If you only have a small boat without a dedicated cabin that is suitable for mounting a full suite of navigation and communication equipment, or alternatively, you want a second radio for your boat, which you can always have with you in case of an emergency, then the chances are, you have thought carefully about buying a hand held marine radio. There are a huge number of different models around on the market, and all of them serve the same basic function of allowing you to communicate with people over VHF frequencies while you are at sea.
Although they have traditionally offered a lower quality of communication ability than their fixed mount rivals, better technology, and improvements to the power management systems on the top end handheld marine radio systems means that they are now able to compete with mid range fixed mount systems in terms of their ability to connect you with other people.
One of the main benefits of a hand held radio is that it is compact, and if you are the only person on board a boat, it means that you do not need to be tied to the bridge at all times in order to keep track of the local radio chatter. You can carry your radio with you at all times, and be able to send a signal for help without any real problems if you get into trouble at sea.
Handheld VHF Radios fall into two basic categories. There are survival radios, which are intended for use in an emergency, and which are designed to offer a long battery life, maximum water proofing to protect the inner equipment from the elements, and which float. Most survival radios are not designed for every day use. They are simple to set up, and will normally only transmit on channel 16 – the internationally recognized emergency channel. In addition to this, emergency radios will normally have very few controls, to make their use even simpler if you are wearing an immersion suit or thick gloves.
Models like the ACR 16/6 Survival Radio, which retails for around $540 are intended to be stored in your life raft kit and only be called into action when they are actually needed. They are generally able to offer around 8 hours of continuous use when first switched on, which should be enough time for a rescue to take place under most circumstances.
It is possible to buy a fully functional marine radio system in hand held form that is intended to replace the bulky fixed mount radio that many larger boats have. A model like the SIMRAD HT-50 HH VHF Radio will transmit on multiple channels across the marine radio spectrum, and is water proof up to a meter. Handily, this particular radio will also default to the Channel 16 emergency frequency when first switched on, so that if it is used as a second radio, its primary function as an emergency call device will be easy to access.
At the budget end of the hand held marine radio market, systems like the Standard HX270S are available from around $100. Although they are not so rugged or hard wearing as more expensive models like the $400 SIMRAD, they are reliable, and offer access to the whole VHF radio spectrum, allowing you to effortlessly communicate with nearby boats and the harbor when it is time to make for port. The Standard HX270S includes many features that are usually confined to more expensive models including a battery life meter, an easy to use recharging cradle that you can simply drop the unit into, and an oversized LCD Screen to make it easy to see what channel you are using.
When you come to buy a handheld marine radio system, make sure you choose the right model for your needs. It is not unknown for people to buy a cheap radio, and then when they put to see discover that they have actually only bought an emergency radio, and are only able to communicate on channel 16 – this is an easy mistake to make, but it can be very costly – in some countries, there is a fine of more than $1000 for unnecessary broadcast on emergency frequencies, which makes the few dollars saved on the purchase of the radio seem like peanuts.
If you opt for a handheld radio, make sure that it has enough power to make communicating with base simple within the area you are planning to be sailing in, and if a particular unit is unsuitable, then choose another in order to maintain your maximum safety.
