Range of a good VHF handheld radio.

T

Thales14

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Jul 8, 2012
Messages
34
I live on the Gulf Coast and would like to take my boat out the the barrier islands, which are about 8-10 miles off shore.
There is good commercial traffic and Coast Guard at Gulfport, and I suspect my cell will still work that far out anyway, but am thinking of getting a good handheld as a backup.
I know handhelds have shorter range than a fixed mounted but I've read several comments from people who regularly seem to get 10-15 miles range on their handheld, which would be well suffficent for me.
Any suggestions or experience with range is appreciated.
 
C

Chris1956

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Mar 25, 2004
Messages
27,145
Re: Range of a good VHF handheld radio.

I seriously doubt your cell phone will work at that distance. VHF radios may work, if the antenna is tall enough. You must be higher than the curve of the earth as radio is line of sight. I had thought VHF range was abut 5 miles, give or take. If there are enough vessels to relay your signal to Coast Guard in an emergency, that will help with safety.
 
D

dingdongs

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
May 29, 2009
Messages
649
Re: Range of a good VHF handheld radio.

i very much doubt a 5w handheld will be of any use when venturing offshore.line of site is all there good for and a dsc vhf is normally a safer option when all goes wrong.
 
JoLin

JoLin

Vice Admiral
Joined
Aug 18, 2007
Messages
5,146
Re: Range of a good VHF handheld radio.

Here's a good Q&D calculator to determine transmit/receive ranges based on antenna height above water.

http://www.qsl.net/kd4sai/distance.html

If you're standing in the boat with a handheld and the total antenna height is 6 feet above water, your transmit range is 3 miles. Total range (transmit and receive) will depend on the height of the receiving antenna above the surface.
 
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