Best VHF Radio

[Thilliard]

I will be adding a new VHF radio to my boat and I am wondering which is the best brand. I want a radio with remote mike capability and am considereing the Uniden Polaris, ICOM 402 or 502, and the Standard Horizon (forget the number). Anyone have any thoughts on this?

[mike]

I will be adding a new VHF radio to my boat and I am wondering which is the best brand. I want a radio with remote mike capability and am considereing the Uniden Polaris, ICOM 402 or 502, and the Standard Horizon (forget the number). Anyone have any thoughts on this?

I have a Standard Horizon Intrepid+ with a remote mic, and am pleased with it. However, if I'm not mistaken, Uniden has a wireless remote mic available... that sounds very interesting!

--Mike

[Doug Faigel]

I have a fixed mount VHF and a handheld VHF. I never use the fixed mount one. If I had to do it again I wouldn't spend the $$ on a fixed mount one and just go with the handheld.

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

I'll second that. I have both a fixed one below and a handheld. We never even turn the fixed one on. The handheld has become THE radio we use. My decision to get it was mainly driven by the desire for a radio to monitor in the cockpit without having the speaker blaring away down below. Somehow the kids felt it interupted their movies.

Perhaps the remote mic ones alow you to turn off the inside speaker and only listen through the mic, but if they don't I wouldn't go that route either.

The Uniden Polaris does have the wireless remote mic (WHAM) and it is less expensive than the wired RAM.

We just went with an inexpensive Uniden Atlantis 250 handheld and are very happy. It was $89 at West Marine.

[Moe]

You can't go wrong with either Icom or Standard Horizon. The latter's white color is really white, and would go well in an X, while Icom's white is more of a tan that would go better in an M. Both are available in black.

If you go the 502 route, make sure you get the latest 502a. In addition to an NMEA input that can receive your position from your GPS and transmit it in a DSC distress or Position call, the "a" variant adds an NMEA output which can send the position of a RECEIVED DSC distress or Position call to YOUR GPS where it can automatically be plotted.

There are some SH models that have the NMEA output and some that only have the input, but I forget which.

VHF is safety equipment, and I'd recommend a fixed primary unit with a handheld as a backup. Or vice versa.

[mike]

I'll second that. I have both a fixed one below and a handheld. We never even turn the fixed one on. The handheld has become THE radio we use. My decision to get it was mainly driven by the desire for a radio to monitor in the cockpit without having the speaker blaring away down below. Somehow the kids felt it interupted their movies.

Perhaps the remote mic ones alow you to turn off the inside speaker and only listen through the mic, but if they don't I wouldn't go that route either.

Yes, the RAM-equipped radios (well, mine at least) will let you keep the volume of the main unit turned down. I rarely use the main radio (unless I'm just working on the boat at the dock and monitoring traffic, or listening to weather while at anchor). But I like the fact that I have an antenna high up on the mast, and the full transmitting power of the fixed mount.

I do have a handheld as a backup, but if I could do it all again, I would still get the fixed mount radio, but would skip the remote mic, and simply use the handheld at the helm for the short distance communications (bridges, nearby traffic, etc.) that I usually use the radio for. The fixed mount would be primarily for emergencies.

--Mike

[Tom Spohn]

First decision is to decide if it will be fixed or portable. I chose portable since in a real emergency, maybe while floating behind my boat I would like to be able to call for help. If you choose portable, then the choice is to get waterproof and long lasting batteries as you don't want to be charging them all the time. Based on these criteria I chose the Icom M1V which is waterproof and comes with a long-lasting lithium-ion battery.

[jsserene]

I have to agree with Mike about full power and the antenna on top of the mast. Remember VHF is line of site. I purchased the Unden Oceanus DCS with the wireless WHAM (wireless handeld access microphone). It works great. The WHAM is smaller than any handheld with no outside antenna.
Jeff

[Captain Steve]

Dont forget that DSC is or will be an important feature. The Coast Guard is moving to monitoring for DSC emergency transmissions. Also you will be able to use it to talk to friends utilizing their DSC number to only call them and to monitor if they are available.
A lot of very good features and now only available in mobile radios and some highend handhelds.

[Captain Steve]

My buddy at WM sells alot of second WHAM units. No wire equals lost or units overboard. A wired remote will not get lost!

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

One of the cool DSC features is you can hail someone on 16, and when they answer you can switch your radio to a working channel and their radio will follow without them having to turn the dial. No more agreeing on a channel and then waiting for both parties to make the switch.

[Jack O'Brien]

I got the ICOM M1V waterproof handheld for use on my Capri 16. When I later got the M26X I changed out the cheap fixed mount VHF with an ICOM 502 with DSC. Later I got the RAM for the 502.

I normally have the 502 on below, volume adjustable, and the RAM on at the helm with independent volume and other controls. The wire for the RAM runs internally to the pedestal with a quick disconnect so I can stow the RAM in the cabin for safekeeping. While singlehanding to the Dry Tortugas I had the M1V in my pocket with lanyard attached to my belt. If I were to fall overboard while singlehanding the M1V would be my only way to call for help as my boat continued on autopilot. The M1V also goes with me in the dinghy.

The fixed mount 502 is wired to the GPS and can transmit my location and identification in an emergency with the push of a button. When I added the mast top antenna I left the stern-mounted antenna so I have redundency there. The 502 has 1 or 25 watts output 33 feet above water versus the handlheld's 1 or 5 watts 8 feet above water.

They both serve their purposes very well and I would do it the same way even if I had planned it first.

[Jack O'Brien]

To answer the original question...Practical Sailor said the following:
Aug 1, 2001 ICOM 502 best of 11 fixed mount tested.
May 1, 2002 ICOM IC-M1V best of handhelds tested.

[Paul S]

I chose 2 radios - one handheld (older Raymarine) and a fixed unit installed with honkin RG8U wire and a mast top antenna.

The fixed mount will never get dropped overboard. It also has (main reason) the emergency DSC button that anyone can press in an emergency. It will also transmit (once I hook it up) the GPS location of the boat as well.

Have the handheld for 99% of use since it is short range compared to the fixed with the mast mount antenna. Most of what I need would be short range anyway. I don't think people in Cuba need to know that I need a bridge opened in Boston.

Plus the handheld can be used in a dingy without being tied to the mother ship like a remote mic.

Now I just need to get power to the fixed mount radio and I will be able to use it! Some day

I don't think I will ever have a need to use the fixed unit. But I like the redundancy and the DSC/GPS feature it offers for the ONE time that we need it. I hope that day never comes. If I never press the mic (other than a radio check) or the 'lil red button ever, that is fine with me.

Paul

[Dimitri-2000X-Tampa]

Boston to Cuba huh....I think you may be exagerating just a tad... I think your range with a mast-top antenna increases by about 3 or 4 fold. Ie, you may get a 5 mile range with a portable, and a 15-20 mile range with a high antenna. That is just a guess by the fact that I can pick up stuff about that far away with my VHF. I may have picked up transmissions from up to 30 miles away but that would be about it. Not real sure about transmit range, but would assume it is similar.

If you want to be really safe, bring an aviation band radio with you too, that way, if you are really stranded out in the middle of nowhere, you can get high flying airplanes to relay your mayday calls to shore. Of course, you will either have to have a scanner or know what frequencies are in use in that area. If I remember correctly, its 121.5 MHz that is the emergency channel monitored by satellites (what epirbs, etc. transmit on too). I wonder if that is what these DSC radios use too, most likely. I think there is a movement to go to a higher frequency (406 MHz) but that will take a long time since it will require replacing all the radios, etc.