Marine Hand Held Radios

[Pikemaster101]

What is the best marine hand held radio that you can get for your money. Also how well do these work when trying to communicate with other none hand held radios? Which hand held one reaches the farthest distance and how far is that distance across water?

Thanks

[PerchJerker]

I don't know what brand is "best", but regardless of brand you are limited by line of sight. To put it another way, the taller your antenna and the farther it is above the water, the better off you'll be. There is a noticable fall-off in range going from an 8 ft antenna to a 4 or 3 foot antenna, and I suspect there's another substantial fall-off in range going down to a hand-held radio.

My guess is with a handheld you will only get 2-3 miles, under the best conditions. Maybe less if you have islands, points, rocks, trees, shoreline, etc. between the two radios. This is just a guess as I've never used a handheld radio, but I've known several people that were frustrated by the range they were getting with their shorter fixed mount antennas.

[Pikemaster101]

I guess I do not understand the point in spending $150 on one that is only going to reach 2 or 3 miles because i have a set of non marine radios that i paid $60 for that read 6 or 7 miles on the water.

[PerchJerker]

Have you actually used them and got 6-7 miles of range? Can you do it consistently, in multiple locations? I am very skeptical that you will get anywhere near that range on a regular basis.

A good rule of thumb to follow is that you'll consistently get about 1/2 of the advertised range. Using external antennas (extra height) makes a huge difference.

You might get more than 2-3 miles with handheld radios, but I don't think you should plan to get it all the time in all locations.