Welster Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Like Squidmarks I am reading up on the VHF course at the moment. I am curious if the members with DSC equipped VHF radios have connected them to the GPS on their boat. Is there any benefit in doing so? It sounds like it isn't monitored by the coast stations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric001 Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 I was wondering the same thing. I have a dsc vhf radio but would need to get a gps sig to it without having to go down the road of either a dedicated GPS receiver or upgrading all electronics on boat. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welster Posted July 6, 2015 Author Share Posted July 6, 2015 I have the elite 7 combo and Lowrance link 5 VHF. I think they can be connected, I am curious if it's common or worthwhile. The radio has an alarm that goes off asking for the portion input. I think it can be turned off in settings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oz_brett Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 I have mine connected but the other boats I fish with have there DSC numbers but not connected to there GPS. This is a shame as once we ad each others DSC numbers to the friends list in the radio they will show up on my GPS map showing there location & direction & speed they are traveling as long as they have the radio & GPS connected and turned on. Depending on what brand GPS you have it can be a bit costly my Garmin wired strait in with no additional cables but Lowrance charge something like $60 for a cable. As for the safety side of it if both units are connected to each other & you press the Emergency button your co-ordinates will be transmitted to all VHF radios within range including aircraft, not only that it will display on the GPS units that have the VHF connected = if I see a distress call on my GPS only a couple of kms away I will be there long before any emergency vessel. Keeping in mind a passenger jet cant stop & pick you up but I believe by law they are supposed to look in that direction for you (without changing course), then lets say they see smoke they will radio though to the nearest traffic control raising the alarm of what they have seen. For $60 sounds like good value to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welster Posted July 6, 2015 Author Share Posted July 6, 2015 Thanks Oz Brett if the Lowrance does that it sounds sensible to try and connect them. All the gear is good but it certainly takes some sorting. If that's the case I need to try and find the right cable ( $60 sounds rediculous but I guess there isn't much I can do about it). A boat name, register for MMSI number, update the EPIRB details to include MMSI. And join the coast patrol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oz_brett Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Yep Ive done all the above only I never got around to getting a boat name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welster Posted July 9, 2015 Author Share Posted July 9, 2015 Thanks Oz Brett. Now back to reading for that test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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