CB radio for communication between boats?

[scoutb]

Every fall I go fishing with a group. This year it will be 8 guys in 4 boats. The lake we go to is remote enough that there is no cell phone service. In years past we have used walkie-talkies to communicate between boats but their range is limited to a couple of miles and the batteries usually die about 6 hours in. We all seem to have an old CB or two laying around. Has anyone out there used CB radios in their boats before :?:

 

[Specknreds]

Should work. Just remember that the higher you get the antenna the better the performance on water.

 

[dougdad]

you also have to use a marine atenna, and will most likly have to run a ground wire for the antenna to the radio and or battery. I would rec. that you go to a marina and talk to a electrical tech. there. I also rec. that you pick up a regular marine CB and atenna, it will work much better and is water proof.

 

[CarlF]

Handheld rechargeable VHF radios work well. Good ones like the Uniden will give you 5 miles range with a clear line of sight. But if the lakes you are on do not give you clear line of sight between boats, I cant think of any GMRS or VHF radios that will give you great performance.
If you go with GMRS, get rechargeables and the highest power you can.

 

[ben2go]

VHF or CB.VHF should give a range of 15 to 20 miles.CB maybe 5 to 10. See THIS for VHF range info.Sat phones would be the ultimate but cost in an issue. :LOL2:

 

[scoutb]

Thanks for the replies. The CBs are basically free, just taking up space otherwise so I think we'll give them a try. The lake we will be on is 8 miles long so a 5-10 mile range should be OK. And if it gets wet and stop working, it's just one less thing I need to store :lol:

 

[Salmon_Slayer_2008_Lund]

I have a Uniden VHF radio with an 8ft antenna. Works great in big water.

The Radio is located under the captains dash. Its white so you can locate in pic and the antenna is laying flat down on the right side.

 

[cyberflexx]

be careful and not get your antenna wet and make sure you get it grounded well, i'd ground it to the battery for sure.. You should be OK though.. I'd give it a try!. I have a couple linear amplifiers that I tinkered with when I was a kid. 225watts and a 150 watts. I just picked them up from my parents house and took them to storage.