Bryan wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...

Bryan wrote:

Any handheld VHF recommendations?

Looking for quality, functionality, affordability, ...

Which and why? And best recent price you've seen?


The internal electronics are all about the same, regardless of brand
name.

That changes the equation a bit.

Almost any major brand will be built well enough to withstand normal
use and even some abuse, so you're down to deciding how many, and
which, bells and whistles you want and which models are the most
ergonomically usable for you as an individual. Range and the degree of
water-resistance will also be major considerations.

My thoughts: Is this handheld going into a ditch bag, or intended for
use merely as a backup to a hard-wired system? In that case, the fewer
the gizmos, gadgets, fancy tricks,
and electro magics built in- the better. You wouldn't want to be
without a radio in an emergency because some peripheral, non-essential
toy feature crapped out and took another circuit down in the process.

If the handheld is going to be the primary radio aboard the boat, you
might want to opt for
some of the fancier features.......but the previous paragraph could
also apply just as
easily in that case.



Primary and ditch. Need dependable 30 NM range maximum. Need a waterproof
floater (it'll get wet if I'm floating about in my pfd while I wait for a
ride). Don't know what bells and whistles I could need.



If you are floating in your PFD and can manage to get the antenna 4 feet
above sea level, your range would be about 2-1/2 miles to the horizon.
VHF is "line of sight" so that would only increase if the receiving
antenna is pretty high and/or close to you.

Beyond that, you still need the power to transmit and receive that
distance. 30 NM is out of the question. Bet on five, tops.

Dan