Re: [Paddlewise] VHF questions

Dan Hagen wrote:
> 
> I had been planning on staying out of the recent rounds of the handheld
> VHF debate, but the advice that Dave Kruger and others are putting out
> is, IMHO, just plain wrong.

Dan Hagen's post has an enormous amount of good advice in it (all but the
pejorative part has been snipped).  A couple small disagreements and
corrections:

1. I believe you've got to have $400 to spend to get a decent submersible
radio.  I believe the gain an extendable whip can achieve amounts to only
another couple miles of range,  *if you are broadcasting from the cockpit,*
or, (worse) *while swimming.*  The typical rubber ducky antenna is much
less susceptible to damage, IMHO, and would survive the thrashing inherent
in a capsize better than an extendable whip.  Dan, have you got some
specific equipment recommendations on the radio / antenna combination you
favor?  I'd be eager to know what works for you.

2.  Dan's experience with NiCads is more up-to-date than mine.  I suspect
he is talking about NiMH batteries, which have an energy/battery
(equivalent diameter) about 50% greater than ordinary NiCads, IIRC.  I
suspect we are putting a pretty fine point on this pencil, but I had
understood that NiMH batteries were more susceptible to loss of charge than
NiCads.  However, I would yield to anyone who has the data.  In any case,
Dan's point that one has to monitor the NiCad's jives with my experience --
and there *are* some slick little cycling units to keep track of the
battery's condition.  Dan, do you recall what the cost would be for one of
those units?

3. Regarding the difficulty of obtaining a truly waterproof alkaline
battery - equipped radio, the problem I've noted is that the seams which
separate to allow replacement of the alkalines are tough to make truly
waterproof.  Dan, do you have experience with this?  I have not seen an
alkaline pack which would survive dunking.  Your post indicates you have. 
I agree that the battery pack - radio body seals are the equivalent of the
NiCad variations.  It's the seals which close up the alkaline pack which
seem cheesy to me.

Thanks to Dan for an informative post.  I always appreciate authoritative
information, especially when presented in the thoughtful and deliberate
manner Dan achieves.

-- 
Dave Kruger
Astoria, OR
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