Handheld VHF radio

L

likwit

Member
i need a handheld vhf.

anyone have any suggestions on make or model? i was looking for something under 200 bucks, its just to have when fishing around victoria.

i looked at this site:

http://ca.binnacle.com/index.php?cPath=12_282

there are radios from ikom, standard horizon, and uniden. I've really only seen ikom ones myself, does anyone have any preferences or advice? are these prices competitive?

thanks

likwit

(now a boat owner!)
 
I'm not able to comment on any of the radios, but the prices look competitive. I use www.radiworld.ca to check prices in order to see what range to expect and the site you gave is nearly the same.

It will be interesting if anyone else knows better places to shop.
 
I bought a Standard Horizon HX600S because of a few features.
It is submersible and is capable of being connected to a GPS through the charging cradle, which allows DSC distress calls to be sent. It produces 700mW (loud) of speaker output so you can hear communications even in noisy environments. Another thing I like is that you can recieve aircraft signals. Might be good if their seraching for you! Comes with charger and Nickel Metal Hydride battery. It is very small too. I would think the boat show is a great time to pick one up. Can't go wrong with Icom either.
 
I would recommend the Icom. I've got a hand held and I've upgraded to a fixed mount also (both Icoms). The hand helds only have 5 watts of power while the fixed mounts have 25 watts of power....unless you need the portability of a hand held, I would get the fixed mount for sure. Never had a problem with either of them.

If you decide on the hand held, my advice would be to buy one that takes the AA bateries. I've got an Icom M1 (paid $300 years ago) but I can't find any batteries for it since it's been discontinued. Now it's an expensive paper weight. Plus, it's always good to carry a spare set of batteries on the boat. Rechargable AA's are a lot cheaper than a $60-$100 proprietary battery that last's only a few years.

Prices at West Marine are pretty good. They will generally price match too.
http://ecatalog.westmarine.com/full.asp?page=1
 
Islanderguy, do a google search for companies that sell replacement battery packs. This company is one that has a pack for your radio;

http://www.wwassociates.com/battery.asp

I have bought from them in the past and they were good to deal with.

I don't know how your M1 compares to Icon's current offerings, so it may or may not be cost effective to buy a replacement battery pack.

With respect to the Standard, the only thing that made me think when I looked at it was the need to have the charging cradle in order to connect the GPS. I wondered if I would bother bringing the cradle on board when it would not do anythin else for me. Could be I'm reading it wrong though.
 
Thanks Gomphus!

I'll check it out. I got my last M1 battery for $100 from a special order from Icom Canada a couple of years ago. Supposedly, it was the last one in stock. Rather than looking again, I just bought the Icom M304 and use the hand held to keep the papers from flying around on my desk.
 
I chose a Uniden Atlantis 250 because it was only $125 and came with both a MH rechargeable batt pack and another batt pack that holds 6 AA's. That way if my rechargeable battery pack ever died, I could switch to AA's. No complaints. It has always had good reception. Have not transmitted much. The rechargeable MH battery has been excellent for 2 years. It seems to suck down the AA's pretty quickly when transmitting at 5 watts, so that is probably best saved for emergency. It works pretty damn good as a bonker too, although I have not tried transmitting since giving the last big Spring a good bonking. If it ever dies, I'll probably just keep it as a bonker.
 
I have had a standard horizon for several years now. I bought it because it was submersible and came with both a battery pack and a double a battery box. I bought mine because It looked to be the best on the market at the time. My buddies on the tugs were using the same radio and basically kick the snot out of theirs and they seem to stand up. It was over your stated price range but I do beleive radios have come down in price in the last couple of years.
 
I've got both an Icom which I use at work all the time because it's light and submersible. gets bashed around quite a bit but it seems to stand up to it allright. I've also got the Atlantis in my boat. works fine and is cheap enough that I won't cry WHEN I lose it or it gets stolen. Both are rechargable MH batteries which IMO is the only way to go.
Pick the most important features to YOU and go with whatever one excels at them.
 
thanks for all the input guys.

little hawk, i saw that ad too...

we ended up going with a standard horizon HX 370S from the binnacle site. $125 bucks and free shipping... i'll let you guys know if it doesn't get here!
 
A thought...
This story is 4th hand...
A guy had a big expensive boat with all the gadgets mounted on it.[8D]
One day there was an electrical fire that the owner managed to contain himself.[^]
However, he was now without the use of both engines.[:0]
The built in radio also wasn't working so he couldn't call for help.:(
He was also out of cel range.:(
The lesson is: carry a portable VHF in addition as a back up!:D

p.s. PLEASE take the VHF operator's course - it is very obvious who does and doesn't have the certification out there!


Roo
 
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