 MHZ (WX7)

162.550 MHZ (WX1)







There are technically more channels, but these are the ones normally used. Canada uses two other freq. that are usually chaneels on marine radios as well. If you want to know what channels are used in the area you will be paddling, you can find out from this site by getting freq. and referring to above chart.



http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/nwrbro.htm



Hope this helps.

#5

What Mark Said
Just mash “W”.

#6

VHF channels
Thanks guys. I thought it might be as simple as that, but I wasn’t sure, and I figured if my friend didn’t know it was because the info wasn’t in the manual that came with her system. Maybe she skipped over that part…



–

Darryl

#7

or maybe
it’s too obvious. Actually the “w” stands for “What the #$@!” when you find out how inacurate NOAA is. Must be something about forecasting from colorado for my sailing area in the northeast. They are never right for my area.