Hand held VHF radio's

[Rollin with Rolland]

Thought I would throw this out there. Anybody have any reviews of hand held VHF radio's?? Brands/models/prices?? I have been hitting the saltchuck and Lake Superior for awhile now and figure it's about time I get a little safer and purchase a VHF radio. A couple hundred bucks could save my life.......o:)

I have a small craft (can't go to far) so I thought a hand held would do me just fine. I got a Hummingbird 55s for $120 (did little research, just needed something NOW for salmon fishing). It seems like a nice compact submersible unit. Tested it a couple days, and happy so far. SAYS 18 miles ....but we all know how that goes... . I could always still return it though.......

Anybody out there with more experience with the VHF radio's?? Experiences/reviews/knowledge??

[swedefish4life1]

Use them and count on them 24-7 Rhino= Garmin Bad $ss will have 2 hand helds on board and 2 Raymarine massive units fixed on the big trip North in late May.
I can get great pricing through my Garmin hero as well. pm me the model you want I will get a pricing:chef:

VHF's mean the other has great gear as well to produce a quality signal and all the tubs sport them but many run cheap units and worse and you get one word out of a conversation Correct Big Kingston!!!! LOL:colors:

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Thought I would throw this out there. Anybody have any reviews of hand held VHF radio's?? Brands/models/prices?? I have been hitting the saltchuck and Lake Superior for awhile now and figure it's about time I get a little safer and purchase a VHF radio. A couple hundred bucks could save my life.......o:)

I have a small craft (can't go to far) so I thought a hand held would do me just fine. I got a Hummingbird 55s for $120 (did little research, just needed something NOW for salmon fishing). It seems like a nice compact submersible unit. Tested it a couple days, and happy so far. SAYS 18 miles ....but we all know how that goes... . I could always still return it though.......

Anybody out there with more experience with the VHF radio's?? Experiences/reviews/knowledge??

I am running two fixed mounts on my large boat but I use a Uniden Atlantis 250 on my 16 ft rear tiller. I always carry an extra battery but have never needed it. I monitor channel 16 continuously and usually have it set on roam just in case someone wants go give out some hot spot info. I have been using it about 3 years and it has served me well. I have always been able to contact the Coast Guard without problems but don’t expect much range from one of these unless you are real tall. All VHF radios are line of sight and unless you plan on using it on a fly bridge you are not going to get much distance. You can expect them to work great up to about 4 miles in open water without obstructions. Hope this helps.

[Rollin with Rolland]

thanks swede and stampie....

I appreciate the offer on the Garmin sf4l1, I'll definitely have to look at some of those Garmin's and see what you could get one for....




Only 4 miles working distance stampie??? I figured it wasn't as far as the manufacturer said, but that seems pretty pathetic. I know my model has a dual power setting, 1 or 5 watts. This must effect the signal distance. I was near 4 miles northwest of Anacortes and was picking up some chatter from canadians waters, maybe 10 miles I estimated. That was 5 watt setting. Although it was a clear day.....
If you have it on scan most of the day, how long does your battery last?? Is it Ni-MH, or just standard "aa" batteries?

Thanks again guys, I think I may shop around for a manufacturer with a little more radio experience than hummingbird....

[G-Man]

I picked up may ICOM hand held a couple of years ago and have no complaints. The rechargeable Li-ion battery has a super long life and the unit doesn't seem to discharge it when not in use like some other electronic devices will do. I've left it in my glove box for several months and the charge seems a fresh as the day it was done. It floats, is submersible, plenty of volume and comes with a fair number of features. The model number is IC-M72 or just M72. I bought mine from anchorexpress.com, who always seems to have pretty good pricing on boating products.

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thanks swede and stampie....

I appreciate the offer on the Garmin sf4l1, I'll definitely have to look at some of those Garmin's and see what you could get one for....




Only 4 miles working distance stampie??? I figured it wasn't as far as the manufacturer said, but that seems pretty pathetic. I know my model has a dual power setting, 1 or 5 watts. This must effect the signal distance. I was near 4 miles northwest of Anacortes and was picking up some chatter from canadians waters, maybe 10 miles I estimated. That was 5 watt setting. Although it was a clear day.....
If you have it on scan most of the day, how long does your battery last?? Is it Ni-MH, or just standard "aa" batteries?

Thanks again guys, I think I may shop around for a manufacturer with a little more radio experience than hummingbird....

I may be a bit conservative on the range but not by much. You may hear others but they may not be able to hear you. They probably have tall mast antennas and are able to reach out further. On my large boat I feel I get out about 15 miles across the water on good day. Remember, the Coast Guard has antennas perched on high towers anchored to hilltops so there is usually no problem contacting them. If you get 4 to 5 miles on a handheld that’s great. I personally never leave port without mine. Just remember, if you are in our Sound waters and you doubt you are getting out just use your cell.

You asked a question about battery life. I usually have mine on roam and I am able to get up to 3 outings with it. Let’s say about 18 hours or so.