Exciting Piece of New Equipment

[HeaveToo]

So I was trolling around at West Marine the other night.  I am wanting to add a house VHF radio to my boat.  I really wanted to put one with an AIS receiver in my boat but the $400 or better is steep.

And then I saw it!  Standard Horizon DX2150 for $200.  It has DSC and AIS receiver.  Normally $400 but close out for $200. 

I immediately went to my local West Marine and spoke with the manager.  They didn't have any in stock or any in the warehouse.  He called around and found me a display unit and I said "I'll take it!"

Now I have a big project ahead of me for this winter.  I am going to install this VHF with AIS into my Compac 23.  This means that I have to run coax inside of the mast (with the zip ties with tails to prevent it from slapping inside of the mast), run coax through the deck, mount a masthead antenna, and mount the radio.  The radio will then be networked through NMEA 0183 network to my Garmin 441s.

Here is the beauty of this.  The VHF will report the AIS positions of any ships in the area and they will show up on my GPS.  I will know their speed and heading AND get an alarm if they get in a certain proximity of me, that I set.  My VHF will automatically send my GPS position to the coast guard if the MOB or the Distress button is pushed on the house radio.

While I am running to coax cable I figure that I might as well re-run the anchor light wire and put zip ties on that as well because it slaps sometimes. 

This is a medium to big project but I am excited to have this aboard.  This is a pretty nice and serious set-up.  I think that it will be a good safety feature too.  It isn't quite as good as radar but it is much cheaper and kind of close.

[Bob23]

   Great idea. I installed an Icom model something or other...I don't remember now but I've been happy with it. I don't think it has all those features but for where I sail and the way I sail, it's fine. I did find one shortcoming to it after the install: From the tiller, I could not hold the mic at the same time. So Icom sells a CommandMic which is nothing more than a remote mic that I can control the radio with. I cut a cubby into the starboard side of the cockpit, made a waterproof box in the starboard storage area and a sliding fiberglass door that I can store the mic in. It's worked out great...was a bit more expensive than I wanted but what isn't??  
  I also installed a red led light in the cubby on it's own switch so I can light the cockpit up at night before I go below.  Wish I'd thought of the zip tie idea...now I have musical wires inside my mast...maybe a project for this winter but, dang! I should have done this last winter when I rewired the mast. Here is a not very clear photo.

[HeaveToo]

Good idea about the remote mike.  I thought about that but I can add that later.  I have two handheld VHF radios too, for backup. 

I like the extra safety net that this will give me. 

Still thinking about rewiring the mast while I am running coax down it. 

[HeaveToo]

I just got the radio today.  I cant' wait to wire it in.  It has some awesome features.

Eventually I want a RAM mike.  I am thinking about installing one up on the side of the cockpit near the companionway.  I would have access while at the helm if I did this.

[Shawn]

"The VHF will report the AIS positions of any ships in the area and they will show up on my GPS.  I will know their speed and heading AND get an alarm if they get in a certain proximity of me, that I set."

The AIS will also give you the MMSI of any ships that are transmitting AIS. If needed you can hail them directly by MMSI and they are almost certainly going to respond as you are essentially calling them directly.

Having the DSC networked with your GPS will also allow friends (with your MMSI) to poll your location and you can set your radio to automatically respond to their requests. That should also show up on your GPS. They can also call you directly (without having to hail) and have you radios automatically switch to another channel. If you don't have an MMSI yet get one.

http://www.boatus.com/mmsi/

I have the B&G V50 with wireless remote handset. Defender had a killer deal on it about a month back. AIS/DSC is very cool.

Shawn

[captrank]

I installed a standard horizon matrix radio with a loud hailer and AIS receiver two years ago on my 19. It is awesome. I didn't need to wire anything but just installed it in place of my former radio (also a standard horizon). I also intalled a RAM mic in the cockpit. The mike lets me control the loud hailer and the radio from the cockpit and is one of the best safety features I have on the boat. You will not regret having a remote mic. I like the AIS but it is no substitute for radar (which I also have on the boat). AIS will show you much info about boats that have it, but not all boats do. Radar will show you most boats as well as things like incoming storms. My friends tell me that if I install one more piece of equipment on my 19 she'll sink. So far so good though.

[HeaveToo]

Great tip.  I just registered for the MMSI.  I was wondering what I needed to enter into the radio for that. 

This winter I am going to wire in the VHF (this means running the coax down the mast and through the deck) and network it to the GPS.  The other big project is to add a water pressure pump (nice thing is that I have a switch and wire already run for this) and a folding faucet for the water pressure system.  I am going to also add a cockpit shower.  Too bad I can't add some sort of hot water tank.  If I am this desperate for a warm shower I may heat some water on the stove and dump it back into the water tank.