VHF Radio

[ocalaboy]

I am searching for a VHF radio for my boat. I plan on using a handheld model from Uniden. I haven't purchased it yet, are there any reasons why I should not use a handheld model? I don't typically travel more than 25 miles from shore, usually dive out of Cedar Key or Ponce Inlet.

[SpearDiverTampa]

A handheld VHF will definately not have a 25 mile range. My experience with handhelds has been that their effective range is less than 5 miles in good conditions.
-Chris

[Jaizzen]

The cheapest boat mounted radio made by Icom or Uniden will be better than than just about any handheld. I had a handheld about 3 yrs ago that I won in a raffle. It was good for about 6 miles on its best day.

Buy a boat mounted VHF and Antenna, easy to install, generally trouble free, and it'll actually work when you need it.

Jason

[Bill McIntyre]

Jaizzen is right. A hand held is good for a backup, but it shouldn't be your primary radio unless all you do is cruise the harbor.

[bilnitro]

ICOM or Uniden Fixed, Hand held for the ditch bag. Tag your radio with your GPS if u have it for that instant distress call. next best thing to epirb. beats the hell outa hangin onto a cooler in the ocean.

[inletsurf]

I had a handheld and it lacked power. To be honest, it wasn't worth the money. It will not stand side by side to any standard unit in performance, not even close.

[RichT]

IMHO... "Power" is not the issue.
A radio reciever and transmitter are pretty simple devices in the electronics world.
VHF radios are ALL limited to 25 watts in order to keep people from "walking" over others and interfering in other electronic devices.
If my electronics training serve me correctly, the issue is more line of sight.
Having an antenna installed on your boat gets you that much higher off the waves and above the earth curvature.
A handheld does not.

[JimW]

A general rule of thumb is 1 watt gets you 1 mile range. Hand helds are like 5 watts... so they might be good for 5-7 miles tops. Antennas are extremely important too...

[RichT]

Your right Jim. I forgot they dont gennerally make handhelds above 5 watts.
Batt consumption at larger wattage is the only reason I can figure unless there are some FCC rules against higher wattages in handhelds. :confused:
I would think that with todays batt technology you could easily pack more wattage into a handheld and not have overly negative batt consumption issues.

Some good reading...
http://www.vantagepointguides.com/how_to/vhf_radio.htm

[JimW]

Just another note, not to derail this thread. Everyone should only use vhf 'hi' power (25 watts) for hailing and emergencies out on the water. Boaters should always use the 'low' power (5 watt) setting for boat to boat communication and all local communication in the harbor etc etc. Nothing worse than blasting out 25 - 40 miles when you are talking to a boat next to you.

jim