VHF Handheld on Powell
We are heading out to Lake Powell for the first time next month.
Our house boat has VHF radios, so I was thinking of buying a hand held VHF radio for our boat.
Does anyone have experience with this, will it work on that lake with all the channels & bays ?
Do the $100 handhelds work ok, or am i wasting my money.
as long as you stay in the middle of the lake they work just fine
but back in the canyons not so much
Look in the mirror before passing judgement !!!!!
VHF is line of sight, so it wont transmit through the rocks, although the rocks to will privded some ducting out in the main channel, just hope a boat with a radio is driving by. If you want to help this issue get a radio that has a jack for a real antenna rather than what it comes with (a big CB style antenna but made for VHF). Also make sure you get as many transmitting watts as you can afford. Its cheap insurance and you can use it on any other lake you go to.Originally Posted by Cal King
Last edited by md-11mike; 05-29-2012 at 05:30 PM.
We are flying to Powell friday,
You will need to get a good map of the lake
Follow the channel markers and stay in the groove (lane)
The lake doesn't have warning markers of under water rocks
Dangling rope marina is hard to locate so refere to the channel marker #s
Have fun
Thanks guys for the info, i'll get a few maps at the marina. our trip is less than a month away, i'm pumped.
Dangling rope is also a lot further than you would expect it to be too and bring gold to buy you 87 octane. If you have a gramin auto gps you can use it on the lake. You can at least make waypoints along the way. There are a few sections depending on water level that can get a bit confusing. I have had to use the old Castle Wolfenstein technique of keeping the wall to the left side till I got back to a recognizable land mark (I have made it back to the launch ramp every time). That being said the place is a blast and I will be there the end of July down by Lone Rock. Also wastch the tour boats those big things haul a$$ and wake is 2'-4' surf.
Be there July 5-15. Staying at Wawheap RV park. I was thinking the same thing regarding a ship to shore radio.
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There is a lot of good info on lake powell at Wayne's Words Message Boards. A lot of the people on the forum are lake regular users.
http://www.wayneswords.com/index.php/ww-bulletinboard
I will second the motion for Wayne's Words. Great site for everything Lake Powell.
I purchased a $100 hand held from west marine for the little boat. It is great for communicating with the house boat especially when trying to find a beach. I have had comms with the Houseboat around corners, but not very far.
Another plus is that a lot of people are on radio. I have heard people relay messages to the NPS (I have been the relay as well). If you are in a canyon, you might be able to get to someone that has a clear shot at NPS.
In short, it is cheap insurance.
Welcome to my lake. Have a great time,
Norm
P.S. Monitor 16, have conversations on another channel of your choosing. Channel 16 will also have weather updates from park staff and, will more than likely, provide some comedy.
For $100, look into a mounted unit, even if you don't mount it and alligator clip the power to the battery. Handhelds are limited to 5w, while mounted units go to 25w.
Keith-
All true, but in my case, I don"t have a good place to mount. I chose the hand held because a mounted unit and a mounted antenna would look stupid, IMO, on our boat. I went with the Handheld and it works for me.
Norm
If it's for temp use, just put it in a small bag and make up a cig lighter plug or cable with alligator clips. Whip antenna with magnetic base. 5x the power has advantages.
Keith-
I hear what you are saying Keith and that would work too. But for my needs, the handheld is working well.
Norm
Get the hand held, it's better then nothing. As others have stated, if you get in a bad situation there is always the chance that your comm will be picked up and relayed by another boater. Plus there are always marina service boats running up and down the lake during the day that monitor channel 16. The only time I really had to use my hand held was in Wahweap Bay and it worked just fine to communicate with the marina services.
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