It appears my 3rd piece of technology to die has hit. (The rule of threes already took out two computers this spring.) It is my handheld vhf, of course now past any warranty.
I am thinking this is the time to go ahead and get a unit with dsc button. The last purchase was a holding action until there were more brands with it.
I just spent time online and am seeing Standard Horizon with a good price but a lot of complaints about it being cranky and awkward to use. I am seeing units from West Marine and Icom with higher prices and better ratings on functionality, but some GPS crap in which l am not primarily interested. I have a handheld GPS already, and until the fog bank rolls in l still prefer charts.
I should mention the unit which just decided to die, in my mind prematurely, was an icom. Hence the West Marine unit is getting my attention between the two.
Anyone have experience with these units? As a solo paddler l don’t have a lot of choices. At some point l have to either go with the dsc option or that plus a plb, and the apparent death death of my vhf has me at that point in the road. The latter unit generates a lot of derision in chiller Maine waters, from solid paddlers, so a vhf with a dsc button appeals.
I don’t think DSC is a significant advantage to a kayaker. About the only thing I use my VHF for is securite announcements in busy area and/or low visibility. There are few places, if any, VHF would be a better option to signal for help than my PLB. Add to the mix I can take the PLB anywhere and use it legally, even on land.
Until two way voice communication via satellite becomes cheap enough for everyone, there’s still a place for both devices. In the not-too-distant future I expect VHF radio to become obsolete.
If you paddle in an area with Coast Guard and have an emergency, DSC would be much faster than a PLB. DSC would be picked up immediately and they would have your GPS coords. With PLB, the signal has to get through (which may require a wait for minutes before a satellite can pick it up), the the center tries to figure out who you are (including trying to call the registered owner of the device) and what services to call. I’ve heard it can be well over an hour before the coast guard even gets the call that you triggered your PLB.
Of course, Peter is likely correct for his own locale. However, I think the discrepancy between his reply and mine highlight the need to be aware of the services in your own area. When I initially purchased a VHF radio and took the course to get my operator’s license, I was under the impression that there was excellent coverage around the Great Lakes in Ontario. Now, I can’t personally map where there is and isn’t coverage, but the times I’ve tried hailing the coast guard (usually off season and in geographically challenging areas for RF line of sight) I have had no response. In looking at where the receiving antennae are in relation to where I was and where I will be in the future, the chances of a VHF radio saving my life when I need it are slim indeed.
It is true that for the PLB signal to be handled takes longer, but the chance of being in an area where it won’t get picked up is close to nil. That makes it a hands-down winner for me.
I suspect that my experience will not be the same as most of you in the US with much higher population density and thus more public services.
Also, understand what DSC is all about before believing it’s some piece of digital magic. It isn’t. A radio without DSC could be almost as effective if you knew exactly where you were and could relay this information to emergency services. DSC does have advantages though. Because there is a digital signal with your location being sent along with a distress call, there’s a better chance of it getting through any noise than if you were to relay it by voice. It also reduces the chance of error, human or otherwise.
Just to clarify all, my biggest risk is paddling solo off the coastal waters in Maine. Good coverage by services a vhf unit gets. Peter correctly states the reason that l have heard Plbs called dead body locators up this way. Hypothermia could get you before the satellites cooperate.
I believe there is one error in the above, in that the newer ones send on a better covered channel and the device has its own registration so they know who you are and just have to get to you. At one point you could get older ones dirt cheap, which is more than they were worth.
My paddling venues inland are not where vhf is useful, but they are also not the scale of the Great Lakes.
It looks like West Marine has a model that is being superseded by the current one on sale until July 8.
Without GPS in the VHF, you will have to enter your coordinates manually into the radio before transmitting the distress call. Seems to take away a lot of the DSC advantage.
Hi Allan. I was unclear - of course I want the basic GPS that sends my location. As far as I know no unit with DSC button has ever been without that.
It is the waypoint tracking etc that is more functionality than I need. More to go wrong and bollux up the memory. But it appears that all four handhelds available with DSC also have the enhanced GPS capacity.
There have been plenty of DSC VHFs without GPS. But I don’t know if any of them were handheld.
The functionality add-on is probably something you will have to live with. It is hard to imagine that a VHF vendor would put in a GPS and decide not to to add some - almost free/gratis for the vendor - bells and whistles to make the unit more appealing to the consumer.
Well, had the ICOM unit with all the bells in my hand yesterday. Same size as the comparable ones and there is a giant snag. It is too big to wear comfortably on the pfd for my 5 ft 3.5 inch height. And the major value of the dsc button is if it is on your body.
I punted with a floating 5 watt unit.
Will have go back and do more research on the plb/epirb units. They are pricey but also better sized, see how they would function for my use.
Sorry, l may have been too brief and/or the guy at Hamilton Marine may have mispoken. Reading the manual and it is not quite lining up with an automatic send of coordinates. But the manuals on these products are notoriously wonky too. Unfortunately there is no way to test it without sending a false distress signal. Will poke around more this week, maybe see l can contact the manufacturer from civilization.
Standard Horizon HX150, in Hamilton Marine. IPX 7 and it still floats and just a smidge smaller and lighter than the Icom 36 that developed an attitude. Likely not as officially robust as the other, but at 99 bucks at Hamilton Marine the price was right to get me thru this season.
And the guy reminded me that the emergency 16/9 button can also be heard by local fishermen. So there is always the possibility that one would rescue me just to be able to share stories about the dumb ass kayaker from New York. They’d probably leave the kayak behind, but if l am in that bad a way l already lost the boat and it is on its way to Ireland.
Sorry if the send thing is wrong. Will keep checking.
When l actually saw the dsc unit in person, the,biggest factor was it was flat out too big to work the way l needed. The alternate unit just needed to have decent watts, an ok ipx rating and a weather alert.
Floats, simple interface, compact, big rechargeable battery. No DSC.
I use mine only rarely, but it swims and rolls with me often and I’ve had no problems. It does what it should.
I’ve got one… It thinks it is immersed a lot of the time while it sits on a rock on a Maine island in camp… Sometimes I put something over it to block that annoying red blinker.
It is hypersensitive to fog. And baby we get fog.
@kayamedic said:
I’ve got one… It thinks it is immersed a lot of the time while it sits on a rock on a Maine island in camp… Sometimes I put something over it to block that annoying red blinker.
It is hypersensitive to fog. And baby we get fog.
Yes, you raise a good point. The “flash” part of “float ‘n’ flash” is strictly an annoying battery waster. It should have a software setting to disable it.
I imagine it’s for when you drop it over the side of your yacht… But if that happens you deserve what you get for being careless.
I would definitely get a radio with DSC. For goodness sake, in certain emergency situations, you cannot keep both hands on the paddle to brace and talk clearly on the radio. It is much better to be able to push a button.
In principle nearby craft will receive your distress call. There has been much debate about whether the nearby craft will forward it to the CG. I believe the answer is NO for consumer grade DSC receivers on typical pleasure craft but YES for Class A (commercial vessel) DSC receivers.
All recent DSC radio’s have built in GPS.
Secondly its a good backup gps for navigating in the fog, especially if it can store one or more way points and give you an arrow pointer to them. Traveling 5 miles with a 2.5 knot tide pushing you right or left, in the fog, with the drone of lobster boats on parade to the processing plant takes the fun away-- although a 23 dollar tube type radar reflector is a good thing to carry as well.
Thirdly you can leave your MMSI number on your dashboard by the Vehicle VIN, so if anyone needs to get in touch with you, they can ping your radio for its GPS coordinates and call you. So you can leave the radio volume low and get a tone if you are being called.
Or if SAR is responding and you cannot describe your position as clearly as necessary, they can just ping your radio. Same thing if you are reporting a third party problem or an accident.
Note that you have to set up the radio to allow it to transmit your coordinates.
Finally, it is very important to test the unit before you leave sure. All recent radios have a menu entry to issue a test call. Set the unit to issue a test call to MMSI 003669999. If your signal is heard by USCG, you will get a response on the radio display–usually a tone + message. Some radios have address books and you can program in MMSI 003669999. Otherwise write it on your radio.
VHF radio’s don’t have great range. Do not be surprised if it does not work.
Example- 6W Horizon HT
Cape Cod Canal-- works fine
Wellfleet Harbor at Shoreline or in the “bird marsh” – no response
Wellfleet Harbor near entrance-- works fine.
Kayakmedic - l wonder if the shorter life of this last icon was trying to make it live in Maine for parts of the summer. Am right on the water hence fog.
Barge -
I totally agree with the value of a proper emergency function, and am regularly reminded of it by the CG husband of my godchild. The issue is the size of the thing. I have to be able to wear it, since if I am in that much trouble l could have lost hold of the boat. I may have to punt to something like an epirb just to get a wearable option. I may find that it serves my inland needs better and my saltwater needs enuff to live with.
As to fog, aside from messing around to get used to it that is the only time a GPS unit comes out. In my home area from the rental l can and have come back on charts and local tidbits in pea soup. When the bank comes a mile and a half in 20 minutes l am not going to outpaddle it. So knowing that Cow and Bremen have noisy crows and that the west branch of the Medomak has a decent flow has gotten me in without electronics. But at the backside of Peaks with shipping lanes the GPS came out.
Range of the unit -
If chatter between lobstermen needing to borrow bait is any indication, my range is fine for where l paddle alone. Some other bays up here, l am there because l managed to meet up with a friend or two.
Thanks for the test info, will see if this unit does that. And will just have to keep investigating to find a practical solution. Meantime the wind will be coming up in a few hours so going to take the lazy way and explore the next bay before it becomes annoying.
Kayakmedic - l wonder if the shorter life of this last icon was trying to make it live in Maine for parts of the summer. Am right on the water hence fog.
Barge -
I totally agree with the value of a proper emergency function, and am regularly reminded of it by the CG husband of my godchild. The issue is the size of the thing. I have to be able to wear it, since if I am in that much trouble l could have lost hold of the boat. I may have to punt to something like an epirb just to get a wearable option. I may find that it serves my inland needs better and my saltwater needs enuff to live with.
As to fog, aside from messing around to get used to it that is the only time a GPS unit comes out. In my home area from the rental l can and have come back on charts and local tidbits in pea soup. When the bank comes a mile and a half in 20 minutes l am not going to outpaddle it. So knowing that Cow and Bremen have noisy crows and that the west branch of the Medomak has a decent flow has gotten me in without electronics. But at the backside of Peaks with shipping lanes the GPS came out.
Range of the unit -
If chatter between lobstermen needing to borrow bait is any indication, my range is fine for where l paddle alone. Some other bays up here, l am there because l managed to meet up with a friend or two.
Thanks for the test info, will see if this unit does that. And will just have to keep investigating to find a practical solution. Meantime the wind will be coming up in a few hours so going to take the lazy way and explore the next bay before it becomes annoying.
I have a waterproof clear dry bag in which I carry my radio. It has a strap so I can wear it around my neck…its easy to break the strap if it gets caught on a wet exit.
I believe that VHF radios can be made water proof for the first time out, but as they age and get knocked around, I truly doubt that they remain waterproof. Good luck with your radio!
I do not recommend an epirb. As it was stated, many of them go off by accident. I am not sure they can be coded with vessel type like DSC. I would think that distress calls from a kayak are given pretty high priority by boaters and the uscg.
@Celia You might consider the Kokatat Tactic Pack, which clips to the back of your PFD. It’s handy for kit you need on you, but don’t want dangling off the front of your PFD. I modified mine by reworking the bottom straps so they connect in front versus fumbling with rigid plastic connectors at the side. That made it easier for me to access the pack contents
@Barge. I’ve read DSC is line of sight, but don’t know if that is accurate.