Hand Held VHF's - Are they any good??

[Xtreme]

Hi all,

The new boat arrives in the next 2 weeks and I am seriously thinking of not fitting a hard wired radio given I will only be using it for limited inshore and close off shore work and am not keen on drilling any more holes than I need to.

I'd be looking at a high end unit like the new Cobra's etc.

I understand that aerial height is critical for peak performance with VHF so range will be an obvious disadvantage with a hand held but I am looking for your experiences for up to 3 or 4 NM offshore around Gold Coast and Brisbane.

Cheers, Steve

[peterbo3]

The hand held VHF radios such as the Cobra put out 5 watts when transmitting. Fixed radios transmit at 25W. Even for close inshore work you may not be able to contact VMR due to the low antenna & the reduced power output.
If drilling holes is the major factor then there are VHF ant from both Pacific & GME that have a clamp-on base for rails, etc. The radio mount itself requires two holes. If you need a VHF, get one that will do the job. Like horsepower, too much radio range is always better than not enough.

[Marlin_Mike]

save yourself the ehartache and get a fixed one.
hand helds are OK but limited to distance

Mike

[Taroona]

VHF radio's work on line of sight. So the higher the antenna the greater the range.

So to transmit the same disatance with a 5w hand held as a 5w fixed unit and say a 2metere antenna, you would need to stand on a 6 foot ladder in your boat

[Fish Guts]

would also look for another brand than cobra. my mate just fitted a fixed unit cobra to his boat and its a shocker. sounds like he's got a mouth full of sand in his mouth when hes talking on the radio. i think handhelds are only really good for a tender/ mothership scenario. really wouldnt have much faith in one offshore or inshore for that.

[Xtreme]

Guys,

Thanks for the feedback. I was suspecting as much but just wanted to confirm it all.

Might just resurrect the old GME 27 Meg and find a good low profile base plate. My biggest headache with the fixed radio is stopping the base rubbing holes in my transport cover and it getting in the way when I am impoundment fishing where I don't need a radio.

Any suggestions other than the clamp mounts Peter refers to would be a helpful.

Ta, Steve

[peterbo3]

Steve,
There are small fixed bases with screw-in antennas. The bases are round & flat. The ant is vertical only. Pacific make em for sure. You might have to check the GME site.