Opinions on hand held vhf radios

May 2, 2019
136
Hunter 38 Annapolis, MD
I'm in the process of purchasing safety equipment and looking into the hand held vhf radios.

Any opinions would be appreciated! There are many to choose from and not sure if there is a better one than others?

https://www.westmarine.com/handheld-vhf-radios

And any recommendations for the epirbs to go on board and a personal epirb for liferaft?

https://forums.sailboatowners.com/index.php?threads/opinions-on-hand-held-vhf-radios.197183/


We will have our four year old on board ( who acts like he is jacked up on Mountain Dew 24/7 and doesn't even drink sweets) and wife and I both are BIG ABOUT SAFETY!
 
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Mar 29, 2017
576
Hunter 30t 9805 littlecreek
west marine unit works fine standard horizon good too it's the battery dies and unit not worth replacement
 
Sep 25, 2008
7,077
Alden 50 Sarasota, Florida
I have one VHF handheld bought on Amazon for $35. Another for $160 and a third (ham radio VHF which works on marine frequencies) for $300.

They all work equally well or poorly depending on what antenna they have screwed on the top.

The Standard Horizon re-branded with a WM label is fine if you like paying the mark-up for the label.
 
Jun 21, 2004
2,532
Beneteau 343 Slidell, LA
Go with a name brand vhf and you should be ok. I would select one that has rechargeable AA batteries if possible, GPS/DSC capability, and floats. I use an ACR rescue link as an epirb, but I use it for coastal use only. Should be able to find some sales during 4th of July holiday.
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,995
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
I have the Standard Horizon 851. It is several years old (introduced in 2013) yet continues to function as advertised. I keep it on my person. GPS and DSC calling. Submersible. It is my last hope to be able to be rescued should I fall off the 500 foot cliff that surrounds my boat into the water.

I recently learned that the replacement version has added an interesting feature. It will now keep your track and download it. This adds an interesting support feature.
 
Dec 25, 2000
5,703
Hunter Passage 42 Shelter Bay, WA
Bought a WM brand VHF many years ago. The cell phone style battery finally died, so I took it back to WM, told them my plight. WM no longer made a replacement battery for that particular model, so they gave me a new radio. That was ten years ago, maybe. Now this one still works, but when it gets cold, the display begins to fade. Okay in the summer, sucks in the winter. WM, as far as I know, discontinued their lifetime warranty. Might still give it a try. Perhaps if I cry a river of tears... Will likely add that to my birthday wish list next year. Hopefully, it will survive this season. Just do not make things to last like they used to. :wink3:
 
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Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Bought a WM brand VHF many years ago. The cell phone style battery finally died, so I took it back to WM, told them my plight. WM no longer made a replacement battery for that particular model, so they gave me a new radio. That was ten years ago, maybe. Now this one still works, but when it gets cold, the display begins to fade. Okay in the summer, sucks in the winter. WM, as far as I know, discontinued their lifetime warranty. Might still give it a try. Perhaps if I cry a river of tears... Will likely add that to my birthday with list next year. Hopefully, it will survive this season. Just do not make things to last like they used to. :wink3:
IIRC, WM is now 3 years on their products.
 
Sep 23, 2009
1,475
O'Day 34-At Last Rock Hall, Md
I have three hand helds different brands. One came with two batteries and a double charger which is nice. Most now have gps and dsc built in. Honestly the the feature I like and use the most is on my two older units, separate control knobs for volume and squelch. I hate toggling keys to constantly adjust those two important functions. I don't plan to ever buy another without separate volume and squelch controls.
 

DougM

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Jul 24, 2005
2,242
Beneteau 323 Manistee, MI
I have an obsolete iCom that I really like. It has been holding it s charge over the winter months, and works well, but has neither DSC or GPS.. .
I use the handheld far more than the permanent mount at the nav station.
 
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Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
I have an obsolete iCom that I really like. It has been holding it s charge over the winter months, and works well, but has neither DSC or GPS.. .
I use the handheld far more than the permanent mount at the nav station.

In general the newer units are more like cell phones (GPS, big display, features+ bigger processor), and need to be charged more often. The days of VHF lasting for months is slowly fading. We used my DSC handheld while doing RC duty at the J/22NAs, and the battery took a good hit.

@DougM it sounds like you would be a great candidate for a cockpit remote mic/speaker. Its one of the first things I add to every boat I own. Sadly sometime it requires a new radio!
 
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DougM

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Jul 24, 2005
2,242
Beneteau 323 Manistee, MI
@DougM it sounds like you would be a great candidate for a cockpit remote mic/speaker. Its one of the first things I add to every boat I own. Sadly sometime it requires a new radio![/QUOTE]

That is certainly true! I had been all too slowly headed in that direction, but never quite pulled the trigger on a new radio.
 
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JRT

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Feb 14, 2017
2,037
Catalina 310 211 Lake Guntersville, AL
I went to Cabela's and got a handheld floating Cobra VHF. Nothing fancy, rechargeable batteries and can use AA. It doesn't do much other then basic radio and weather, but floats and seems to last months on the batteries. It was a back-up to our highly suspect installed radio on our old O'day 25, also got floating to give to my son when he is out adventuring away from us in his canoe. Works well enough for the lake and it's purpose. In a few years, or if our installed VHF dies, I'll upgrade and get a remote mic/speaker at the helm, but on the lake it really isn't needed.
 

BarryL

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May 21, 2004
1,000
Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 409 Mt. Sinai, NY
Hello,

Here is my $,.02 on the subject of hand held vhf radios:
-The reach cheap ones are not worth the money. When I first started sailing I bought a pair of cheap radios. The audio quality was so bad I could not understand anything that was broadcast. Since then I have tried some other cheap units that friends have for backup and the same thing - really poor audio.
-I use a Standard Horizon HX871. This model has a build in GPS, can broadcast a DSC emergency message, floats, includes a strobe, etc. I'm very happy with it. As mentioned it includes a rechargeable battery and a separate battery tray for AAA batteries.
-If you want a simple small unit there are many good ones from West Marine. Icom, Standard Horizon, etc.
-No handheld is going to have nearly the range of a good fixed mount unit.

Barry
 

capta

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Jun 4, 2009
4,766
Pearson 530 Admiralty Bay, Bequia SVG
@DougM it sounds like you would be a great candidate for a cockpit remote mic/speaker. Its one of the first things I add to every boat I own. Sadly sometime it requires a new radio!
That is certainly true! I had been all too slowly headed in that direction, but never quite pulled the trigger on a new radio.[/QUOTE]
This boat came with the cockpit mic/speaker. Tried it once and couldn't hear a darn thing and haven't bothered to use it since. I hope the ones you are considering have good audio quality.
 
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RoyS

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Jun 3, 2012
1,739
Hunter 33 Steamboat Wharf, Hull, MA
Some radios advertise a feature that records and repeats the last message. I wish I had that.
 
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Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Some radios advertise a feature that records and repeats the last message. I wish I had that.
It’s a clever feature. What they do is digitally recorded the last say 30 seconds of reception in an ‘endless loop’. Pressing the button for the playback simply interrupts that process and plays it.
 
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