CONTINUOUSWAVE

I can confirm that the DSC calling and position request works on the HX870. My buddy bought the same radio and we just tried it. Initiating a DSC call makes the other radio ring and that user has the option to answer. Upon answering both radios automatically switch to the agreed upon channel. I did ...

This weekend I observed some odd radio behavior, and I'm just curious who else has noticed this. Aboard a boat, one radio used a 3-to-4-foot-long antenna on top of the T-top; a second radio was a handheld attached to my PFD. Both radios were tuned to channel 68, a fishing tournament channel with lot...

The Prius is more landscape, but the polarization orientation seems to be diagonal. Looking directly at it through glasses the screen is too dim to read, but you can tell it's on. Tiling your head one way makes the screen appear black, and tiling your head the other way makes the screen more visible...

I've used the Standard-Horizon HX870 handheld radio a couple of times now. I will commenting on some good and bad features. Battery life so far has seemed adequate for general daily use. After seven hours in the boat scanning channels it appears to have roughly half the battery capacity left. The na...

We've had several people run to the same side in my 17' and it has definitely led to some exciting moments, but I don't recall it rolling far enough to actually take any water over the side. For it to roll completely over inverted I would guess those must have been some fairly hefty dudes and/or rou...

More data points -- My wife's 2012 Prius screen is horrible. The display and backup camera are all but invisible when wearing polarized glasses. I'm surprised they even let it go to market like that. I do not recall having the same problem in her previous 2008 model year Prius, which had a much brig...

Tilt your head while looking at the display, when the polarization of the glasses lines up with the polarization of the screen the image will become visible. Not a perfect solution, but inexpensive!

Lots of Montauk boats used plastic drain tubes. I don't know the advantages or disadvantages. I got a replacement [drain tube] from Twin Cities Marine in Two Rivers, Wisconsin. If the boat lives under a cover or inside when not in use, then you can use an old towel to get out the water before storage.

If you're keeping [the 1992 Boston Whaler 13 GLS for the] long term, I would look seriously at [installing canvas from] Wm. J. Mills & Co. My 1996 Montauk has the original Wm. J. Mills & Co. top, and the canvas is still in great shape. I'm in southern Florida, the boat lives under a cover wh...

The menus appear to be there on the radio, I just need to convince some buddies to get their radios fully functional with MMSI numbers so I can give it a try.

As mentioned above, WD-40 is very thin and more or less disappears over time. I've personally found that Maxima Chain Wax is stellar for corrosion prevention. It's motorcycle chain lube in a paraffin base, so it sprays on wet and dries to a waxy finish. The result is it stays around a long time and ...

I just purchased the HX870 and I haven't had the opportunity to try the polling feature yet. The documentation indicates that [the HX870] does support [polling and polling acknowledgement]. Automatically poll the GPS position of a ship using DSC The owners manual in section 10.9 "POLLING CALL&q...

I'm hoping this topic can help people like me understand the features of the HX870 radio. At the moment the power saving features are not clear to me. I need to be filled in on some details on the following which are not described in the manual: ⋅ For the GPS power saving feature, I assume...

I decided on the HX870, the older model from Standard Horizon. I choose this over the newer [HX890] radio in part because the [HX870] allows you to request your buddies position, and from what I've read the newer [HX890] doesn't support this. Now to do some homework and learn how to use it, time wil...

That [the 170 MONTAUK described in the preceeding article] wanted to remain upright, even if very tipsy, is good. My thought was if the center of gravity when flooded were too high, [the huill] would become inherently unstable and refuse to stay upright without external inputs keeping it balanced. I...

JIMP--thanks for sharing your story [of a swamped MONTAUK 17]. It sounds like these [Montauk 17] boats aren't so unstable when heavy that they want to roll over by themselves without some external forces applied such as waves or people running around. A feature of a [Boston Whaler Montauk 17] that c...

To anyone who has been in a swamped classic Montauk 17: please Comment on how stable a swamped MONTAUK 17 is in regard to the hull wanting to roll. This is just a curious question after witnessing a non-Boston-Whaler 16-to-17-foot boat sink right in front of me a couple weeks ago. The wind had turne...

More then year years ago my Garmin chartplotter and SONAR failed. I'm not sure why. The warranty period was expired, but Garmin repaired it for me for free. Based on that, my next upgrade was a Garmin unit as well. I have not had to contact them since. I had a Standard Horizon HX350S handheld radio ...

I have a 1996 Montauk 17 on a bunk trailer; it's the only way to go. If you can buy new, get the trailer custom sized for your boat; the cost is not much more. I got my trailer from Rolls Axle in Florida, Model W1730 custom sized to be 80-inches wide at the outside of the fenders, and it fits my Mon...

Thanks again for the replies. I've narrowed my choice for a handheld DSC radio to either a Class D or Class H. I'm all for simplicity, but it sure would be nice to query my friends locations. From reading a thread he linked above, Class H does not have that capability while the Class D does. On the ...

Thank you very much for the replies and the link, I will go read that next. The way the boat is used, fixed mount really isn't a good option. The antenna would be problematic and mounting the radio would be a challenge. Your points about a charger are good, though we are more often than not wet with...

No, it's a 1996 Montauk with a different console (original console was stolen). There's no real place for a fixed radio.

I'm looking for some help in choosing a handheld DSC radio, and I would love to hear opinions on personal favorites and why. I've done a lot of reading, and have realized that my lack of actual experience with a DSC radio means I'm not sure what questions to ask, or features to focus on, so any guid...

The cracking is definitely from the sun, but some brands seem to be UV resistant and others are not so I'm hoping to find a brand that is. Such as the Goodyears that I have now, but Goodyear doesn't make a trailer tire in my size anymore. I see that the Loadstar are actually made by Kenda, a company...

Thanks for the link to sturdybuiltonline. I have a different trailer that came with Load Star branded tires, but they started cracking after just a year or two. I bought a spare from Amazon that did the same thing after less than two years. sidewall_.jpg The Goodyear tires on my boat trailer still h...

I also vote Mills if you can swing the price. My 1996 Montauk still has the original Mills bimini top and it's in excellent shape after all these years. On that year it folds up and stows in front of the bow rail, 100% out of the way.

Give me some tips on the best brand and model trailer tires these days. I need size 175 80R13, or something close to it. My trailer has the original Goodyear tires on it—now 13 years old and used only locally—that need to be replaced before a road trip, but it seems impossible to find this size from...