Handheld marine radio

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by kevinnem

Thank you everyone for you input.

So 2 features that seem to be mentioned specifically are GPS enabled, and that some units float. Can someone mention what other specific features are out there.

Really what I am trying to do is educate myself on the capabilities they have, so I can buy the right unit, but right now I am looking at about:
9 units form Standard horizon.
6 units form Icom
I might be able to order online from "west marine" who has 3-4 "in house" units ( made by who???)
6 units form Uniden.

So how do I have from approx 25 units, to the 1 I want to buy.

I can't find any comparison charts anywhere.
Thoughts?

Hard to go wrong if you just want to be able to talk. Here's a good test by my favorite boating mag:

PBO Tested: 10 handheld VHF radios - Practical Boat Owner

Note that the cheapest one use AAA sized NiMH batteries, which is not as good as a built in Lithium Ion battery.

But the other ones with normal batteries should all be fine. I would insist on waterproof (not all of them are), and USB charging is a big plus. I don't personally care whether the radio floats -- if it goes in the water, it's gone, on my boat anyway. YMMV.



The SH HX300E, Icom IC-M25 and Cobra HH-500 look good to me. The Cobra doesn't have USB charging, but you get Bluetooth -- which you may or may not care about.

Otherwise, if you want one with GPS and DSC, the obvious choice is the SH HX870, which is what I have. I think DSC is a big plus as it gives you distress signalling which could be really useful in the liferaft or in case the main VHF goes down. You can also use non-emergency functions of DSC like position polling, position reporting, DSC routine calling, etc. -- I do use these functions on my handheld.

One other thing to look for in case you plan to use this one in your grab bag -- it should have a battery tray to take regular alkaline batteries.

As to the other features -- you can read the article and decide yourself. Good luck.

[rbk]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

I think DSC is a big plus as it gives you distress signalling which could be really useful in the liferaft or in case the main VHF goes down.

No good if it doesn't float and it goes in the drink getting into your dingy/raft...

I Also think the LED when immersed is an excellent feature as it make the radio easy to find when in the drink in the dark and can double as a locator beacon.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

.....
One other thing to look for in case you plan to use this one in your grab bag -- it should have a battery tray to take regular alkaline batteries........

Without taking anything away from all the other good suggestions, I really like this feature.

[captainstubbie]

I agree, I have a lipo battery and the tray that takes 5 AAA batteries as a backup

[flee27]

opinions on how important DSC/GPS is on a handheld v/ USB charging. Looks like the HX851 has everything but USB and the HX300 has most expect the DSC/GPS but does have USB charging.


Foster

[dcstrng]

We’ve had an el-cheapo Cobra (I think) for about ten years and it keeps right on truckin’ – I’m of the other persuasion on batteries… Since I’m always buying AA and AAAs for the grandkids toys, that’s what I use… the ritual of charging (where is that dang charger anyway) seems to be a bridge too far for me since I’m not always anywhere I can charge them… (new boat can do it, but the B24 had no electric whatever and never missed it…)
Little Boat, Big Dreams

[CaptTom]

Originally Posted by flee27

opinions on how important DSC/GPS is on a handheld v/ USB charging.

Unless the handheld is your primary comms, I don't see DSC being used at all. GPS is redundant if you have a smart phone. Maybe for a dedicated "ditch" VHF, you'd want those features.

The USB charging option is interesting, but a proprietary charging base that can be plugged in to AC or DC works pretty well, too.

[Dusty Mac]

One of the things I find GPS/DSC useful for is dinghy trips throughout the islands. It isn't just for the main vessel. Safety and convenience in the small boat too.

[catsketcher]

I got the Standard Horizon 870 for its DSC and GPS. I also have a SH VHF in the boat and I have the DSC for the handheld in the ship VHF memory. This allows a couple of features. For one, if you go ashore (with no phone reception especially) you can call the handheld with a special tone. It is just like a loud phone call. It means you don't have to listen to general chitchat. My wife used it a week ago to talk to me when I was fetching water.

Also my son and I were trying out the other feature I wanted for man overboard safety. If you have the 870 on you, then I can "poll" the handheld's position on the boat's VHF. It then gives me a course to steer to navigate to the handheld. This means if you have it on you and you go overboard you can either tell the crew where you are verbally, or they can poll the VHF pair and the boat's VHF acts like the GPS it is. You can also do the reverse if you "lose" your boat at night or in the fog. Not bad for the radios to act like homing beacons to each other.

There are other ways of doing this but I like the idea of a VHF doing two things. Just remember to wear the handheld when on deck.

cheers

Phil

[Bean Counter]

We just bought a Cobra HH600 from Defender on special,floating, submersible, GPS, DSC, sends GPS co-ordinates in emergency, bluetooth, strobe, Lithium rechargeable, but also has an alternative pack for Alkaline batteries if needed, AC or DC charger, replays missed calls, tri channel watch, - and lots more - we think it is an exceptional device. I am also surprised at its range, much better than the old Standard Horizon which we still have.
https://www.cobra.com/sites/default/...H600W_SPEC.pdf

[Seabeau]

I have an Icom M-73, not too expensive, reasonable range, battery life very good.

[rbk]

For all the GPS handhelds, hows the battery life with the gps on? Can it be turned off?

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

Unless the handheld is your primary comms, I don't see DSC being used at all. GPS is redundant if you have a smart phone. Maybe for a dedicated "ditch" VHF, you'd want those features.

The USB charging option is interesting, but a proprietary charging base that can be plugged in to AC or DC works pretty well, too.

Everyone will have his own priorities, but many people find DSC on the handheld to be extremely useful.

You could need the distress signalling function in the dinghy.

You could really really really need the distress signalling function in the liferaft -- think of all those stories of guys adrift for weeks who couldn't get the attention of passing ships. Won't have that much range, but quite enough to wake up the bridge on a passing ship; better than a flare.

I use selective calling, position reporting, and position polling between the dinghy and the mother ship -- I know these are functions which not many of us use, but they are splendid!

I would never do this (!), but for someone illegally using the handheld for communication by a shore party with the mother ship, selective calling is a nice way to be discreet about it.

I don't really use the navigation functions on my SH, but I can imagine doing so. It works just like an old Garmin handheld GPS, so perfectly usable for navigation with paper charts. You can't use a smartphone for this, at least, I've never seen an app which emulates a marine GPS, plus a smartphone would not be so good in the cockpit in bad weather or bright sunlight.

I use the GPS to see whether I'm speeding in the dinghy.


In short, I personally wouldn't buy a handheld VHF without DSC. YMMV.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by rbk

For all the GPS handhelds, hows the battery life with the gps on? Can it be turned off?

On my previous Standard Horizon HX851, the battery life with GPS on sucked. It would not last a whole day, and the GPS would kill the battery in a few hours. Yes, you can turn off the GPS, and that helps, but the battery life in general was not so good.

I replaced it with the Standard Horizon HX870, and this is entirely different. This radio will get through more or less a whole long day on a single charge, with the GPS being used.

Note that this radio, contrary to some reports, cannot be charged by USB. It has a USB connection, but this is just for data. You need the cradle.

[Symphony]

I went a different route for my hand held: a Standard Horizon HX280S.

Cost less than $100. No GPS, no DSC, no distress button.

It does have a large display of the channel number, a huge battery that will often last me a month in the season. WX channels, scan, dual watch, a 16/9 - with simple to use buttons and a knob rather than nested menus.

The radio uses an LION battery and a cradle. you can switch that out for regular AA cells in a pack, but I would never have done that since the LION battery that comes with it is absolutely wonderful.

And all of this is in a submersible small Device with a belt clip for riding in the dinghy and walking around ashore.

great transmit and receive. It is often better quality audio then my fixed VHF with antenna on the masthead!