Opinions on Best Value handheld VHF

[NoThanksDad]

Please excuse me if this is a redundant topic, but I've done a number of searches and have found a few "i just bought's", and "it should have this feature"'s, but I have not seen any real conversation about which hand-held VHF unit provides the best value.

I'm not looking for a multi-band, fancy anything...I just want it to be good at what it's supposed to do...portable emergency back-up on the boat, and portable NOAA weather station when on the shore.

I've looked at a number of units carried by West Marine, and used their "compare" feature and come to the conclusion that the $79 Uniden Atlantis250 seems to have everything I "think" I need. When I looked at all the units available (@ WM) in the $99-$199 range, the Atlantis has as good or better battery life than most of the other units, it has tri-watch, weather scan, water proof, 5W-1W... I'm trying to figure out what i'm missing? The only feature I think I'd like to have is "floating", but I don't really even know if I need that. Admittedly, I am in NO Way a tech guy, who understands any of the fine print about electronics. I want to turn the thing on, and know that I can communicate with another vessel w/in say a 3-5 mile range.

Any help you all, (ya'll for the southerners) could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Joe

 

[mandopickr]

Re: Opinions on Best Value handheld VHF

I am looking to buy a hand held as well. I had planned to buy the Atlantis, but found several that had issues with water resistance. Others in the price range have a higher standard of water resistance.

 

[Tig]

Re: Opinions on Best Value handheld VHF

Good question. I hope you get some replies. I'm also very interested in a basic VHF. I just want to be equiped for an offshore outing.

 

[Boatist]

Re: Opinions on Best Value handheld VHF

I do not know if I can help very much. I have two older west marine Handheld and 2
fixed mounts but all are 5 years or older units.
I may buy two new units as none of mine have DSC Distress that will automaticly send out a distress call to the Coast Guard on channel 70 with 1 watt.
All new fixed mounts must now come with that.
I have seen a few hanheld that now also have a DSC Distress and a built in GPS but they are higher cost.
Still if the boat turned over and the antenna were under water a handheld with GPS and DSC Distress would sure be great to have.
Today I do not think you can buy a bad radio so it just a matter of getting what you want.
From My use of the handheld units I will give you some things I like.
Small unit are nice to put in your pocket and listen to on shore but out in my boat I like the bigger units.
Bigger units have bigger speaker so you can hear it over the Motors, Wind and Seas.
Larger LCD is a plus for me as it much eaiser to see.
One of my units tell you what each channel is used for Like 16 Calling and Distress.
That would help my wife if she ever needed to use the units as only channel she knows is 16 for MayDays.
Dual and Triple watch I do not use at all.
What happeneds is if you in a scan mode and it stops on a call on channel 22 it will still switch to 16 to see if it is busy then back to 22. To me it is very annoying so I turn dual watch off.
I do scan all the Coast Guard channels 16, 21, 22, 83 and usually one or two fishing channels.
Offten I will have two radios on one on 16 and the other covers all the other channels I want to listen too.

I think any handheld should come with a DC and AC charger so you can charge on the boat or on shore.

The normal first thing to fail is the battery pack on handhelds.
Even if you buy a second pack when you get the radio and do not use it until the first one fails,
it may fail at the same time or even before because you have not charged often.
For that reason both my units have a battery tray that uses regular AA batteries or AA rechargable batteries.
After 5 years when the battery pack fails you will likely not be able to buy a new battery pack.
However you will still be able to find AA batteries both alakline and Rechargable so if you have that battery tray the radio is still good.

Range is based on antenna height so unless your going to clime a sail boat mast the range will be about 2 miles plus the range of the other station.
Pretty much the same as a FRS or GMRS radio.
For off shore use the Coast Guard DSC requirement is to be able to recieve a 1 watt signal on channel 70 3 feet above the water at a range of 30 miles. When complete this will cover the entire Coast of the USA.
So your handheld 3 feet above the water will be heard by the Coast Guard if you hold it 3 feet above the water and it has DSC Distress.

Most hand helds claim to be Waterproof and some float. I feel it may survive dunk in the water but might not be usable untill you get the water out of the Speaker and Mic.
So on my boat one of the hendhelds is in a ZIP Lock bag in our survival bag.
This way I know it will float and stay dry enough to use.
I hope to never end up in the water but if I did I would sure like to have a dry handheld to call the Coast Guard Plane or Chopper I see in the distance or hear over head in the fog.

I also believe every boat should first install a Fixed Mount Radio and a GOOD Antenna first then get the handheld as a Backup.

Take your time and get what you want as if you take care of them they last a very long time.

 

[riptide09]

Re: Opinions on Best Value handheld VHF

I have the Standard Horizon HX 280S Handheld VHF. I got it from West Marine on sale for $89.99 . I was taking the boat in the ocean Memorial Day weekend for the first time and did not want to go without a radio. I dumped over $1000 in the boat earlier getting it ready for the season so low price was a must.

For my situation I have been totally satisfied. The battery life has been better than indicated. The weather channels work fine and I like the memory scanning feature. There is one feature I wish it had. I would like to be able to plug in an ear piece or be able to plug it into the aux/ipod input on the boat stereo.

 

[NoThanksDad]

Re: Opinions on Best Value handheld VHF

Mandopickr - I heard the same thing last weekend, so the Atlantis is out. Thanks for the confirmation.

Boatist - Thank you very much for your reply this is actually very helpful in the sense that it provided me some very real world help - AA batteries as a back-up being a great point (among others). This will be my back-up radio as my fix mount is my primary unit.

Riptide09 - I've heard some good things about the Standard HX280S. I found a guy on my dock that has one and he, like you, has no complaints. It's certainly in the right price-range for what I'm looking for.

Thank you all again
Joe

 

[scbackpacker]

Re: Opinions on Best Value handheld VHF

I bought a Humminbird VHF55s this summer and I really like it alot. I paid $79.99 + Humminbird has a downloadable $20.00 rebate. I can hear the weatherband for my area on the lake and the tower is 25-30 miles away. It's water proof but it does not float. Here's a link: http://store.humminbird.com/products/271172/VHF55s. It's a very solid radio. I think it will do what you want it too. It uses a rechargeable battery pack or 6AA batteries. Go to the support page and read the owners manual. You'll get more of an idea what the radio will do.

 

[hostage]

Re: Opinions on Best Value handheld VHF

I also got a 280s Standard Horizion VHF handheld for about ~100 from Westmarine. Spent many hours and for the price, quality, and features it was exactly what I needed.