VHF Radio Question

[brshooter]

Looking at a VHF radio for my boat. I have not spent much time in the ocean or the bays but would like to have communications before I head out there. I primarily fish the Columbia in the Portland area but possible venues could be Tillamook Bay and the Bubble, Nehalem Bay, Yaquina Bay, and B10 next year. I would not spend a lot of time out there, but I want to be equiped. Would a handheld be suitable for this. Will it have acceptable range for the areas mentioned? Or do I need to go to a fixed unit? Any thoughts or suggestions on this?

[fishinfool]

Brshooter,
I have a humminbird handheld VHF and it is perfect for fishing where I do.I fish alot of the same areas you mentioned and it worked great at buoy 10 this year. I cost around $100 and does everything I need it to do. Good luck in your hunt. T

[jet]

Bird guy. I just bought a hand held earlier this year and it works great!

My buddy had broken his boat mounted antenna and another buddy has had his boat mounted radio stolen. I opted for the hand held for those reasons.I can take it in the house at the end of the day.

I am sure it does not have the range, but it has worked great so far out at 10. Make sure you buy the water proof modle and a cig. lighter adaptor might be helpful.

Jet~~~

[SlabQuest]

Range is determined more by antennae height than by power. A hand held 5 watt unit should transmit as far as you can see.

[Pilar]

Some things should not be scrimped on. Things like motive power, electronics and life jackets. I really like the 'Standard' brand VHF radio I bought at West Marine. With Antenna, mounting bracket, radio and mike ... $200.

It's pretty plain but bulletproof. I can count on it when it matters. Dashmount for me, much harder to lose and powered from the boat, bigger batteries. If you've driven off with something on the front of your boat that went away, you know what I'm talking about.

What about that Mr. Fisherman?

[Threemuch]

VHF will only work in line of sight applications. There are a few exceptions, like bouncing a signal off heavy clouds and so forth, but for the most part, you have to be line of sight. Due to curvature of the earth, the higher your antenna, the better your range.

Handhelds only transmit on five watts. Regular radios can transmitt up to 25 watts. They receive the same, but transmit at very different powers. Add to this the difference in antenna, and I see a handheld as good for talking to people you can see, and good for radioing the coast guard (since they mount receivers on hills) but good for little else. I will always have a fixed mount VHF on a boat I take in the ocean, and probably a waterproof handheld too.

[Mr. Fisherman]

The ocean is no place to fool around. Take both. I've seen first hand how the salt can take away things you trust. Electronics take a beating out on the ocean, especially on an off shore racing tri-hull images/icons/wink.gif.

When your dash mounted unit fails you will be glad you had the hand held. Like Pilar said, "Some things should not be scrimped on."

Oh yea, if ya keep the hand held in your back pack with your spare GPS and favorite reel and gear.... keep it close to you at all times images/icons/rolleyes.gif, they tend to run off when you aren't looking images/icons/shocked.gif.

Been there done that, lived to tell you about it so ya don't go make a big mistake.

Mr. F. out and monitoring.....

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[PRINCEMASTER]

A boat mount radio is the way to go for power reasons,but in some applications...use a hand held and when in the boat attach it to a boat mount antenna. Best of both worlds that way. I do suggest getting a good quality antenna for the boat though as I have gone the cheap route and payed the price in reception problems.

[Fishful Thinkin']

OK! I know, here he goes again. Somabody mentions radio this or radio that and Rick will go on for hours, right?

Oh, well, it's true. Any way, VHF radio is rated as LINE OF SIGHT. However it actually can reach alittle over that range depending on the frequency.

With that in mind, your handheld sholud work for you as long as you don't go out into the BIG BLUE.

If you are planning to venture into the ocean "Get a good mounted radio and have the antenna and coax tuned by a professional. It doesn't cost much or take very long but it will make your radio work to it's best performance.

Good luck and have fun!

[AngleThis]

If you want to do the ocean, you need to be able to "reach out and touch someone". There are good base units that are not much more expensive than decent hand helds. Wattages are comparable. By far the biggest factor is your ANTENA. Hand held or base unit, without a good long antena, your range will be severely limited. Hence, for a few dollars more you will get a great deal out of your investment.

DC

DC