PMR or VHF radio?

[LadyPatricia]

Do we need one of these radios? Are they useful on the broads? Who does or does not use them?

Any info welcome please

Steve & Deb

[Guest]

It's usually a controversial subject on forums !

 

Marine VHF is essential for any Sea use, but of very limited use on the Broads. Handy for talking to Bridge operators if you need them lifting, but other than that, friendly chit chat is discouraged officially, (though it often happens, clogging the limited channels in popular coastal areas.)

 

You need to take a simple one day course to get an operator's certificate, but there are now no further ongoing license fees for them.

 

PMRs are free of any licensing or training, but have a very limited range, almost just line of sight.  They are quite useful when you cruise (very) near to friends who also have them, such as forum events possibly.

 

The bottom line though, for emergencies and such, a mobile phone has much better range and all the necessary contact points, (Police, BA, RSPC, etc..)

 

For additional security, carry more than one mobile network aboard.(by dual SIM or another spare cheap pay as you go phone).

 

Having said all that, I do have Marine VHF and PMRs, but it's difficult to justify them on just the Broads.

[LadyPatricia]

Thanks Strowager,

I've seen them on a few you tube videos, I think Robin (London Rascal) had one on a blog he did. Just wanted to find out if they were an essential piece of equipment as we will be doing a lot more cruising next year.

Steve & Deb

[CooWee]

I thought Strowager's reply was spot on, I am going to do a Marine VHF course for no other reason than I want to.  I was hoping to do a course this year but events meant I couldn't.  £85 pounds a pop over here, then the radio on top of that, an Icom handheld or the like.  The Harbour Masters can also be contacted by VHF and for that matter mobile phone.

[Liberty]

VHF very useful for Reedham, Trowse, Somerleyton bridges.  BA monitors channel 12 also.  

[Revilo]

Hi Liberty -so Reedham and Somerleyton etc can be reached on channel 12? Do they operate during certain hours?

[Liberty]

24 hrs, although they appreciate a little notice if it's 3am  

[Siddy]

I got a few radio's by Baofeng which work on PMR and also Marine. Programmable by radio or pc. I think LR has these as well. Have a search on Ebay just found a 3 set for £55 plus P&P.

[CooWee]

Thanks for the info Siddy, that is another string to the bow. I have just had a look at the company website.

[Guest]

The Chinese VHF/PMRs caused quite a bit of discussion on the yachting and boating world forum, and programming them for marine VHF appears to possibly be illegal:

 

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?368578-very-cheap-handheld-vhf-from-ebay-anyone-tried/page3

[JennyMorgan]

I bought a Motorola PMR off e-bay for not many notes, only dedicated power packs were no longer available. I'm no expert but added an external, made up power pack from bits I bought from an electronics gadget shop. I can only guess that I've upped the output somehow because I can communicate a darn site further that a quarter of a mile! Despite that I use VHF much more than I do PMR. 

[Siddy]

For the price and what they do you can't go wrong plus side is they have fm radio (great for work) but to use as marine as above ch12 ok but to use at sea you need a decent radio. Mine was picking up Humberside coast guard other week on R Ant.

Can't beat Motorola (repaired 100's police HT600's)  Kenwood/Icom.

[JennyMorgan]

Back to Steve & Debs original question, do we need one of these radios? To be honest, no. By and large just toys for the boys but useful for boats with masts approaching low bridges. Mind you, some of the inane chatter can be vaguely amusing! I was, for years, an Auxiliary Coastguard and radio watches were a regular duty. Some folk seemed oblivious to the fact that the whole world and their dog could listen in to their conversations. Fishermen, when returning home, are quite good at calling up their womenfolk and telling them of their forthcoming plans in quite graphic terms, if you get my meaning! Yes, there is an entertainment value in having and using VHF, but that really is not what they are for.

[Maxwellian]

We used a Motorola PMR when we were stern mooring or mooring in windy conditions as the bathtub we hired did not have great vision to the back of the boat. It was great for directions as to how close I was to the bank and Sara could let me know when she had stepped off etc. Are they necessary, then I would say no. They certainly helped and IMHO made it a bit safer.

[ExUserGone]

Hearing humberside coastguard isn't surprising as I believe it is repeated from the old gt.yarmouth CG mast as humber CG is our local one now since yarmouth was scrapped.

Yes a course is required for marine vhf as is a fixed ship licence but that bit is a free online application and print your own licence off (ofcom website isn't easy to navigate), no need for dsc on broads but I doubt you'd get a non-dsc course now, non-dsc radios are cheap to get.

[650xs]

ans to original question.................. no yer don,t ................

 

 

spend money on sum thang need for the boat a new batt or etc etc 

 

 

all i need is a clear still day 

 

 

i just use me big ole mouth .........................

 

 

 

if yer boat is norm size cruise the brudds with ease or be a numtie and have a vhf and say look at me i pretend i,m at sea i me gin palace ..................

 

 

thar is a time and place for these ..............

 

 

out orf the way ..............................!!!!!

 

 

dun to say my views and my views only, not to offen just for a light heart 

 

 

 

all good commnets above yar naw ....................................

 

 

do yer want to sell yer boat  i will but it ............................................??????

 

 

 

opps sneaky add in tharr................................................

 

 

stop it ....................................

[Chelsea14Ian]

Hi agree with most people.I have a VHF,you don't really need them on the broads,however they can be another useful tool.Do however keep your mobile always charged.

 

Ian

[Timbo]

Kkkchhhkkk I'm with Jon on this one, Kkkchhhkkk not necessary at all. Kkkchhhkkk  Kkkchhhkkk Apart from which as I found out today even walking down the road at Wayford with the beagles Kkkchhhkkk friends will pull over in their cars Kkkchhhkkk to have a chat Kkkchhhkkk failing that will ring me Kkkchhhkkk well they could if I answered the phone.Kkkchhhkkk Over. Kkkchhhkkk

[Mowjo]

Steve! totally agree with Peter and Jon, they just arn't needed on the Broads, try not to fall into the New Boat Syndrom trap, I think weve all done it, I must have this! or must have that! keep it as simple as you can, my thing these days is if I don't use it every time I'm out on the boat! I don't need it, with all the new electric points about now, the only thing I would invest in is 240v electrics, a decent battery charger, and change any lighting to LED bulbs,

 

Frank,,,

[LadyPatricia]

Morning Frank,

We've decided, as you and others have pointed out, that we will not be purchasing one of these.

We are picking our boat up on Thursday and making the short trip to her new mooring at Somerleyton.

Our first jobs on the list will be to put LED lights in and fit an inverter, something I'm quite happy to do myself. Shore power is not a real issue as we don't plan on having a TV inboard. We have a 12v cool box that will be our fridge for now and only want 240v through inverter to run a DAB radio.

Can't wait to get the keys on Thursday ....... Exciting times

Steve & Deb

[JawsOrca]

I must admit I'm failing into this new boat trap myself.. Although we have our plotter, fish finder and VHF left over from our last boat so they will just go in this boat.. plus I would like to do the odd bit of coastal cruising on the odd nice day... plus it's nice to have the odd little toy

 

I did think of getting a PMR though as I thought these where widely used on the broads, instead of VHF's, to chat between friends so I'm surprised to read that they aren't.  

 

We do use the VHF on my folks boat though to get through somerleyton as its a bit tight but it's a big expense if you haven't got one already for just the one bridge which is generally always open.

 

I'd suggest, instead, to invest in a depth gauge or fish finger (which has a depth too) because I swear there are shallow places on the broads and I hate not knowing now much water is underneath.

 

[deebee29]

Wishing you well with your new boat.

I'm excited for you

Hope you have many happy times onboard

David

[LadyPatricia]

Thanks David, she's is 'usable' at the moment but will be having lots of TLC through the winter when she comes out of the water.

Alan, are the fish finders easy to install? Always handy to know if you've just moored up over a large shoal of bream and as you say its good to know whats under you as it were.

I'm not a real one for gadgets but this being our first boat purchase I want to make sure we have everything we NEED, not everything we want, to start with at least

Steve

[stumpy]

PMR radios were put to good use at the NBF meet at Ranworth this summer. Those with one checked in with the berthing guys on arrival then mudweighted off until called in to our spot. Somewhere on YouTube there's a Lord Paul video of the evolution. Ours is usually on CH.4 just in case there's someone about for a chat.

[Guest]

....are the fish finders easy to install? Always handy to know if you've just moored up over a large shoal of bream and as you say its good to know whats under you as it were......

 

They can be, depending on what type of transducer they use, which is the part that faces downwards to detect the depth.

 

They can either be mounted in the hull or hanging off the back of the transom. The in-hull types sometimes need a large hole below the waterline (   ), or an oil filled pipe, whereas the transom mounted ones don't.

 

Also, most come with the option of a speed log, which is a small paddlewheel that detects the boat speed and distance through the water.

 

A GPS will do speed as well, but there is a big difference. The GPS measures speed with current taken into account, whereas the log doesn't.

 

(Broads speed limits are based on the GPS speed).

 

If you really like gadgets, then they can be combined with a chartplotter too, which has map information on a memory cartridge and shows exactly where you are on the screen.

 

I use a Northstar chartplotter/gps/fishfinder/speedlog, which combines everything into one handy unit which even shows fuel consumption.

 

I fitted the single transducer unit on a hinged stainless steel arm on the transom, so no holes through the hull, and it can easily be swung upwards to unclog the paddlewheel (which happens frequently with all of them, and is quite tricky to fix with the through hull ones !)

 

In shallow inland waterways, forget about the "fishfinder" name though. Whilst the underwater profile is very useful for seeing depth and snags on the bottom, you can't spot shoals of fish unless you're in about 5 metres or more of water.