VHF, DSC and Navagear...

I'm old enough to remember the editorials being spouted in some sailing magazines about how the introduction of affordable VHF radios was the thin edge of the wedge that would destroy seamanship as we know it... All these years later I'll admit that there is a decided lack of seamanship in a lot of quarters but VHF is not the cause and I'll more than likely rant about that state of affairs one of these days... But today we are talking about VHF!

I'll admit that my eyes tend to glaze over when folks talk about improvements in electronic gear, that in my mind, already works. VHF does work and for the most part I am not overly impressed that next year's line of VHF features may include an automatic toaster, a muzak feature or come in designer Paisley. None of those are reasons for me to replace a perfectly good VHF radio.

I'll admit that the whole DSC thing was of no real interest and most of the folks who seemed excited are ones who make my eyes glaze over...

Not so with Navagear. They have a most excellent discussion on DSC that both makes sense and actually explains why I might actually want to upgrade my VHF... Amazing what happens when people actually write about stuff rather than regurgitate press releases which sadly is what most marine writing is these days...