Marine Electronics Forum - VHF Radio,Audio System, Antenna Recommendations

Rigging out my new 25' Center console bay boat and need recommendations for a panel mounted VHF Radio, VHF Antenna, FM/I-pod/XM Audio System, Boat will have either a Garmin 7212 or 5212 panel mounted! I also need the footprint for mounting a Garmin Radar so I can include a mounting bracket while fabricating the "T-Top"! Any help would be appreciated!
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Some Pics Link! https://picasaweb.google.com/flyna36/BayBoatBuild#

ICOM makes high quality, user friendly VHF radio. COMROD antennae is what I opted for because it used by the military and commercial industries. It's pricier than Shakespear, but much beefier and more durable. I also opted for Fusion IP-600 for the exact things you are looking for in a marine deck. All of these are pricey items, but high quality.

No hijack intended, but a related question for a similar situation:

Do any of the marine stereos provide an aux audio input from the VHF with music muting
when the VHF is producing speaker output?

When a channel I'm monitoring goes active, I would like the music muted and the VHF audio amplified.

I've had motorcycle audio systems that do this for radar detector override of music, but I have never had a high-end marine stereo, so just curious if that feature exists.

iCom, Standard Horizon or Garmin VHF. Fusion Head Unit.

A marine intercom system, like the David Clark 9800 will accept a music input, vhf input and automatically mute the music when there is transmission on the vhf, but that is through the headset. dont know of any stereo that does that.