Handheld marine radio

[rossc]

hi all
i would to buy a handheld marine radio to store on a boat as a back-up does any one have any recomendations or ones to avoid please

[Brian_C]

For Us there is only one Make to consider ICOM, 3 Year Warranty and Damn good service. However that is not to say others are no good. Be aware that some of the budget models have limited output power not good in an emergency:eek: . Choose a model that will take rechargable pack and Alkaline that way you have "Belt and Braces"

Brian

[Nigel Hewitt]

i would to buy a handheld marine radio to store on a boat as a back-up does any one have any recomendations or ones to avoid pleaseI bought a cheapy from the yottie section of Ebay and it might have been OK tucked away in a cruiser but it wasn't waterproof enough for a RIB. When it stopped working and I opened it up it wasn't pretty inside.
It went in the bin so I don't have the brand name now.

[Chris Cherrington]

..rechargable pack and Alkaline that way you have "Belt and Braces"


The rechargeable batteries will discharge slowly without use if the unit is used as a back up. I would get standard batteries and carry spares. As Brian says the range can be limited.

Chris

[Chris Cherrington]

... but it wasn't waterproof enough for a RIB. ....

Very few are. You get what you pay for.

Chris

[Ben Thompson]

Very few are. You get what you pay for.

Chris

My last club we bought a garmin one, which was suppossed to be waterproof to 1m for 30mins (I think that's what the standard was) and we'd had it for about 8 hours before we dropped it in the mariner in Newhaven on a boat handling course... several hours later, and at a few meters, after the tide had gone out, it was still working! Quite impressive.

Was this chappy:

http://www.garmin.com/products/vhf725/

We've got a couple of Icoms, which are quite nice

http://www.icomamerica.com/products/marine/m1v/

However, none of these are digital...

[GaryC]

hi all
i would to buy a handheld marine radio to store on a boat as a back-up does any one have any recomendations or ones to avoid please

I bought the ICOM portable which has been very good. Mine also came with a waterproof bag. Got fairly cheap on ebay a few years ago.

It is re-chargable so I periodically leave it on to run down the batterys.

Although one time I left it under my bed switched on with the squelch button on. Got scared sh*tless when someone start talking on it at 4 in the morning. (50 miles from the sea???)

Mine was non DSC thus fairly cheap.

Gary

[David Walker]

... several hours later, and at a few meters, after the tide had gone out, it was still working! Quite impressive.

Next time they'll make one that floats ;) :rolleyes:

David

[Paul Oliver]

We have 3 x ICOM handhelds as back-ups (1 for each boat), they work ok and if you check them before the weekend and charge them up they are fine, all part of the pre-trip checks really.

The range is OK for us working off Dover, but then the CG masts are rather high and prominent so we get good line of sight.

I think they have all been to the bottom of Dover marina at one time or other and recovered after 10 min or so, and they work fine. We tend to have them on the consol during dives so they often get very wet and bashed about a bit and its not a problem.

[Geordie_cy]

Remember you'll need to add these to your ships Radio Licence to operate legally.

[Brian_C]

Remember you'll need to add these to your ships Radio Licence to operate legally.

Not Strictly accurate. A HH may be licensed separatly (i.e. have it's own callsign) and be used on boats that do not carry a Ships Licence. At present this is £15.00 PA but will be free after Sep 1.:)

Regards

Brian

[Emlyn Diver]

where is the cheapest place to buy a HH?
Emlyn

[Adrian Kelland]

Not Strictly accurate. A HH may be licensed separatly (i.e. have it's own callsign) and be used on boats that do not carry a Ships Licence. At present this is £15.00 PA but will be free after Sep 1.:)

Regards

Brian
Bloody hell, the government deciding to make something free rather than putting the price up! Bet somebody lost their job over that one. Or promoted. :D

Good news indeed.

[Darren27]

If the HH is to be used as a backup to the fixed set then it can be used on the vessel named in the ships radio licence without being seperatley licensed. If you want to use a single HH on multiple vessels then the HH should have its own licence.

All the details can be fould here

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radiocomms/ifi/licensing/classes/maritime/applications/of168.pdf

As to a recomendation, I have a Cobra MHR300. I got it from Ebay for £55. It claims to be waterproof (ipx7, 1m/30min). Never dropped it in the drink so cant comment. It runs on standard AA batteries, they wont discharge the same way rechargables do if left for a while. I carry a spare pack of batteries in the dry box.

HTH

Darren

[Martyn Ward]

Mine was non DSC thus fairly cheap.Gary

It might be worth considering buying a DSC radio for when (if?) the nice Coastguard chaps stop actively monitoring ch16.

Mine's a Silva S12. Excellent purchase, it gets regularly discharged and recharged and I always take a spare pack of disposable batteries just in case and never had a problem with it due to water. Mind you, I don't drop it in the water either, unlike some of those poorly taught people out there :rolleyes: Dashed bad practice in my opinion :D

And after 40-odd years, I've finally come to the conclusion that you generally get what you pay for. In other words, if you pay nowt, you get nowt! Buy the best you can afford, you never know when your life might depend on it.

Martyn.

[Darren27]

There are very few GMDSS hand held radios. Those that are available are really for professional use and very expensive. The Simrad Axis is £414 and the Tron TR20 is over £500.

As far as I am aware the Coast Guard will continue to monitor ch16 for sometime to come. If they were stopping a ch16 watch we would have seen many more GMDSS HH radios out on the market by now.

[garethwoodruff]

I thought the coastguard had stopped the watch already?

The change was going to be from having a coastguard officer with headphones on, continuously listening to channel 16, to where they have it over a loudspeaker in the control room? So they are still listening, just without the continuous cover.

[resting rifleman]

I have an ICOM-M31 with l-ion batteries and very happy with it too :D

[Alex Liddon]

As to a recomendation, I have a Cobra MHR300. I got it from Ebay for £55. It claims to be waterproof (ipx7, 1m/30min). Never dropped it in the drink so cant comment. It runs on standard AA batteries, they wont discharge the same way rechargables do if left for a while. I carry a spare pack of batteries in the dry box.

HTH

Darren

The problem with the Cobra handheld is the power output. Low power is 0.5 watts and high power is 4 watts.

In my opinion you need 1 watt and 5 watts respectivly.

I personally have the Silva S12 which is a sealed unit and therefore waterproof. A rubber flap covers the charging socket.

Alex

[Darren27]

The problem with the Cobra handheld is the power output. Low power is 0.5 watts and high power is 4 watts.

In my opinion you need 1 watt and 5 watts respectivly.

I personally have the Silva S12 which is a sealed unit and therefore waterproof. A rubber flap covers the charging socket.

Alex

No the MRH100 & 200 have a 0.5 and 2 watt output. The MRH300 and 400 have the standard 1 & 5 watt output.

Take a look here http://www.trident-uk.com/shop/acatalog/VHF_Radio_s.html

The 300 is at the bottom of the page

[Alex Liddon]

No the MRH100 & 200 have a 0.5 and 2 watt output. The MRH300 and 400 have the standard 1 & 5 watt output.

Take a look here http://www.trident-uk.com/shop/acatalog/VHF_Radio_s.html

The 300 is at the bottom of the page

My apolgies i stand corrected

[Simon Brookes]

I looked at the following;

Icom V Euro
Entel ht640
Standard Horizon 370

All very good and pretty tough, went for I com in the end as its similar to our club back up so people would understand it.