Is a hand held marine radio just as effective and covers the same distance as a marine radio with a mast mounted antenna?
HAND HELD RADIO WITH GPS VS STANDARD MARINE RADIO WITH MAST MOUNTED ANTENNA
- Thread starter Breaux
- Start date
No, an off the shelf, hand held VHF will only cover 1/2 to 1/3 the distance of a fixed radio which is properly mated to a quality antenna that is mounted at the top of a mast. There may be exceptions to this general rule and some will tell stories about miracle connections they "experienced". Just don't rely on those things happening regularly.
No, there is a substantial difference in the operational range for a handheld VHF vs a fixed mount VHF. Both use "line of sight" for transmitting and receiving; however, the range is a function of the height of the antenna and the power of the radio.
As Benny mentioned, the handheld has a maximum of 5 watts and the fixed radio has a maximum of 25 watts.
Bottom line is that a handled VHF can transmit/receive approximately 3-5 miles, whereas, a fixed radio with a mast mounted antenna can transmit/receive approximately 20-25 miles.
As Benny mentioned, the handheld has a maximum of 5 watts and the fixed radio has a maximum of 25 watts.
Bottom line is that a handled VHF can transmit/receive approximately 3-5 miles, whereas, a fixed radio with a mast mounted antenna can transmit/receive approximately 20-25 miles.
I’m not an expert but my understanding is the true range the radio can area have is also dependent upon the height of the antenna and “line of sight” range. Hand held radios are limited to about 3-5 miles. Your masthead mounted antenna will increase that to 12-15 miles depending upon actual mast height.
Also, your hand held will have more limited functionality than a quality fixed mount VHF which today can offer AIS, DSC, and channel scanning/monitoring capabilities to name a few.
My recommendation is to have both, the fixed mount is your base in the boat, the handheld allows you to roam about and stay connected or to have one below and one in the cockpit. Admittedly my boat is much larger but, I have a standard horizon 2200 fixed mount with AIS, DSC, loud hailer, NMEA0183 for connection to my msd at the nav station, a remote mike for use in the cockpit, and 2 handhelds for use as needed including the dinghy and for communication when on shore.
Part of this is redundancy, you can never have enough radios, part of this is due to the nature of our sailing which may include being offshore, needing to hail large ships and even exploring remote places. Hand held have a definite purpose and can be very useful in a pinch, fixed mounts are much the same. They can replace each pother but also Offer complimentary capabilities and a level of redundancy which is always good.
Hope this helps and I’m sure I’ll be corrected on the true range of each as well as other things I’ve missed or (more likely) misunderstood.
Fair winds
Also, your hand held will have more limited functionality than a quality fixed mount VHF which today can offer AIS, DSC, and channel scanning/monitoring capabilities to name a few.
My recommendation is to have both, the fixed mount is your base in the boat, the handheld allows you to roam about and stay connected or to have one below and one in the cockpit. Admittedly my boat is much larger but, I have a standard horizon 2200 fixed mount with AIS, DSC, loud hailer, NMEA0183 for connection to my msd at the nav station, a remote mike for use in the cockpit, and 2 handhelds for use as needed including the dinghy and for communication when on shore.
Part of this is redundancy, you can never have enough radios, part of this is due to the nature of our sailing which may include being offshore, needing to hail large ships and even exploring remote places. Hand held have a definite purpose and can be very useful in a pinch, fixed mounts are much the same. They can replace each pother but also Offer complimentary capabilities and a level of redundancy which is always good.
Hope this helps and I’m sure I’ll be corrected on the true range of each as well as other things I’ve missed or (more likely) misunderstood.
Fair winds
To the OPs question, the simple answer is no. There are a lot of variables in doing any comparison..Range, power, elevations, obstructions all play a part..
You must consider how and where you sail. If you only day sail close to occupied shores, your cell phone is your backup and the range of a hand held is more than adequate.
So true,
I'm interested in ranging out and, as a trailersailor, my close-to-shore sailing isn't always where there is reliable cell coverage.
They are expensive, but there are repeaters that can connect your hand-held to your mast antenna and give you both a 12-15 mile line-of-sight range and boost your signal power.
I like the idea of having my hand-held always attached to my harness. That is a safety feature the base-station can't provide. Someone mentioned a remote microphone, maybe that's worth looking into.
-Will (Dragonfly)
And of course the height of the antenna you're trying to reach is just as important as you're own. Two fifty foot high antennas might reach each other from 30 miles, two handhelds 5 feet above water might only go a mile or so. Handheld to tall antenna might be 10 miles, etc. High power (25 watts) is helpful for getting over the background noise over longer distances. Remember that proper procedure is to try your call on low power first then switch to high only if low didn't reach. No need to blast the waves twice as far as you're actually trying to reach. That adds to the background noise that everyone else is trying to overcome.
The subject has been well covered except to add - if you want to stick with a handheld, trash the original antenna so-called “rubber duck” as they are universally inefficient and replace it with any of a number of readily available alternatives.
I have both. I use the handheld in the cockpit for communicating with locks and bridges. Would not consider not having it
You guys are great, thanks. Looks like an antenna with a fixed radio and a hand held. Its my son's boat so I will set him up with both. I surely appreciate the advice.
I compromised with the B&G V50 base unit and the H50 handheld unit.
The H50 actually “talks” through the V50 base unit, using the mast-top antenna.
It allows me to have a “walk about” handheld in the cockpit or on deck, but use the power and range of the base unit.
I have had it a few years now, and have had no issues with it. Mine has built in AIS, so I have it networked with my CP so I have AIS on my CP, and the chart plotter provides GPS coordinates to the radio.
I also have a separate handheld, but the range is not great.
Greg
The H50 actually “talks” through the V50 base unit, using the mast-top antenna.
It allows me to have a “walk about” handheld in the cockpit or on deck, but use the power and range of the base unit.
I have had it a few years now, and have had no issues with it. Mine has built in AIS, so I have it networked with my CP so I have AIS on my CP, and the chart plotter provides GPS coordinates to the radio.
I also have a separate handheld, but the range is not great.
Greg
Attachments
Now that's what I'm talkin' about. So the V50 base can act as a repeater for the H50? You have masthead antenna output for an MOB situation, as long as the top of your mast is within sight? After that, you have a standard output hand-held, I assume.
-Will (Dragonfly)
One Uniden handheld I have with GPS/DSC has the annoying habit of cutting out voice communications briefly, for a second or so, when it checks the DSC signals. It causes me to receive choppy messages & seems to usually cut me out, right when a key piece of information is being transmitted. This issue can be eliminated by shutting off the DSC, but then you don't have DSC anymore. Enabling/disabling DSC on that radio is not a 5-second task. This is something that I now check for when buying a new handheld.
Most of the older handhelds with GPS, can't really be used effectively for navigation. The GPS was just in there to feed the DSC. Some of the newer ones, with large screens & good graphics, can be used for navigation more effectively & can be the difference between having or not having a nav aid on a small boat. They can also provide a nice plan B on a larger boat.
The effective range of a handheld is very different when I am in the cabin, vs. when I am on deck. It is cut way back when someone is floating in the water in a PFD, in heavy seas.
Most of the older handhelds with GPS, can't really be used effectively for navigation. The GPS was just in there to feed the DSC. Some of the newer ones, with large screens & good graphics, can be used for navigation more effectively & can be the difference between having or not having a nav aid on a small boat. They can also provide a nice plan B on a larger boat.
The effective range of a handheld is very different when I am in the cabin, vs. when I am on deck. It is cut way back when someone is floating in the water in a PFD, in heavy seas.
We just purchased a fixed radio with a remote (RAM) mic. We mounted the remote mic in the cockpit. We still have our handheld radio, but this setup is better for range. The speaker in the mic is way easier to understand than our poor quality handheld. I often wished I'd sprung for a better handheld. Now it will be our dinghy radio. both have built-in GPS and AIS.
Ken
Ken
Not quite. The handset repeats the base station, but doesn't have its own VHF capability. It just passes data via Bluetooth or similar protocol to the base station which then forwards it. Works great walking around the boat, but I wouldn't count on the handset/base link to hold up if I went overboard.
