voyageur
Thanks for the feedback. I paddle on Lake Superior, mostly day trips, so the Voyageur might be just right. If only I could spell it!
A big problem with the Cobra is…
…that the crappy bag it comes with makes it difficult to operate the radio. That’s the last thing you need to deal with in a rough situation.
One caveat with the Voyager
The buttons on it are small and close together, which makes it difficult to operate with gloves on. That can be a real consideration on the Great Lakes, as it is here in New England. If the air/water is cold enough to need gloves, you don’t want to have to take them off to operate your radio.
Exactly, it’s not an issue
– Last Updated: Aug-15-05 11:01 AM EST –
A marine VHF should always be set to transmit on low power (typically 1 watt) unless you need extreme range. In a kayak sitting low to the water, it's unlikely that you could be picked up at a distance greater than what 1 watt of power gives you anyway. Regardless, even at high power (5 watts), there's no danger from RF.
The way I see it is if you're that concerned about minucule risks, you shouldn't be in a kayak in the first place. It never ceases to amaze me how people will get all worked up over infinitesimally small risks and ignore the "800 pound gorilla" right in front of them.
Here’s a little story
I was talking to one of ICOMs technical support people when I first got my M88 a few years ago. I needed to get the kind of clip that Brian shows in his shoulder mounted modification. I made a suggestion to ICOM that their belt clip “as is” just would stay in place for a kayaker, and that they might want to make something suitable for us paddlers. The person replied that they weren’t aware of the type of rigors that kayaker subjects to the radio.
Anyway, the moral of my story is that even the company that makes the Hummer of VHFs thinks that the radio spends it’s life hanging comfortably on some boater’s belt clip, not being thrashed around under the briney deep. We really abuse these radios. I wear my M88 to rolling practice every week. God only knows what is happening to it as I thrash wildly underwater, and it probably gets smacked into the back deck when I do a paddlefloat re-entry. Then I wash it off thoroughly in fresh water and it still works fine.
Lou
yep our use is way outside the
design criteria. And it might well be mission critical gear. So buy quality in that situation.
Do you guys use cell phones?
If so, why worry about a vhf causing damage?
best comments yet
about how the radios are abused and put in situations far worse than normal marine environments.
Paul