In a message dated 1/10/99 7:44:45 PM Eastern Standard Time, dkruger_at_pacifier.com writes: << 2. 5W will not be enough when you really need to reach out. 1W is plenty 90 % of the time. Because we work on the deck -- so the antenna is only 3 ft off the water -- the range of a HH VHF is very limited while you are in your cockpit. >> To Dave's point: line of sight is definitely the issue for sea kayakers; the only real advantage of the five watt unit is that it will punch through other radio traffic better, and, if you're worried about getting help when you need it, punching through traffic is not the issue --- contacting someone is. Also to Dave's assesment of "weatherproof" --- don't go with anything less than "JIS-7 Submersible" unless you really want to rely on a plastic bag to keep your radio dry inside and functional. (Another good feature to look for is "weather watch" which will allow you to monitor any weather emergency information in your area while remaining on a tactical frequency.) For what it's worth, the Apelco 520 is JIS-7 and has the weather feature, as well; its poor cousin, the 510 continues to serve me well. Defender Marine <www.DefenderUS.com>, for example, has the 520 for $265, up $30 from the '98 catalog; they're usually a good indication of the best or near-best price on something like this. Standard disclaimer: no connection with Apelco, Defender, yadda-yadda-yadda. Jack Martin *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Mon Jan 11 1999 - 09:38:40 PST
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:30:03 PDT