My Handheld VHF Died

[shemandr]

So I guess I have to buy a new one. The old is an ICOM M36. It was over 5 years old but I'm a little disappointed in it's life span. I'm not sure I will go back to that company. The repair is a $95 minimum so it's really not worth repair. In looking at a new radio I have options that I didn't want 5 years ago. AIS, GPS, DSC, WTF?. I don't know much about radios. I didn't like the multi function buttons on the ICOM to adjust volume and squelch. I'd prefer dials or dedicated buttons. I never really understood the Clear Voice Boost and I never knew if it worked or not. I think I still want a handheld but maybe I should consider a hard mount. This boat doesn't have one. Does that have to be out of the weather nowadays? I want something to be at the helm station - not down below. What is a quality radio company? What features should I get? I'm basically a KISS guy so...

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Like everything else, quality varies. Icom is among the quality manufacturers which shouldn't be so quickly dismissed because of one problem. The problem arises because people sometimes let price alone dictate purchasing decisions and like every radio manufacturer, Icom makes a spread of handhelds of varying price.

Whether you need the bells and whistles of AIS, GPS, etc... in a handheld or a fixed mount isn't a black and white decision but rather a function of whether you want/need those tools.

Personally, I believe both are necessary because, as you now know, neither is impervious to failure making redundancy desirable not to mention the flexibility having both affords.

Standard Horizon and Icom both make excellent products.

 

[Chief RA]

shemander: I am very suspicious of that WTF option! Chief

 

[Chief RA]

shemandr: I do understand your point as my 2 Standard Horizons are probably 15 yrs old. I do just use rechargable double A's though as the battery pack costs too much. Chief

 

[dlochner]

Handhelds have an affinity for swimming. Get one that floats and is submersible. I've had good luck with Standard Horizon products over the years.

As for the other features, depends on the intended use. GPS is a nice for redundancy as is AIS, but are they needed for your kind of sailing?

 

[jssailem]

When I sailied my Montgomery 15, I bought this Standard Horizon hand held.

https://www.thegpsstore.com/Standard-Horizon-HX870-Handheld-VHF-with-GPS-P4248.aspx

It is now on my PFD when I sail my current boat. Sailing solo, if I go in the water at the least I'll have a way to talk to someone while hypothermia does it's work on me.

DSC, GPS, 6W of power, floats, lights up... All a sailor needs.

 

[Richard19068]

When I sailied my Montgomery 15, I bought this Standard Horizon hand held.
View attachment 139898
https://www.thegpsstore.com/Standard-Horizon-HX870-Handheld-VHF-with-GPS-P4248.aspx

It is now on my PFD when I sail my current boat. Sailing solo, if I go in the water at the least I'll have a way to talk to someone while hypothermia does it's work on me.

DSC, GPS, 6W of power, floats, lights up... All a sailor needs.

I second the HX870 handheld.

I don't think you can get AIS in a handheld can you?

 

[Whatfiero1]

What ever you do get the squelch on a knob. I can't stand listing to all that static while fumbling to select function and then trying to turn down

 

[Gunni]

A fixed mount below will get you more power and an antennae at the masthead with an easy 2 dozen mile range. Put a RAM mic at the helm and you have a very good package. I am a PlanB/PlanC kind of guy so I carry two handhelds (mostly because they still work!). One is a newer Standard Horizon, the other is 20 years old. Range is maybe 5 miles. Both have a removable battery tray that allows use of AA batts in an emergency (like you in a raft). The older radio is in a ditch bag with a GPS and an EPIRB. All radios are Standard Horizon. The newest of the lot is 10 years. The fixed mount has DSC that wants a wire to my GPS and I just don't have the time to find it.

 

[pateco]

When my Handheld Uniden died at less than 1 year old I had to send it to them for warrantee repair. while it was away I still needed a marine VHF. Found this little gem on Amazon:

BaoFeng UV-5R Dual Band Two Way Radio $24.37 Prime

Programmed it for Marine VHF, and it worked great. Now that my Uniden is back, This will be my Backup.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

When my Handheld Uniden died at less than 1 year old I had to send it to them for warrantee repair. while it was away I still needed a marine VHF. Found this little gem on Amazon:

BaoFeng UV-5R Dual Band Two Way Radio $24.37 Prime

Programmed it for Marine VHF, and it worked great. Now that my Uniden is back, This will be my Backup.

I have one too although use it only on the ham bands. The spectral purity is pretty bad with Boefengs outside of the design frequency range. It also comes with the 'rubber duck' antenna pictured which is notoriously ineffective.

 

[Ken Cross]

I have a new Cobra HH600 which has all the bells and whistles, but it isn't loud enough when running on engine power and our engine is fairly quiet. The factory rep told me to change to high transmitter power to boost audio output. That sounds a bit funky to me. So much for the low priced units.

Ken

 

[Chief RA]

Don: why badmouthing the flexable antenna? I am not aware of unusual problems with them. Handhelds are limited by their very nature and power! Chief

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Don: why badmouthing the flexable antenna? I am not aware of unusual problems with them. Handhelds are limited by their very nature and power! Chief

Because it deserves its reputation which is widely accepted and written about on various ham radio forums as a bad compromise. Having one myself, I can attest to its efficacy problem which most folks who have one have replaced with any of a number of after-market substitutes making for much better ERP (effective radiated power).

Parenthetically, the Boefeng rubber duck is supposed to be resonant on 2 meters and 440 MHz, neither of which is close enough to marine VHF channels making it even less effective for marine use.

I wouldn't "badmouthing" it unless it was justified. As Ken said above regarding cheap radios, "so much for low priced units"

 

[Brian D]

Yeah, the Boafeng antenna is cursed at even by the Amateur Radio community as being a rubber dummy load. It really isn't worth the rubber it was made with. We have been recommending much better antennas for this radio.

 

[Chief RA]

What both of you are alluding to is more about this Boafing radio rather than at the marine radio antenna. In fact the antenna is actually too short as it is cut for a spectrum above marine band. In my opinion a hand held is limited in performance by the frequency spectrum and line of sight limitation plus it is after all a hand held radio! If you need more power use a fixed radio w/ remote mike as Gunni suggests! "Most folks" do not replace the rubber antenna. In 60 years of electronics and 40 yrs sailing, I, in fact, have never seen even one modified! Chief

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

What both of you are alluding to is more about this Boafing radio rather than at the marine radio antenna. In fact the antenna is actually too short as it is cut for a spectrum above marine band. In my opinion a hand held is limited in performance by the frequency spectrum and line of sight limitation plus it is after all a hand held radio! If you need more power use a fixed radio w/ remote mike as Gunni suggests! "Most folks" do not replace the rubber antenna. In 60 years of electronics and 40 yrs sailing, I, in fact, have never seen even one modified! Chief

You need to get out more Chief. .

I know you like to disagree with me but I assure you this antenna is a throw-away.

 

[Chief RA]

Don: I do not like to disagree with you as I try to respect your opinion. If you make such a "most folks" statement though, you are mistaken. Chief

 

[lillia28]

I have an old Uniden Atlantis 150, which is pretty basic, but has lasted nearly 10 years. Its the one I take in the dink, so it was purchased with the idea that is was disposable if dropped overboard. Because of it I have developed a fondness for uniden. When I was involved with a youth sailing program, we had several for the instructors, and they lasted roughly 5 years of being dropped, kicked, thrown, run over by cars, left in the rain after being in use 8 hours a day, 6 days a week. The newer Atlantis has a few more bells and whistles, but is stilled priced under $100.00, which is not bad for a disposal. The bridge tenders always hear me, and no one ever complained about transmit quality. Sorry, that is as technical as I can get.
Lou

 

[pateco]

Because it deserves its reputation which is widely accepted and written about on various ham radio forums as a bad compromise. Having one myself, I can attest to its efficacy problem which most folks who have one have replaced with any of a number of after-market substitutes making for much better ERP (effective radiated power).

Parenthetically, the Boefeng rubber duck is supposed to be resonant on 2 meters and 440 MHz, neither of which is close enough to marine VHF channels making it even less effective for marine use.

I wouldn't "badmouthing" it unless it was justified. As Ken said above regarding cheap radios, "so much for low priced units"

Yeah, the Boafeng antenna is cursed at even by the Amateur Radio community as being a rubber dummy load. It really isn't worth the rubber it was made with. We have been recommending much better antennas for this radio.

I am probably going to order this and give it a try with my Boefeng. For $16.99 with Amazon Prime it won't bother me if it is no better. The radio works pretty well for my purposes as it is.


Authentic Genuine Nagoya NA-771 15.6-Inch Whip VHF/UHF (144/430Mhz) Antenna SMA-Female for AnyTone, BaoFeng, and Yaesu