New Comms

We finally got the new Very High Frequency (VHF) Radio installed.  The original VHF radio Remote Access Mike (RAM) in the cockpit disintegrated due to exposure to the sun and weather.  Also, the original radio was not Digital Selective Calling (DSC) capable and we wanted DSC as a safety feature since it can send automated distress signals to vessels near us as well as the Coast Guard.

As usual, nothing about this purchase and installation was easy.





The radio was purchased in early October while we were preparing for the start of the SAIL ICW Rally in Hampton, VA.  The original plan was to have everyone in the Rally able to communicate via the group calling and share our locations using features available through DSC. Unfortunately, one of the key members of the Rally communications team which was to install our radio became ill and the installation was never accomplished prior to our departure from Hampton.  When the radio was delivered, we discovered the RAM mike was not included and had to be separately ordered.  We got the RAM mike a few weeks later at one of our stops along the ICW.  Next, we learned the RAM mike connection and our existing mike connection in the cockpit were incompatible.  That meant we had to run new wire from the cockpit to the radio at the navigation station.  When we ran the wire, we were momentarily set back because it was too short to reach the radio.  Fortunately, we were able to splice the new wire into the old wire and reach the radio.  When we got into navigation station wiring, we learned there was no way to connect the radio to the GPS antenna without running more wire.  The more practical, least expensive solution was to buy another GPS antenna just for the radio and mount it at the nav station. Two days later, the antenna arrived and it came without any mounting device.  Thus, a mounting device either had to be purchased or fabricated.  Dwayne was able to make a mount from a 1 by 4 pine board.  Lastly, despite both the old and new radios having similar dimensions for the radio's front facing plate the new radio's rear dimensions required a slight modification of the opening in the teak panel to which is was mounted.  What started out as a simple "plug and play" project turned into several trips to West Marine for parts and too many hours of work.  We are glad it is finally done.