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Posts: 85
| I've been told by quite a few people that a hand held marine band radio would be best for a tournament radio. With the lack of an antenna in your way on the boat and portability what are other points and do the hand helds have a good range? Can I get a good model under $250? Thanks! Kurt. |
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| i was shopping around myself for a marine band for fishing the MAC this year.
what i was told (haven't used it yet) is that due to the handhelds having less power (1-5 Watts) and much less of an antenna, you're basically going to get line-of-sight reception. other people with higher power console units and taller antennas will be able to hear your broadcasts from further away, but the handheld might not be able to pick up other people's broadcasts as effectively.
i don't fish 10 miles out on the Great Lakes, so a handheld seemed plenty adequate for my purposes. the handhelds aren't all that much cheaper than a console unit, but less clutter in the boat especially the big antenna.
i went with a handheld Humminbird VHF 55S Plus for $120...i chose that kit because it can run off either AA batteries or a rechargable NiMH battery and the kit comes with a charging base that can plug into the DC outlet in the boat or AC indoors. i thought that it would be convenient to have a DC charger so that i don't have to worry about charging batteries on shore every time before i go out.
i haven't opened it yet, so if i hear a lot of contrary info i can still exchange it...
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Posts: 1270
| You can get a 36" Shakespeare "whip" attena that I have found works darn near as well as the 8' fiberglass models, at least I seem to be able to talk as far on Lake Michigan as the boys with the 8' attenas unless of course there attena is mounted on top of a cabin cruiser as height is everything when it comes to reseption. If you put the 36" attena on a swivel mount it sits nice and close to the gunnel and does not get in the way, at least not for me. Even in the down position I bet it would still get better reception than a hand held.
The hand helds do not get much range from what I have seen. |
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Posts: 956
Location: Home of the 2016 World Series Champion Cubs | Forget about tournament applications for a minute. The single most important function of a marine radio is to summon assistance in an emergency as when your boat is disabled. One of the most common causes for boats to become disabled is a loss of power (electrical current). In this case how
Would you summon for help? Your dash mounted unit is out of commission. This is where a hand held can save your life. I can think of many others as well. I carry both in my boat and frequently check them both. |
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Posts: 1270
| KARL, Great point about having both. I never thought of that. But in most boats you have more than one 12V battery so if need be you could rip your dash mounted radio out and connect it to your trolling motor battery. This of course is easier said than done especially if you are in trouble and need assistance ASAP or the water is rough. |
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Posts: 85
| Thanks for the feedback!! Karloutdoors has a very good point. The lakes that i'm going to be on are not that big, that may be a good thing or not considering interference problems with islands and other things in the way. Anymore info from people who have used hand helds? Thanks, Kurt K. |
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Posts: 956
Location: Home of the 2016 World Series Champion Cubs | No doubt that an 8' antena will greatly leangthen your range over a hand held .
Karl
Edited by KARLOUTDOORS 3/17/2009 11:49 PM
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Posts: 4266
| I've been checking them out also, and figure to get a very good hand-held. One other thing that I like is the Weather Alert feature. Advance warning can save your life.
Beav |
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Posts: 4080
Location: Elko - Lake Vermilion | I've used a hand held for the past 6 years and haven't had any problems.
It won't get out as far as the in dash models, but it works when needed.
Also, you get what you pay for..... the $90.00 raido isn't going to work as good as the $180.00 raido.
Jerome |
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Posts: 40
Location: Baxter, MN | I am looking for a vhf radio for my boat too. I am looking for one for my trip to Canada were you can get seperated from your group by not only a distance of a few miles but by the many islands.
Will a console unit with a 5' fiberglass antenna perform better than a hand held radio?
I have been looking at the new Lowrance 880 with a 5' antenna, this unit also receives FM signals plus all the emergency and weather channels. Does anyone have any experience with something like this.
What kind of range would it have?
Would a 3' wip antenna be good enough for what I am looking for?
Thanks. |
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Posts: 2323
Location: Stevens Point, WI | Any marine radio in which your using an external antennea will out perform a hand held. The ability to recieve and communicate to others from a further distance will be better with the fiberglass antennea.
Your range will depend on where your at. A handheld is typically good 3-5 miles depending on your target. However, 3-5 is suggested by many of the radios makers. A permenant mounted radio with an external antennea will be much more effective, all depends on where your at. So, when I'm on the Great Lakes and no obstacles other than water from me to land are present, I can use it freely as far as 15-20 miles out as I've done in the past.
For what you need it for, a hand held will do just fine. To some extent, a good pair of walkie talkies will do the job. |
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Posts: 1764
Location: Ogden, Ut | We used ICOM hand-helds for our work on the Great Salt Lake. I never really used any others so I can't make much of a comparison. I was impressed enough with them that if I were to make a personal purchase, I'd buy one. True, they can't match the distance you can get w/ a mounted unit, but a good mounted antenna will still receive many calls from them (you just can't hear the reply). The battery life was VERY impressive, usually a couple of weeks between charges.
Oh, and durability...there is no torture chamber like the Great Salt Lake environment. I even had one survive a drop into the lake while it was turned on (it was submerged for several minutes before we successfully fished it out); upon retrieval it still worked fine. The squelch control eventually corroded on one of the 6 units, but that was the only casualty in over 2 hard years of use.
S. |
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Posts: 85
| Hey, Found some good advice on what to look for in hand helds at West Marine's web page. Worth checking out before you buy! Kurt K. |
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Marine Band Radio