What communications radio do you have?

[Be Free]

RG58 is 0.195" in diameter and has a loss of 0.061 db/ft. RG8X is 0.245" and loses 0.045db/ft. RG213 is 0.41" and loses 0.027 db/ft.
RG213 costs approximately 3x RG58 and RG8X is about twice as expensive.

For the length of our boats the power loss is not bad even for the RG58. I ran my coax between the cabin top and the cabin liner, then up through the mast. I'm pretty sure I used RG8X and it was a bit of a chore. I would not want to try to run RG213 along that path.

For those that have never had cause to check, the X mast does not have any flotation in it.

[Be Free]

Oops. Looks like Tom beat me to the X mast flotation.

[dlandersson]

It's pretty simple. What is your life and the lives of your loved ones worth if you need it and don't have it?

In another thread Chinook highly recommended a fixed radio.

[Tomfoolery]

It's pretty simple. What is your life and the lives of your loved ones worth if you need it and don't have it?

In another thread Chinook highly recommended a fixed radio.

That’s why I have a fixed with antenna on the mast, an emergency antenna with cable, a spare radio exactly like the fixed, and a floating hand-held. Plus a cell phone. I’ve been in a few bad spots, and if I found myself in the middle of Lake Ontario with problems, I’d like to be able to call someone.

[Inquisitor]

From what I gather, short wave radios are really for blue water where over the horizon communications are necessary. I'm guessing few have them with Mac's unless it happens to be another hobby. What are your thoughts...

1. About it as a backup communications
2. Doesn't it permit getting wind and weather predictions for free that shows up on chart plotters or programs with some kind of "modem"?
3. Here is a class, http://www.arrl.org/news/registration-i ... -january-9 that sounds interesting... do you think it would be useful?