Hey Everyone,

First thread/first post here. I just bought a 2010 Unlimited Sport. I'm writing because I wondered if it would be possible to monitor marine VHF radio from the Jeep. As my name implies, I am a USCG Licensed Master and I understand that transmitting from shore would be a big no-no unless you acquire the proper FCC license to do so. Monitoring in another story. I frequently am driving to and from the water and just feel the urge to continue to monitor certain situations that unfold on the harbor. I work on Boston Harbor/ The Harbor Islands and some pretty interesting sagas tend to arise.

Anyway, I don't have much expertise in the field of radio and I wondered if someone here could help shed some light on my options, if there are any. Just to restate my ultimate goal: I would love to be able to listen to marine VHF radio broadcasts from my Jeep. Any help is much appreciated. Thanks in advance for any help that you all can give. Nice to meet you all, interwebically speaking.

- Joe

 

Why not purchase a scanner capable of monitoring the marine frequencies? Uniden is one manufacturer that makes such a scanner. The scanner comes with an antenna but you may need to install an external antenna depending how far you are from the transmitter. I would try the antenna on the unit first before going to the trouble to install an external antenna.

 

I'll check that out. Thanks for the quick reply.

 

It's absolutely possible. Easy even. RF (radio frequency) doesn't know you're not on the water, so it'll work just the same.

You could get a scanner and a scanner antenna as was suggested above, or you could just place a regular marine VHF radio like you are familiar with in the rig and pair it with an antenna designed for those VHF frequencies.

 

You don't need to go so far as to mount a large-ish transceiver and install an external antenna. If you're worried about monitoring while driving around Boston, just take along a marine VHF handheld like the Icom IC-M72. You won't be transmitting, so you don't need power output, and a handheld's antenna does just fine on receive (within reason; range can be variable).

 

all great advice...thanks again.

 

Gotchas for me on this kit: Had to put in the swaybar links upside down as others have done due to the hole in the swar bar linkage not fitting the new teraflex screw size(). Had zero issues with the springs bowing like others here have posted about.
Pic of swaybar linkies: