Boat I am buying needs a new VHF radio - fair price for a credit/replacement?

I have been using the handheld for 2 seasons now. My #1 issue is I cannot hear it well. It works otherwise for what I need it for, which is mostly calling a transient marina when coming in. Fellow boater's have said they tried to call me but I did not pick up. Well, I never heard them with the handheld.
 
mrsrobinson said:
Fellow boater's have said they tried to call me but I did not pick up. Well, I never heard them with the handheld.
Click to expand...

Hopefully you plan on getting a fixed-mount unit soon, but until then, there's a great solution to not hearing an analog ship-to-ship call on lord knows what channel on a portable with a small speaker and an awkward squelch adjustment: (the latter being one of my only complaints about the 890)

DSC!

Help your fellow boaters configure and learn to use Digital Selective Calling and give them your MMSI number. When they want to reach you, they just go to their directory and send.

Your radio can be on a different channel, with the squelch too high and the volume too low and you'll STILL HEAR IT!
 
@mrsrobinson while you're replacing the radio, you may want to look at adding AIS while you're at it. I find it invaluable and a necessary piece of safety equipment especially when traveling in the Bay, Norfolk, or transiting Dahlgren.

Jaybeaux
 
For clarity, and my education, as I am still learning; If I purchase this then it will send & receive my position/other boats position to my Raymarine Chart Plotter/MHD? If correct, I assume I need to purchase something to connect the two?

From my research it looks like, out of the box, I can only receive positions.

And then I read where I may need a dedicated AIS antenna?
 
You can get a VHF radio with AIS reception (receive only) for a fairly small premium if you're already looking for mid-range VHF. (NMEA-2000 compatible etc)

If you're only going to receive, you can get away with using only a VHF antenna.

Your MFD will show nearby vessels.

If you want to transmit your position, you'll need an AIS transponder and a dedicated antenna. That requires more investment - in the neighborhood of a Boat Buck or more.
 
You guys have a way of making my ~$500 projects into ~$1000 ones ;)

What cable/connector do I need to connect the VHF to the MHD?
 
mrsrobinson said:
You guys have a way of making my ~$500 projects into ~$1000 ones ;)

What cable/connector do I need to connect the VHF to the MHD?
Click to expand...
Depends on what you are going to connect to. Do you have a NMEA 2000 plotter and network? If so, you would just need another tee and cable, likely the Raymarine proprietary version. If no NMEA 2000, you would use NMEA 0183, which is a very simple cable. But, I'm not sure there are NMEA 0183 sentences which will support AIS position data. I don't see any in the installation manual, which you might want to download and read.
 
@mrsrobinson That radio is AIS receive only.

That radio has a NMEA 2000 port on the back which will allow your to connect to your NMEA 2000 network which will then show AIS targets on your MFD.

VHF 115/VHF 215/VHF 215 AIS Series - Connection Considerations

www8.garmin.com www8.garmin.com


****You will NOT be broadcasting or transmitting your AIS info****

To transmit, with that 215 VHF radio, you will need the Garmin AIS 800 Black Box https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/623924 It contains a splitter, so you can utilize your existing VHF antenna.

So in this configuration your in for a $700 VHF radio and $1000 for an AIS black box.

For a measley $200 extra, you can get the mac-daddy: Cortex V1 Hub
www.garmin.com

Cortex® V1 Hub | Garmin

www.garmin.com www.garmin.com

This is what I installed over the winter.

Your personal shopper,

Jaybeaux
 
mrsrobinson said:
For clarity, and my education, as I am still learning; If I purchase this then it will send & receive my position/other boats position to my Raymarine Chart Plotter/MHD? If correct, I assume I need to purchase something to connect the two?

From my research it looks like, out of the box, I can only receive positions.

And then I read where I may need a dedicated AIS antenna?
Click to expand...

As mentioned the Garmin 215 will only receive AIS. You don't need a separate antenna to do so. Your existing VHF antenna will work if it is a standard 8' wip, such as a Shakespeare. The 210/215 is NMEA 2000 and in order to see the AIS targets you will need to connect the VHF via NMEA2000 to the MFD. I believe your MFD is only SeatalkNG which needs an adapter to convert NMEA2000 to SeatalkNG.

I have the 210 (older model) with the remote station added. In order to transmit your position via AIS you need a separate transmitter/receiver or transceiver. I chose the Vesper XB-8000 with their vhf antenna splitter. If I had to do it all over again, needing a radio and AIS transceiver I would get the Vesper Cortex hands down.

Vesper a Garmin company now, has a great feature called Watch Mate. That app keeps track of anchor drag and intrusion by other AIS targets. That app is built into the cortex radio mic that is more like cell phone screen.

@Jaybeaux's advice is spot on and definitely the best way to go in the long run. And IMO you need be able to transmit so others can see you as well. The bay/river is quite busy with commercial traffic, something to think about.
 
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