VHF Recommendations

[dtfeld]

Considering updating/upgrading my VHF to something with NEMA2000 data and/or AIS capabilities. Prefer to stay with the black box options due to dash space limits. But if a better option exists, I might rearrange and make space.

I have an Icom 400BB black box style VHF. VHF portion works fine, but the position data is over a SeaTalkng ---> NEMA 0183 converter and is not getting the data anytime I have an engine (either main or generator) running, making the distress functions useless. Looking to simplify and have something that works as intended.

I'm considering going with a Raymarine Ray90 black black box VHF as it integrates nicely into my existing Raymarine Axiom installation. This would allow me to add a AIS transceiver at a later data when I need it (not much use right now on an inland lake). This seems to be the easiest path.

The other option is the Vesper Cortex V1 - but not as familiar with this and now part of Garmin, so not sure about the integration with Raymarine MFD's/system.

Looking for feedback based on what you have installed. Pro's/Con's Are there other solutions I should consider?

 

[Strecker25]

I have the Ray91 on N2k/SeatalkNG and it works great. I wanted the AIS receiver so I opted for the 91. I believe it was something like $900. Sound is really good and I mounted the external speaker in place of the original, and the handset sits right where the old one did

Edit: just looked at we paid 981, same price it is currently. Only ~100 more than the ray90 without the AIS receiver. No AIS transmittter on either, though

 

[dtfeld]

If I do the AIS, might as well add a transceiver. I envision running in areas with commercial shipping and I want them to be able to see me. Hence the AIS 700 or whatever they will be selling in the future would allow that to be added as needed.

 

[Skybolt]

@dtfeld Dave, one thing that is not needed when getting a VHF is MFD type or integration ability. Until manufacturers incorporate the VHF capability into the MFD, other then DSC calling which is MFD independent, then there isn't much to integrate other then being nmea2000 compatible. So far all features of a VHF are through NMEA 2000 and are manufacturer independent.

If I were getting a new VHF, I would hands down get the Cortex. I don't see the value of spending a grand or more on a basic radio. The Cortex will integrate completely and also provide an anchor drag utility built right into the unit, works fantastic. I have the Vesper XB8000 AIS which supports that same app. but on a cell.

Now you bring up a good point, your on a lake, is this all needed? Good point. My current VHF is a Garmin 210 with a remote station. Works great as would a Raymarine Ray90/1.

Tough decision - Lot's of extra cash? Cortex, not so much, Raymarine. Your a winner either way being on a lake.

 

[dtfeld]

@dtfeld Dave, one thing that is not needed when getting a VHF is MFD type or integration ability. Until manufacturers incorporate the VHF capability into the MFD, other then DSC calling which is MFD independent, then there isn't much to integrate other then being nmea2000 compatible. So far all features of a VHF are through NMEA 2000 and are manufacturer independent.

If I were getting a new VHF, I would hands down get the Cortex. I don't see the value of spending a grand or more on a basic radio. The Cortex will integrate completely and also provide an anchor drag utility built right into the unit, works fantastic. I have the Vesper XB8000 AIS which supports that same app. but on a cell.

Now you bring up a good point, your on a lake, is this all needed? Good point. My current VHF is a Garmin 210 with a remote station. Works great as would a Raymarine Ray90/1.

Tough decision - Lot's of extra cash? Cortex, not so much, Raymarine. Your a winner either way being on a lake.

Not a lot of extra cash, but I've reached the buy once cry once stage. Currently looking at a refurbished Ray90. That would likely be easily swapped out, add future upgradability and not as hard on the wallet.

 

[Jaybeaux]

@dtfeld This is my write up on another thread:

I bought one in early 2022, before Garmin bought Vesper. There was a little glitch with my Hub as the barometer sensor went out. They were good to work with although the "other side of the world" made things take a bit longer. I also got caught in the Garmin purchase of Vesper, which did cause issues during and after my warranty exchange. In the end, all good.

Now, for the unit itself. I LOVE it. Think of it like an iPhone. Touch screens, tactile rotary dial, bright display, AIS Transceiver, anchor watch/alarm, sensor monitoring, on board and remote monitoring. The only thing that I would do differently is I would get the "cordless" handset. It's profile is a bit fatter as it has to accomodate a battery. One thing you have to get used to is that the handset communicates with the Hub via WiFi. Therefore, my "corded handset" is only getting power through the cord. With a wireless handset, the cradle is wired to 12 volt and the battery charges while sitting in the cradle. I say this as I find the cord sort of gets in the way when holding the handset.

My original Raymarine radio had an external speaker in the gunwhale at the helmsman's right hip. Naturally, I wanted to add a speaker for the Vesper. Because of the way the handset communicates with the hub, there is a perceptable lag or unsynchronization in the audio from the handset and the external speaker. What I have learned to do is to turn down or mute the handset volume and crank up the external speaker volume while underway.

There are two apps that you can put on your phone/tablet. Either Android or iOS. They are "Cortex Onboard" and "Cortex Monitoring". The onboard version connects to the hub's WiFi signal and gives you pretty much the same functionality as the handset, but not VHF communication. The monitoring app is cloud based and lets you drop in and look at some parameters on the boat. There is a free version which collects data twice a day plus any alarms, and then there is a paid version which collects data more frequently and it is $19.95/month, or $159.95/year. The app will monitor air pressure, water depth, water speed, water temp, wind direction, wind speed, and battery voltage. Obviously, the sensors have to be on for the data to get collected. Air pressure and battery voltage are always available. You can also tie in bilge pump monitoring and some security functions (door opening, etc).

I was able to tie the Vesper Cortex to my hailing horn. In addition to broadcasting warnings to kayakers and paddle boarders, it has pre-programmed alert signals. Things like 1 blast (pass to port), 2 blasts (pass to starboard), 3 blasts (operating in reverse). The thing that I really like about this function is that there is a Fog Horn setting. You hit "Play" and it will broadcast the fog signal (5 second blast every minute) automatically. You can even change the frequency (tone) of the blasts.

Being NMEA 2000, it ties in seamlessly to the boats network. I have older Raymarine E120W's. The AIS targets show up, but they are a bit small. In conjuction with the Raymarines, I also use my iPad running Navionics (another Garmin company) while underway. My iPad connects to the boat's network through the Cortex Hub, via the Hub's WiFi. I get Speed, Depth, Waypoint info, Destinaton Info, and AIS targets. I create, edit, and manage all of my routes on the iPad and I don't have to mess with uploading anything to the Raymarines. In a perfect world, I will replace the Raymarines with Garmins. Either 8616's or 1643's. That's a topic for another discussion.

Let me know if I can answer anymore questions. I am going to the boat this morning, so I could get some pictures of the screens on the handset. All in all, I rate it 4.9 stars out of 5. Nothing is perfect!

Jaybeaux

 

[Jaybeaux]

Next Post.....

Just got back from the boat. I took a bunch of pics for you:

The first two are from the AIS screen. You can zoom in as tight as you want. You can tap on the boat to get its details. The "menu" button is the three horizontal lines in the top left corner. Tapping that will bring up a directory listing. You have Favorites, Near By, or Recents. Selecting any target will bring up its details.

VHF is the next main functionality. You can have 5 presets via the tabs along the bottom. The rotary dial on the handset allows you to change the channel. Or, just like a phone, you can swipe left or right to change the channel.

The tactile volume control is on the right side which brings up a menu. Use the sliders to adjust the volume. The Hub Volume is the external or remote speaker at the helm station. As mentioned previously, while not underway, I turn the Hub volume all the way down. When underway, I turn the top volume down, and then the Hub volume up...it's louder.

The next shot shows the instrument data available across the NMEA 2000 network. I turned my Raymarines on as well as the Auto-Pilot/Electronics/Auto Pilot just to "make everything hot".

The next is the Hailer and Horn functionality. You just hit the green "play" button. I believe that the sounds repeat on some time basis, but I'm not 100% sure. I do know that the Fog horn will repeat.

Next is the Anchor Watch. You can dial the circle as you want dedending on how much scope you deployed.

This is the Main Menu screen.

The next four shots are pretty much settings, etc. Showing GPS satellites, System Health, WiFi network, and Alarms. On System Health, you can go into AIS "stealth mode" which will no longer broadcast your position. Think about being on a fishing hotspot and you don't want your buddies to know! Ha!

The last group of pics is about navigation. One is a pic of my Raymarine E120W showing AIS targets in my marina. See what I mean by the target icon being "small"? The last three are screen shots from my iPhone, running Navionics, attached to the Cortex WiFi network. The first is picking up depth, and some AIS targets if you look closely. When I activate a route, you get speed, total time, and distance in addtion to depth. The last pic is zoomed in a bit to show you AIS targets.

All said, I really like it. It has scratched the itch to replace the E120Ws with Garmins, thus saving me about $12K. This system, with new antenna, and the networking bits all in was about $2K.

Jaybeaux

 

[dtfeld]

Next Post.....

Just got back from the boat. I took a bunch of pics for you:

The first two are from the AIS screen. You can zoom in as tight as you want. You can tap on the boat to get its details. The "menu" button is the three horizontal lines in the top left corner. Tapping that will bring up a directory listing. You have Favorites, Near By, or Recents. Selecting any target will bring up its details.

VHF is the next main functionality. You can have 5 presets via the tabs along the bottom. The rotary dial on the handset allows you to change the channel. Or, just like a phone, you can swipe left or right to change the channel.

The tactile volume control is on the right side which brings up a menu. Use the sliders to adjust the volume. The Hub Volume is the external or remote speaker at the helm station. As mentioned previously, while not underway, I turn the Hub volume all the way down. When underway, I turn the top volume down, and then the Hub volume up...it's louder.

The next shot shows the instrument data available across the NMEA 2000 network. I turned my Raymarines on as well as the Auto-Pilot/Electronics/Auto Pilot just to "make everything hot".

The next is the Hailer and Horn functionality. You just hit the green "play" button. I believe that the sounds repeat on some time basis, but I'm not 100% sure. I do know that the Fog horn will repeat.

Next is the Anchor Watch. You can dial the circle as you want dedending on how much scope you deployed.

This is the Main Menu screen.

The next four shots are pretty much settings, etc. Showing GPS satellites, System Health, WiFi network, and Alarms. On System Health, you can go into AIS "stealth mode" which will no longer broadcast your position. Think about being on a fishing hotspot and you don't want your buddies to know! Ha!

The last group of pics is about navigation. One is a pic of my Raymarine E120W showing AIS targets in my marina. See what I mean by the target icon being "small"? The last three are screen shots from my iPhone, running Navionics, attached to the Cortex WiFi network. The first is picking up depth, and some AIS targets if you look closely. When I activate a route, you get speed, total time, and distance in addtion to depth. The last pic is zoomed in a bit to show you AIS targets.

All said, I really like it. It has scratched the itch to replace the E120Ws with Garmins, thus saving me about $12K. This system, with new antenna, and the networking bits all in was about $2K.

Jaybeaux

Thank you!!!!! That's alot of great info!!!

 

[techmitch]

Next Post.....

Just got back from the boat. I took a bunch of pics for you:

The first two are from the AIS screen. You can zoom in as tight as you want. You can tap on the boat to get its details. The "menu" button is the three horizontal lines in the top left corner. Tapping that will bring up a directory listing. You have Favorites, Near By, or Recents. Selecting any target will bring up its details.

VHF is the next main functionality. You can have 5 presets via the tabs along the bottom. The rotary dial on the handset allows you to change the channel. Or, just like a phone, you can swipe left or right to change the channel.

The tactile volume control is on the right side which brings up a menu. Use the sliders to adjust the volume. The Hub Volume is the external or remote speaker at the helm station. As mentioned previously, while not underway, I turn the Hub volume all the way down. When underway, I turn the top volume down, and then the Hub volume up...it's louder.

The next shot shows the instrument data available across the NMEA 2000 network. I turned my Raymarines on as well as the Auto-Pilot/Electronics/Auto Pilot just to "make everything hot".

The next is the Hailer and Horn functionality. You just hit the green "play" button. I believe that the sounds repeat on some time basis, but I'm not 100% sure. I do know that the Fog horn will repeat.

Next is the Anchor Watch. You can dial the circle as you want dedending on how much scope you deployed.

This is the Main Menu screen.

The next four shots are pretty much settings, etc. Showing GPS satellites, System Health, WiFi network, and Alarms. On System Health, you can go into AIS "stealth mode" which will no longer broadcast your position. Think about being on a fishing hotspot and you don't want your buddies to know! Ha!

The last group of pics is about navigation. One is a pic of my Raymarine E120W showing AIS targets in my marina. See what I mean by the target icon being "small"? The last three are screen shots from my iPhone, running Navionics, attached to the Cortex WiFi network. The first is picking up depth, and some AIS targets if you look closely. When I activate a route, you get speed, total time, and distance in addtion to depth. The last pic is zoomed in a bit to show you AIS targets.

All said, I really like it. It has scratched the itch to replace the E120Ws with Garmins, thus saving me about $12K. This system, with new antenna, and the networking bits all in was about $2K.

Jaybeaux

PFC!

 

[dtfeld]

I’m going with the Ray90. I found a refurbed unit from MaxMarine (one of my favorite sites!) on fleabay and made him an offer below what he was asking. I’m able to get the VHF side of it resolved now for about 1/3 the $ of a complete system, and upgrade to the AIS when needed.

As far as a comparison between these two, the price both are right around $2k, and offer very similar capabilities as far as the VHF/AIS functionality. Cortex offers some additional monitoring functions, but I don’t need that. The Cortex handheld screen is definitely very nice, but I have plenty of screen space onboard and can display all the info various way/places along with having it overlaid with map and radar.

For my Raymarine based system, the integration aspect is a major selling point and the modularity allows me to add the AIS transceiver at a later time when I need that functionality.

If I was needing a full VHF and AIS transceiver solution right now, I think it would be a toss up. For me being Raymarine, the integration and similarity of equipment makes the learning curve a little shorter.

If I were Garmin, I think Cortex may be the way to go.

 

[dtfeld]

One other option for those interested. Icom has the IC-M510BB which is the newest black box offering from Icom. Almost identical to the IC-M400BB version I have now, but add NEMA2000 connection. They also offer a Class B transceiver, but it is another box that would need to be installed at the helm, so not a great solution for me.