How to test and set up a ship to shore radio.

[tomsgonefishing]

I just picked up a 16 ft. Starcraft from a older gentleman from Ohio and he
also gave me a couple of older ship to shore radios but he didn't know if they worked or not. I also got one at a garage sale this weekend that looked in great condition. I hooked up it to the battery and to the antenna that's on the
boat and I got the weather channel to come in loud and clear but I couldn't get
any other channels to come in only loud squelch noises. I live near Lansing, Mi which is in the middle of the State. Should the other channels work also or does
this mean the radio works if I get the weather channel to come in? Right now I
can't afford to buy a new radio after buying the boat and licensing it. LOL!
Thanks for any advice I can get.
Tom

 

[Splat]

Re: How to test and set up a ship to shore radio.

The fact that the radio turned on is a good sign.

VHF is line of sight communication. So you dependancy to hear anything on other stations depens on your proximity to another station transmitting.

The only way to test it with out a $10k analyzer is to call a CG station on channel 16 for a radio check. You can simply use you registration number or your name as your call sign.

A word of caution. If your boat is not in the water you are technically communicating from shore and by law a base station. They fall under different requirements including licensing to operate. Is it really a big deal for a radio check? No, but just be aware of it.

Bill

 

[um0RION]

Re: How to test and set up a ship to shore radio.

I just picked up a 16 ft. Starcraft from a older gentleman from Ohio and he
also gave me a couple of older ship to shore radios but he didn't know if they worked or not. I also got one at a garage sale this weekend that looked in great condition. I hooked up it to the battery and to the antenna that's on the
boat and I got the weather channel to come in loud and clear but I couldn't get
any other channels to come in only loud squelch noises. I live near Lansing, Mi which is in the middle of the State. Should the other channels work also or does
this mean the radio works if I get the weather channel to come in? Right now I
can't afford to buy a new radio after buying the boat and licensing it. LOL!
Thanks for any advice I can get.
Tom

I work for a communications company in New england that sells Low band, VHF, and UHF radios. I also do a bit of troubleshooting them, testing, and a LOT of installing of those types of radio.

Is this a typical marine radio, or one that works on a specific frequency per channel? If it is a marine radio, then tomsgonefishing is right about transmitting in the water vs on land. However, if you want to test the radio to see if its working, I doubt a radio check would hurt anything. A simple "radio maintenance check, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, anyone on this channel come back for a radio maintenance check" is usually what we use at work for testing if people can hear what is being transmitted. That way they know you arent fooling around on it, but want a genuine check to see if the radio works the way it should. A "Thanks for the report, radio maintenance clear" after someone answers is always appreciated

If however you dont want to do a test like that yourself, you could always bring it to a communications shop nearby and have them check the equipment. They have test equipment, watt meters (not volt meters) which will test how many watts of power you're putting out. They can also determine if your antenna is cut to the correct length, etc. If you go this route, BRING IN ALL THE PIECES! That means antenna, power cables, radio, and coax. The less time you spend there, the less they'll charge you. Hell, if it was my shop they might not even charge you if it was a simple watt meter test, which will diagnose 90% of problems in about 2 minutes.

Call ahead and see what it would cost if you went and got it checked out. I do this kind of stuff daily and I dont think it costs that much.

 

[Splat]

Re: How to test and set up a ship to shore radio.

I work for a communications company in New england that sells Low band, VHF, and UHF radios. I also do a bit of troubleshooting them, testing, and a LOT of installing of those types of radio.

Is this a typical marine radio, or one that works on a specific frequency per channel? If it is a marine radio, then tomsgonefishing is right about transmitting in the water vs on land. However, if you want to test the radio to see if its working, I doubt a radio check would hurt anything. A simple "radio maintenance check, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, anyone on this channel come back for a radio maintenance check" is usually what we use at work for testing if people can hear what is being transmitted. That way they know you arent fooling around on it, but want a genuine check to see if the radio works the way it should. A "Thanks for the report, radio maintenance clear" after someone answers is always appreciated

If however you dont want to do a test like that yourself, you could always bring it to a communications shop nearby and have them check the equipment. They have test equipment, watt meters (not volt meters) which will test how many watts of power you're putting out. They can also determine if your antenna is cut to the correct length, etc. If you go this route, BRING IN ALL THE PIECES! That means antenna, power cables, radio, and coax. The less time you spend there, the less they'll charge you. Hell, if it was my shop they might not even charge you if it was a simple watt meter test, which will diagnose 90% of problems in about 2 minutes.

Call ahead and see what it would cost if you went and got it checked out. I do this kind of stuff daily and I dont think it costs that much.

Yup yup. I Bird Watt meter to check the carrier strength, as well as a SWR meter with a modulation setting wouldn't take a decent shop more than 5 minutes to check everything out.

Bill