Hand-held marine radio

[Bunny]

I am looking for suggestions for a hand held marine radio... one that is reliable with good reception. My boat is too small for a dash mounted radio. I just havn't got room for one. I'd feel safer (and more social) if I had a good radio but I know nothing about them. Any input or suggestions from the experienced? Thanks!

[enfield]

I mounted mine vertically below the console. All you need to attach in plain sight is the mic holder.

[smoke73]

I have a Atlantis 250. It has a long battery use, water proof, belt clip, AC/DC chargers & mounting bracket. The range is 5 miles. Priced for around $100.

[glockman55]

You can get more range out of a so called dash mount, with a good antenna, but a hand held is better than nothing, cost sounds about the same. I would try to put in a mounted radio somewhere, bass pro has a cobra radio and 8' or whip style antenna for $119.

[greg123]

I also have the atlantis 250 made by uniden that i use as backup to console mounted radio. for the money pretty decent radio. my bro-in-law has a small boat that we mounted a small console type radio in. the 8' antenna folds out of the way when not in use. with a little planning im sure you could find a spot for one. they dont take up that much room and can be mounted out of the way. you may not need it very often but the extra power and range could come in handy some day. but like was said earlier anything is better than nothing when it comes to communications in an emergency or just for hearing the weather. Greg

[Bunny]

Thanks for the advise... looks like I will have to take another look at the dash to see if I can find room to mount a radio. Better safe that stranded...

[greg123]

some of the radios are pretty small nowadays best advice is to ask at someplace like west marine or bass pro that sells radios and see how small the units are then see if there is room somewhere on your boat or have another set of eyes look at boat. it can be mounted under a seat or almost anywhere. we mounted one to a brace on one of the seats out of the way but useable. the antenna is mounted to a rachet mount on the back corner casting of the boat and folds down along the gunnel. I see you live not too far from a relative of mine in howell. If all else fails I could meet you somewhere and take a look. pm me if that would be an option. Greg

[tdejong302]

If at all possible buy a permanant mount. I bought a handheld last week and it sucks. battery life sucks, reception sucks. COBRA MR HH 300

I too have a small boat that needed a radio and Gandermountain had marine radios but no antennas so I went with this. Bad choice. Anyhow. Good Luck and safe fishing.

Other boat has perm. mount with antenna that works great. ???? Good luck dude.

[Jason Adam]

If you're buying the radio for saftey on the water, get a fixed mount. A handheld is a backup, not a primary radio. Range sukcs, especially if you get in weather(VHF is line of sights, waves effect if greatly)

[Captain Tan Can]

Range is pretty small when compared to a fixed mount with a good 8' antenna. Like the others said you can mount them up and under the dash and just let the "mike" hang out. Some have the ability to change channels and volume on the "mike" and you could wire it so that it turns on when you turn on the battery switch. With that set up you wouldn't even have to see it. West Marine has a nice folding mount that allows you to fold down the antenna when trailering or storing.

[Lindsey]

I don't have much marine VHF experience, but we've found that the antenna and it's elevation makes a big difference with our amateur radio rigs. I get a lot more range on transmit and receive when I route my 2 meter H-T signal through a remote 1/2 wave car top antenna or through the vertical at home as compared to the little rubber duck antenna that came with the H-T.
If you have room to mount an 8' marine whip antenna on your boat, you may be able to connect it to a marine VHF hand held with appropriate cabling. This would help you get your signal out better from the low power hand held transmitter. This might be a workable compromise on your boat. You may also find that for close by work you can switch the hand held down to it's low power setting when transmitting through a higher, more efficient antenna and get your signal out with less battery drain.
Lindsey

[Jason Adam]

http://www.bethel-marine.com/Standard_PS1000.htm

$105

It has DSC, and its the black box model so you can mount the radio out of the way(great for small boats), and can take the mic/control unit out with you.

[baydog2]

Look at this radio its pretty darn small but go with the 8' antenna. This claims to be one of the smallest out there. I mounted one in a 14 ft. boat by putting a small wood dash mounted to the dry storage unit. That one was a fulll size radio sure wish I had this one back then.
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/pod/horizontal-pod.jsp?rid=&indexId=cat350013&navAction=push&navCount=4&cmCat=MainCatcat21276&parentType=index&parentId=cat350013&id=0024895


Lonnie