Boat electronics

[yoda]

I'll be picking up my new boat next week (weather permiting) and I'd like a little advise on the fish finder and VHS radio I'm thinking about installing on it., The gragh ia a Eagle Ultra Classic Plus with Temp. and speed. The VHS ship to shore radio is a Uniden MC1010 or a MC1020. Also how long of antenna should I put on it, 4foot or 8foot. Anybody have any hand on with either radio. Any advise will be well appreciated

[TimT]

Hey, did you find a good Lund dealer near you? Did you buy the Tyee 1950? It's a great boat. (I'm only a little biased, being that I have the same thing.)

Anyhow, about electronics. I have the Ultra Classic Plus. There are two reasons I CAN'T recommend this unit...
1. No internal battery. As a result, you have to input your preferences each time you power up, or you have to wire it so that it doesn't lose power when the ignition is off.
2. It only marks fish when you're moving slowly. ie. trolling. If you're on your way out to a spot you think has fish, you could fly right by a whole school without ever knowing it. If you're not spending any time in Michigan or Superior, then that might be fine.
Also, if you are going to be in the big water, you'll definately want the 8' antenna.
I don't have any experience with the Uniden radios, but I can tell you that the handhelds don't do as well the installed ones. (Mainly because of the antenna). If you have buttons on the mic, it does make them a little easier to operate. It really depends on where you'll be fishing, I guess.

[TimT]

Ammendment.....

According to an article I read last night, the reason I could be having poor high speed performance, is because my transducer isn't tilted far enough forward. (The fact the I mark my side mounted downrigger balls while fishing, could be a testament to this.)

[This message has been edited by TimT (edited 03-12-2000).]

[Steve]

The transducer angle can make a huge difference I have found especially when its choppy.

[cst10chevy]

Originally posted by yoda:
I'll be picking up my new boat next week (weather permiting) and I'd like a little advise on the fish finder and VHS radio I'm thinking about installing on it., The gragh ia a Eagle Ultra Classic Plus with Temp. and speed. The VHS ship to shore radio is a Uniden MC1010 or a MC1020. Also how long of antenna should I put on it, 4foot or 8foot. Anybody have any hand on with either radio. Any advise will be well appreciated My experience with radios is spend the money on the antenna. The actual radiating element is the top 14 inches of an eight foot 1/4 wave antenna. The eight foot antenna adds height, which is good for distance. But another factor is wave length, 1/2 wave is better than 1/4 wave and so on. The bottom line is you get what you pay for. A good antenna will cost about $100 to $130.

Regards