I have a small sailboat (V15) on SF bay. I am looking for a VHF/GPS for
training when I am not with other boats. The water is very cold and so
I need a radio, and then I found out some have GPS with them. I want to
be able to have speed read-outs and be able call for help if needed. I
found two so far. The Uniden Mystic, and the Garmin Rino.

I like the Rino better because of Barometer and it saves Speed records,
but I can't figure out if it does Marine VHF, or if there is a Hack to
make it do Marine VHF.

So 3 Questions:

Can the Uniden Mystic save speed data and moved to the computer?

Can the Rino be hacked to provide Marine Radio VHF?

Is there any other options available?

Thanks in advance,

Alex

I doubt that the Rino can be hacked to provide marine VHF. It is a UHF
radio, although it has weather band as well. The antenna would be the
wrong size, and these radios are not intended to have interchangeable
antennas. I have two of the 530 units, and like them very much.


wrote:
I have a small sailboat (V15) on SF bay. I am looking for a VHF/GPS for
training when I am not with other boats. The water is very cold and so
I need a radio, and then I found out some have GPS with them. I want to
be able to have speed read-outs and be able call for help if needed. I
found two so far. The Uniden Mystic, and the Garmin Rino.

I like the Rino better because of Barometer and it saves Speed records,
but I can't figure out if it does Marine VHF, or if there is a Hack to
make it do Marine VHF.

So 3 Questions:

Can the Uniden Mystic save speed data and moved to the computer?

Can the Rino be hacked to provide Marine Radio VHF?

Is there any other options available?

Thanks in advance,

Alex

Q1, dunno
Q2, no
Q3;
i'm not sure about the mystic, havent seen it yet.
but with the Garmin, while it's "5 mile range" on the GMRS channels is
sometimes as little as 1/2 mile if thereis any kind of terrain, I
noticed that while on the bay it was always quite full of traffic and I
got comms established beyond the 5 Mile range [this was SDiego
bay...][also, you need to stand as high above the waterline as
possible, sometimes].
There is no public safety channel or monitoring so you will have to
talk some stranger into calling 911 with instructions to relay to the
coastguard your gps co-ordinates, iffy at best.

I would advise a marine VHF handheld, just slightly more expensive and
no GPS but CG is pretty good about finding people, carry a compass too,
that'll help them find you. While there are a couple of spots in the
bay where your handheld VHF will not get to the coastguard, you will at
least get another Mariner who will better understand your distress than
the landlubbers you will find on GMRS [Garmin Rino]
Rino's also are NOT water proof. Lots of VHF Marine handhelds are.
GMRS also requires an additional License $75

YOu can get a simple seperate GPS for real cheap for your training,
should do speed-readouts you mentioned.




wrote:
I have a small sailboat (V15) on SF bay. I am looking for a VHF/GPS for
training when I am not with other boats. The water is very cold and so
I need a radio, and then I found out some have GPS with them. I want to
be able to have speed read-outs and be able call for help if needed. I
found two so far. The Uniden Mystic, and the Garmin Rino.

I like the Rino better because of Barometer and it saves Speed records,
but I can't figure out if it does Marine VHF, or if there is a Hack to
make it do Marine VHF.

So 3 Questions:

Can the Uniden Mystic save speed data and moved to the computer?

Can the Rino be hacked to provide Marine Radio VHF?

Is there any other options available?

Thanks in advance,

Alex

Thanks for the input. I am thinking that the VHF and separate GPS is
the way to go.

Cheers

On Nov 25, 6:37 pm, "tlindly" wrote:
Q1, dunno
Q2, no
Q3;
i'm not sure about the mystic, havent seen it yet.
but with the Garmin, while it's "5 mile range" on the GMRS channels is
sometimes as little as 1/2 mile if thereis any kind of terrain, I
noticed that while on the bay it was always quite full of traffic and I
got comms established beyond the 5 Mile range [this was SDiego
bay...][also, you need to stand as high above the waterline as
possible, sometimes].
There is no public safety channel or monitoring so you will have to
talk some stranger into calling 911 with instructions to relay to the
coastguard your gps co-ordinates, iffy at best.

I would advise a marine VHF handheld, just slightly more expensive and
no GPS but CG is pretty good about finding people, carry a compass too,
that'll help them find you. While there are a couple of spots in the
bay where your handheld VHF will not get to the coastguard, you will at
least get another Mariner who will better understand your distress than
the landlubbers you will find on GMRS [Garmin Rino]
Rino's also are NOT water proof. Lots of VHF Marine handhelds are.
GMRS also requires an additional License $75

YOu can get a simple seperate GPS for real cheap for your training,
should do speed-readouts you mentioned.

wrote:
I have a small sailboat (V15) on SF bay. I am looking for a VHF/GPS for
training when I am not with other boats. The water is very cold and so
I need a radio, and then I found out some have GPS with them. I want to
be able to have speed read-outs and be able call for help if needed. I
found two so far. The Uniden Mystic, and the Garmin Rino.

I like the Rino better because of Barometer and it saves Speed records,
but I can't figure out if it does Marine VHF, or if there is a Hack to
make it do Marine VHF.

So 3 Questions:

Can the Uniden Mystic save speed data and moved to the computer?

Can the Rino be hacked to provide Marine Radio VHF?

Is there any other options available?

Thanks in advance,

Alex

wrote in news:1164658100.317480.213150
@j72g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

Thanks for the input. I am thinking that the VHF and separate GPS is
the way to go.



Garmin 76CSx full-featured chartplotter handheld GPS with the chart for
your cruising area. It has an electronic compass and altimeter in it.
The altimeter is useful as your cruising barometer because it has a chart
plotting altimeter you can see trends on to bad weather. The electronic
compass reads correctly, even in the waves that drive the old card
compass crazy.

The chart plotter has software for your computer. You can plan your
cruises at home, in the comfort of your computer room, load the waypoints
and routes into the Garmin's HUGE memory that can store a lifetime of
routes and waypoints, all neatly PREplotted before you have to deal with
boat/sail handling. What a great way to put a full powered nav system on
even the smallest pocket cruiser. Doesn't need an external antenna, just
the mounting bracket to hold it at the helm and the power/data cable to
connect it to the battery and VHF DSC-enabled emergency radio.

http://www.garmin.com/products/gpsmap76csx/

Get this power/data cable for it so you can power it from the boat
battery and get data out of it to the Icom-M302 DSC VHF radio:
http://shop.garmin.com/accessory.jsp...0%2D10082%2D00
Whenever you unplug it from the Garmin, carefully wrap it in a plastic
baggie to keep it DRY and CLEAN. Be sure to cut the 12VDC power to it
because the plastic connectors get eaten by electrolysis caused by the
moist air and DC power people leave on them all the time.....grrr...nuts.

Get the marine mount, too:
http://shop.garmin.com/accessory.jsp...0%2D10300%2D00
Easy to dismount and store away from thieves and harm.

Send the GPS data to the Icom M302 25W subminiature VHF marine radio:
http://www.icomamerica.com/products/marine/m302/
It's not waterproof or water resistant...IT'S SUBMERSIBLE!
It also does DSC with the data from the Garmin to set off alarms on the
ships and CG if you get in serious trouble. Press the EMERGENCY button
under the protective cover and they know exactly where you are and who
you are from your preprogrammed MMSI you get from Boat/US and enter into
its memory. No half-assed emergency comms on a walkie talkie noone can
hear over 3 miles away. It's also your weather radio with FULL ALERTING
when NOAA sends out an emergency message. And it's LOUD!

Only a tiny bit bigger than its microphone (see picture) it panel mounts
almost anywhere...high up in the boat in case of flooding, please!

Get the MB69 flush mount kit if you have a place to panel mount it and
MB92 dust cover to seal it up when you're not using it to keep the sun
and weather from attacking it. Icom's last a long time.

Hmm...You'll need the same antenna USCG uses, the Metz Manta 6 VHF
antenna my jetboat couldn't destroy:
http://www.metzcommunication.com/manta6.htm
It's guaranteed, no questions asked, FOREVER. Unlike the crap fiberglass
antennas with the coax cable PERMANENTLY epoxied into the base you can't
replace, it has a proper CONNECTOR on its bottom. Replacing the
defective cable is so easy. Seal the cable with shrink tubing around the
connector underneath it filled with latex bathtub caulk and it will be as
shiny new 20 years from today as it was the day you installed it.

Be SURE the nut holding the whip into it is TIGHT so the whip doesn't get
lost. This antenna is a 1/2 wave, end-fed and requires no ground plane,
whatsoever. Mount it as high as you can for maximum range. The
combination of the Metz Manta 6 and 25 watts will make enough noise to be
heard over the damned marinas selling gas and dock space on Ch 16. Of
course, you'll be declaring the emergency on Channel 70 DSC, first, so
CG's radioman will run 'em off 16 for the distress...or else...(c;

There, now we're ready to put this little cruiser to sea.

After the VISA recovers, order the mobile mount and City Navigator street
map SD card with another 12V cable so you can use it for car navigation
when it's not on the boat....(c; The new Garmins have SD cards preloaded
with Mapsource, Blue Chart and City Navigator cartography compatibility,
something I think will be around for years to come.

Larry

Come by Charleston. I'll bring my tools and help you put it all in...(c;

Good idea to cut the power, but it's not the plastic connector that gets eaten but rather the copper
conductors.


"Larry" wrote in message ...
Be sure to cut the 12VDC power to it
because the plastic connectors get eaten by electrolysis caused by the
moist air and DC power people leave on them all the time.....grrr...nuts.

"Chuck Tribolet" wrote in
:

Good idea to cut the power, but it's not the plastic connector that
gets eaten but rather the copper conductors.


"Larry" wrote in message
...
Be sure to cut the 12VDC power to it
because the plastic connectors get eaten by electrolysis caused by
the moist air and DC power people leave on them all the
time.....grrr...nuts.




I have this same plug that was simply unplugged at the helm of a 35'
sloop and left hanging, out of the rain under a bimini that didn't leak.

Between the +12V pin, that always had DC on it, and the ground pin, the
other side of the battery, the PLASTIC in this little 4-pin plastic plug,
was so stressed, chemically, by the combination of atmosphere and 12VDC
it DISINTEGRATED into powder! I'd never seen anything like it in 42
years in electronics. The plastic between the disconnected data pins was
hardened, but not disintegrated. The plastic was so changed, you could
squeeze it into powder and pull the whole 12V pin and wire leading to it
out of the molded plastic housing. The PLASTIC must have been made of
some conductive material that electrolysis caused by the battery voltage
could chemically change its state.

Really wierd! Planned obsolescence??...(c;

The power pins, themselves, were only slightly corroded.

Larry
--
If we eliminate religion, will they stop murdering each other?

On Sat, 02 Dec 2006 01:40:24 -0500, Larry wrote:

the PLASTIC in this little 4-pin plastic plug,
was so stressed, chemically, by the combination of atmosphere and 12VDC
it DISINTEGRATED into powder! I'd never seen anything like it in 42
years in electronics. The plastic between the disconnected data pins was
hardened, but not disintegrated.

Possibly UV damage? There are a lot of plastics that don't do well in
sunlight because of that.

Wayne.B wrote:
On Sat, 02 Dec 2006 01:40:24 -0500, Larry wrote:


the PLASTIC in this little 4-pin plastic plug,
was so stressed, chemically, by the combination of atmosphere and 12VDC
it DISINTEGRATED into powder! I'd never seen anything like it in 42
years in electronics. The plastic between the disconnected data pins was
hardened, but not disintegrated.


Possibly UV damage? There are a lot of plastics that don't do well in
sunlight because of that.

What about electrolysis of the unavoidable film of concentrated brine
(from salt crystals in the air + ordinary humidity) producing bleach and
chlorine, both of which degrade many plastics?

--
Ian Malcolm. London, ENGLAND. (NEWSGROUP REPLY PREFERRED)
ianm[at]the[dash]malcolms[dot]freeserve[dot]co[dot]uk
[at]=@, [dash]=- & [dot]=. *Warning* HTML & 32K emails -- NUL:
'Stingo' Albacore #1554 - 15' Early 60's, Uffa Fox designed,
All varnished hot moulded wooden racing dinghy.

Wayne.B wrote in
:

Possibly UV damage? There are a lot of plastics that don't do well in
sunlight because of that.




In the shade under the bimini. No sunlight direct.

The ONLY place where the plastic disintegrated is BETWEEN the +12VDC and
ground pins. The rest of the plug was untouched out of that path between
ONLY those metal pins, a track about 1/16" wide. The dead pins and the
plastic behind the exposed power pins was untouched by the devastation. It
points directly to 12V electrolysis between those pins.

Garmin needs different thermoplastic in their plug maker machine.

Larry
--
If we eliminate religion, will they stop murdering each other?