SaltyGreek Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 Hello all long time no post… I have a GME GX600 VHF currently installed in my boat. The unit powers on and all the functions work however it doesn’t pick up any channels nor make any sound whatsoever. I’m thinking this could be an issue with my antenna and/or the speaker within the unit but I’m not 100% sure. Anyone got any ideas on what could be wrong or how I could fix it? thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankS Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 Turn squelsh down low, check antanna connections make sure it's not on PA if it has this feature. make sure mike not stuck on . Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaltyGreek Posted February 28 Author Share Posted February 28 2 hours ago, frankS said: Turn squelsh down low, check antanna connections make sure it's not on PA if it has this feature. make sure mike not stuck on . Frank Thank you I’ll check it now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XD351 Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 Do you get any beep noises when pushing the buttons- especially the squelch? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelm Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 There’s a lot at play here, first off, did it ever work? Is it brand new and just installed? Is the antenna the correct type and is it connected properly? Do NOT try to transmit without knowing the antenna is OK, if you did/do, damage can occur. Is there any response to anything, as in a beep, static? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekD Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 And there I was thinking the GME GX600 was some special custom and awesome spinning reel from a brand I hadn't heard of before. Seen them before on boats but didn't connect the dots. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryant fish Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 Sorry cant help but im having the same problem with a 27 mhz model probably a year old and a new aerial fitted I didn’t realise hardly anyone uses them anymore so maybe thats the problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelm Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 If you’re a distance from the water, you will get nothing, testing needs to be done on the water, or close to it, out in suburbia, any kind of reception will be limited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryant fish Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 Yeah tried on water and asked I think it was the maritime guy for a radio check he said to try marine rescue so they probably dont cover 27m anymore should have just got the other one but didn’t want to muck around with getting a license Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelm Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 10 minutes ago, Bryant fish said: Yeah tried on water and asked I think it was the maritime guy for a radio check he said to try marine rescue so they probably dont cover 27m anymore should have just got the other one but didn’t want to muck around with getting a license The “license” is easy to get, and is a lifetime coverage, not renewed every year, all boater “should” do the course, it teaches you lots of small things to make yours and others boating life better when using a radio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaitDropper Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 10 hours ago, Bryant fish said: Yeah tried on water and asked I think it was the maritime guy for a radio check he said to try marine rescue so they probably don't cover 27m anymore should have just got the other one but didn’t want to muck around with getting a license Hi Bryant, Marine rescue NSW do indeed monitor 27 meg, its been about 25 years since they started saying that 😁. BUT, the newish systems Marine rescue have, 27 meg Cant be integrated into it, so a solitary 27 meg radio has to be used at the bases. I think now, this may well quicken the complete removal of 27 meg. After finishing my boat rebuild, I removed the 27 meg from the boat all together. You don't actually have to have a license as such to have a VHF installed on your boat, " officially, even without a license, you can still transmit a Pan-Pan_pan or a Mayday call.. I'll be honest, I haven't done my license yet ( bad timing for the courses), but I still log in with marine rescue when I go out, over the interim of getting to a license course, Technically, its a No No, but you can get away with it if you follow protocols ( I'll probably get shot down for saying that 😁).. What area, or rather which marine rescue base are you under ? Normally call in on ch 16, then they will re direct you to that bases open channel, or, as most do, skip ch 16 and go straight to there open channel. BUT, still at the minute, if you identify which marine rescue base you call, they will recieve and respond on a 27 meg.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryant fish Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 Hi bait dropper will try calling marine rescue next time I’m out have really only asked for a radio check since installing a new aerial the maritime guy said to ring marine rescue from home and try radio then but I think I would be to far away from base.thanks for your help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaitDropper Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 3 hours ago, Bryant fish said: Hi bait dropper will try calling marine rescue next time I’m out have really only asked for a radio check since installing a new aerial the maritime guy said to ring marine rescue from home and try radio then but I think I would be to far away from base.thanks for your help Yes, trying to radio them from your home would be a waste of time. Just find out who your nearest marine rescue is, then give them a radio call, use your boat rego as your call sign, if your radio is working, they will reply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryant fish Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmck Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 GX600... IS NOT 27MHz.. its VHF. Call channel is 16... thats what the button '16' on the front is for... 27Mhz is 4 watts AM Gx600 is 25 watts FM... try it from your front yard... you may be surprised!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dick5032 Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 Channel 16 button on picture above is the emergency call button. 27 meg radios are being phased out in west Australia as well in preference for vhf. Not sure what channel u calling on in your area but in mine each sea rescue group monitoring vhf has their own dedicated channel number. Maybe silly question but are u calling on correct channel for area you are in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryant fish Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 My 27 mhz had channel 88 no 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaitDropper Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 (edited) There's two different questions going on here.. Original poster has a VHF, ,,,,,,,, Bryant fish was asking about 27 meg.. Channel 88 is the emergency call channel for 27 meg Bryant fish. So, just for those that are unsure about how to log into Marine rescue, maybe this would be helpful. If you have a 27 meg radio, use channel 88, while everyone says its being phased out, it IS still monitored by Marine rescue. Call them giving your boat rego number, ie, This is ##### calling marine rescue ( repeat call) then state requesting a radio check If you have a VHF radio, use channel 16, Call on that channel, A marine rescue base will answer, and ask you to go to another channel, there base dedicated channel, you talk to them on the channel no they give you. I go direct to my Marine rescue channel rather than 16, because I know what the channel number is, But calling on Channel 16 is what you should do. ( reason being, if the dedicated base channel your calling has a problem with there computer system, or a fault etc they won't receive your call, it does happen from time to time. BUT another marine rescue base will and will reply to your call) If your using one general area fish , you can go to that marine rescue base, pick up a form, fill all the details in, so when you launch, you simply call in with a dedicated number that they give you, once they log that number in ( generally before they reply to you) all your details will come up. Even if you fish another area covered by another Marine rescue base, All your information will be available for them too.( that's why it's best to only call on channel 16) All you have to do, is then give them the number of people on board, where your going to fish and what is your expected return time. If you don't log out when you return, or don't return when you first stated you would, they will start calling you, once the expected return time has lapsed. There also is an App you can use, rather than using the marine radio to log in. Marine rescue membership Is about $60 a year for subscription and I think any boater would be crazy not to sign up and have a back up should something go wrong. If your engine conks out, they will come and tow you back in, there's no charge, if something worse happens and you don't return, they will come looking ( if you are a signed up member logged in). Any boater can also just call up, on either channel 16 or 27 meg 88 and log in, but if you aren't a member, you will be on the radio for some time while they gather all the info they need, car rego, mobile, boat info etc etc. So in conclusion, do yourself a big favour and join up at your local marine rescue branch, your family may well thank you for doing so one day and your membership fee keeps this great service ticking over. Sorry for the long post.... Edited March 21 by BaitDropper 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaitDropper Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 (edited) I forgot to add, Bryant fish Vhf really only performs properly on line of sight, when I installed my new VHF, I have a mate up the same road that I tested it with, but another mate, only 1km away couldn't pick up my transmission, so hill, houses etc will block a VHF transmission. Now your 27 meg, is very different, its got nothing to do, as mentioned about the radios output power, but 27 meg operates differently. For example, if you get a day with very low cloud, it creates a scenario called " skip" transmission. you may very well get someone picking up your call from the boat in the driveway. when these conditions occur. We quite often, fishing in port Melbourne Victoria, could pick up fisho's from NZ on our 27 meg radios, this does not happen at all with VHF radios. So just give it a try every now and then when cloud conditions are low, someone may well pick you up. Otherwise, tow the boat down to the water and make the call. HTH Edited March 21 by BaitDropper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmk1962 Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 14 minutes ago, BaitDropper said: There's two different questions going on here.. Original poster has a VHF, ,,,,,,,, Bryant fish was asking about 27 meg.. Channel 88 is the emergency call channel for 27 meg Bryant fish. So, just for those that are unsure about how to log into Marine rescue, maybe this would be helpful. If you have a 27 meg radio, use channel 88, while everyone says its being phased out, it IS still monitored by Marine rescue. Call them giving your boat rego number, ie, This is ##### calling marine rescue ( repeat call) then state requesting a radio check If you have a VHF radio, use channel 16, Call on that channel, A marine rescue base will answer, and ask you to go to another channel, there base dedicated channel, you talk to them on the channel no they give you. I go direct to my Marine rescue channel rather than 16, because I know what the channel number is, But calling on Channel 16 is what you should do. ( reason being, if the dedicated base channel your calling has a problem with there computer system, or a fault etc they won't receive your call, it does happen from time to time. BUT another marine rescue base will and will reply to your call) If your using one general area fish , you can go to that marine rescue base, pick up a form, fill all the details in, so when you launch, you simply call in with a dedicated number that they give you, once they log that number in ( generally before they reply to you) all your details will come up. Even if you fish another area covered by another Marine rescue base, All your information will be available for them too.( that's why it's best to only call on channel 16) All you have to do, is then give them the number of people on board, where your going to fish and what is your expected return time. If you don't log out when you return, or don't return when you first stated you would, they will start calling you, once the expected return time has lapsed. There also is an App you can use, rather than using the marine radio to log in. Marine rescue membership Is about $60 a year for subscription and I think any boater would be crazy not to sign up and have a back up should something go wrong. If your engine conks out, they will come and tow you back in, there's no charge, if something worse happens and you don't return, they will come looking ( if you are a signed up member logged in). Any boater can also just call up, on either channel 16 or 27 meg 88 and log in, but if you aren't a member, you will be on the radio for some time while they gather all the info they need, car rego, mobile, boat info etc etc. So in conclusion, do yourself a big favour and join up at your local marine rescue branch, your family may well thank you for doing so one day and your membership fee keeps this great service ticking over. Sorry for the long post.... Excellent summary @BaitDropper. A 3 year subscription to Marine Rescue will set you back $100 and as you say all your details (boat, motor, fuel type, tow vehicle, trailer, emergency contacts, picture of boat etc etc etc are stored on their database under your call sign). ... a no brainer if you are a regular offshore boatie. Cheers Zoran SY404 ("sierra yankee 4 - oh - 4" .... the SY stands for SYDNEY of course) PS - having an IT background I must admit I was slight worried when I was allocated the 404 call sign ... those that are IT literate or surf the web will sympathise that error - 404 is a page not found error !!! ... 😱 🧐 🤔 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaitDropper Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 HaHa, yes 404..... I couldn't really explain what Skip conditions are to Bryant fish, but it was always low cloud and in summer when we would pick up other countries on the 27 meg, he may get lucky if he keeps checking from his driveway... Yeah, Zoran, it's a no brainer really to sign up with Marine rescue, even if your only fishing line of sight from shore, a few Km's out, doesn't have to be off shore as such. Our local marine rescue are always towing tinnies out of the shoal haven river that have got stuck with the tides LOL. But yep, if your out wide and something happens, jeez you would be a happy fisho knowing a simple call and someone will be a coming. One of the best scenario's in being a member, is if I decided to come from the south coast to do a spot of fishing up your way, all my details are still there if I log into Sydney marine rescue, its a win win... Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmk1962 Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 VHF can get a similar effect .. called "ducting" that increases the range but again it is more line of sight as you say .... the following might help explain: 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryant fish Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 Thanks all and sorry for hijacking thread i tried on the water 2 weeks ago for no reply will try again next time if no answer will probably upgrade .with the lack of bluespots and the amount of whales in colder months im not going outside much anyway but do realise i have to sort out something ,is there anyway to test the aerial i dont know anyone i can borrow one from the unit and aerial are less then 2 years old Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmk1962 Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 Also check the cable and connections. The screw on metal connectors are notorious for corrosion resulting in loss of signal. I use dielectric grease to try and minimize that. cheers Zoran Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmck Posted March 23 Share Posted March 23 (edited) In particular look for green discolouration around the cable connectors and bends in the cable. This signifies a crack in the insulation and water getting in. If it happens the cable is ruined. This is true FOR ANY marine radio... well in truth- any 2-way radio. Bryant-F... the upgrade will be worth it. If you get the choice, choose one with DSC. Also, expensive radios just get you an expensive radio.... perhaps some 'extra' features, but if it meets Aust standards its a suitable radio, so shop around. Edited March 23 by dmck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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