VHF handheld radio

[malta]

so i used to rely on my mobile phone for communication, but am thinking of buying a cobra HH125 handheld vhf radio for use on my 23 foot cruiser. It has its own (small) aerial, but does not connect to a longer / higher boat aerial. it has a 3 watt max power output. Keeping in mind i am always relatively close to shore, should this suffice? what sort of range should i get from this handheld radio?

 

[Georgesalmon]

Re: VHF handheld radio

Will work well. Range depends more on antenna heigth than power. At 6 feet off the water in boat to boat maybe 2 or 3 miles. With a high shore station antenna at the other end you could get 15 maybe even 20 miles. Thats my experience anyway.

 

[agallant80]

Re: VHF handheld radio

I think hand helds are rated at 7 miles. At least that is what the mechanic at the place I bought my boat from told me when I told him I was considering mounting a fixed VHF on the boat. He most people don't go far enough off shore where they loose cell. He talked me in to keeping my hand held VHF and not installing a fixed VHF.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: VHF handheld radio

"should this suffice" depends on "for what." it iwll be fine for talking to boats nearby; it is not sufficient for emergency.

I've used the handhelds a lot both around the harbor and at the hunt club (where we have VHF base stations, on on a 75' tower). In perfect perfect conditions you may stretch 5 miles but not likely. Batteries get weak; line of sight gets blocked (each antenna has to "see" the other). I can hear traffic from many miles away but can't respond. A coast guard base about 10 miles away won'ty answer, but they are like that sometimes.

So consider them like a walkie talkie for talking to people you can see at a distance, and for weather. Anything more, for a boat your size, get a mounted 20w with a good antenna.

3 watt is too weak. Get a marine submersible with 5 watts. But salt air gets in even the watertight ones.

I've been using Uniden brand through the years and am somewhat satisfied, but I believe Icom is the better brand. Costs more. And they like to change the configurations around so you can't replace batteries easily--although Uniden sells refurbished radios for close to the cost of a battery. Use the akaline battery pack for back-up to the rechargeable one.

Also, be sure the antenna is vertical to be effective. On my small boats, I mounted the plastic battery charger base on the console so I can let the radio ride there, safe, high and upright (you don't need the base to charge).

 

[Pez Vela]

Re: VHF handheld radio

Keeping in mind i am always relatively close to shore, should this suffice?

Being close to shore is not equivalent to being close to whom you wish to speak.

3 watt is too weak. Get a marine submersible with 5 watts.

... or even 6 watts (such as the ICOM M36) if you do not have a fixed mount VHF onboard.

 

[tazrig]

Re: VHF handheld radio

so i used to rely on my mobile phone for communication, but am thinking of buying a cobra HH125 handheld vhf radio for use on my 23 foot cruiser. It has its own (small) aerial, but does not connect to a longer / higher boat aerial. it has a 3 watt max power output. Keeping in mind i am always relatively close to shore, should this suffice? what sort of range should i get from this handheld radio?

Play it safe. For a couple hundred dollars plus the cost of an 8' antenna you could get something like this:

Icom M412 VHF Radio White M412 12 - iboats

with a lot more power and not have to worry about batteries going dead or lack of range based on how you use the boat. In the middle of an emergency is NOT the time to find out if your portable works or not.

 

[Auger01]

Re: VHF handheld radio

Hooking that handheld up to a good 8'+ aerial will go a long way toward making it perform almost (but not quite) like a larger radio.

 

[tazrig]

Re: VHF handheld radio

Hooking that handheld up to a good 8'+ aerial will go a long way toward making it perform almost (but not quite) like a larger radio.

Just curious, because I don't claim to understand much about electrical issues, but don't you need more power coming from the radio as you increase the antenna size as the larger the antenna creates more resistance? Would a portable unit have the power to do that? I've never seen that done before but great suggestion if you can.

 

[Auger01]

Re: VHF handheld radio

Just curious, because I don't claim to understand much about electrical issues, but don't you need more power coming from the radio as you increase the antenna size as the larger the antenna creates mo
The antennare resistance? Would a portable unit have the power to do that? I've never seen that done before but great suggestion if you can.

A quick Google search yielded this :

Chuck Husick on BoatUScom

 

[tazrig]

Re: VHF handheld radio

A quick Google search yielded this :

Chuck Husick on BoatUScom

Hmm... I would have thought differently but thanks for the updated info. Good to know.

 

[malta]

Re: VHF handheld radio

Thanks for your feedback, all. The inshore sea around Malta in summer is pretty busy, so i am rarely, if ever out of sight of anyone else. The radio will really be a back up, and a means to get in touch with friends who are close by, so i think that the handheld arrangement will be just fine.

 

[cjjjdeck]

Re: VHF handheld radio

I use my handheld much the same as you because of where I go boating (in my case mostly inland waters, some bay and large rivers/lakes). I also wanted to monitor boat traffic (especially while on the Hudson River), weather alerts and be available to help someone if they needed it if they were within my range. Having something to communicate with if the worst happens seemed like a good idea too. I decided to get a 6watt/DSC/GPS handheld unit (I went with Standard Horizon, iCom is a great choice too). I wanted to get maximum performance out of it so I decided to adapt it to a removable mast antenna that I attach to my bimini top. The antenna is in two sections: a 3 ft stainless steel antenna and a 4 ft mast extension. I use a RAM ball mount to attach it to my bimini top rail. This mount also makes it easy to pivot the mast down to clear obstructions.

This link from jhebert, a member of this forum, influenced what I decided to go with. It is similar to the other link posted above but goes into much more detail. Maybe it might be of help to you too.

http://continuouswave.com/whaler/ref...HFAntenna.html

 

[mnypitboat]

Re: VHF handheld radio

I have used a handheld for years. I boat where there are a lot of other boats, and a pretty heavy FWC/Sherrif/Coast Guard presence. I also have yet to be anywhere that I do not have cell service and I usually have 2 phones on the boat, one Sprint and one Verizon.

Every time I go to buy a differant unit, I cant justify the cost. I might go with that antenna idea though. That sounds like it could help. To the guys worried about having a dead battery when you need it, why wouldnt you have the lighter adapter in the boat? At least then you have a radio ALL the time, rather than just when your boat electrical system is working. I have had a dead battery on the boat a lot more than I have had dead batteries in my handheld.

If you do buy a handheld, I would buy one that floats. The last one, or I should say the one before the last one, I bought ended up at the bottom of the river the day I bought it. Yea its waterproof, but in 40ft of water it was tough to retreive.

 

[mnypitboat]

Re: VHF handheld radio

They are talking about VHF radios on Ship Shape TV right now. :lol: