vhf radios and backups

[Rhettley]

This is my first venture into vhf radios. I never put one on the bass tracker as I never got out of sight of land and most places I took it the electric trolling motor would eventually get me back to the hill. The Sea Chaser has a good VHF and antenna on it already. When I sea trialed it we did a radio check going out at the ramp there at Lanark and it worked fine but I need to play with it more to find out how it works at farther distances. I think it's the original unit so it could be up to 8 years old.
I don't really want to buy a new one at this time. I'll be moving this one off the top of the center console to make some room so the connections will be redone. What kind of life do these things have on an uncovered boat?
How about a hand held back up? Do you guys carry them. I know the range is limited but some have a little better power with high and low power settings. My cell phone might be just as useful inshore or near shore. What are yall's thoughts and recommendations?

[Dubble Trubble]

I ALWAYS have a handheld backup. Also make sure it is submersible. Chances are, if you are having to use handheld, you are already in the water.

I did a lot of research on reliability, and Standard Horizon came out on top.

But, they are more expensive also. Get the one with the built-in GPS and emergency beacon.

Dubble

[silverking]

Double with Dubble. I'm an Icom man myself, but I have a fixed mount and a handheld. Cell phones are a good backup, but a quality VHF radio is essential safety gear.

[lonesouth]

Floating is a good idea also. Though if you put it in a container, that doesn't float...

Handhelds put out less power than fixed, in addition to having a smaller antenna, the range is very limited by comparison. That is not to say that you shouldn't carry one, just don't expect to get a reply if you are floating in the water 20 miles out.

Because VHF is line of sight, mount your antenna as high as you can. Mounting on top of a t-top will get you the best range. In a pinch, you can tape an antenna to a pole/outrigger/rod, and get it higher.

If you are really concerned about going where you can't be heard, EPIRB.

[DEMON]

I have both. The handheld, even though distance is limited, is for communication after the boat is gone under or upside down. Makes it a whole lot easier to contact another nearby boat once you've gone in the drink or the rescue plane overhead that can't see you. It stays in the ditch bag so I don't have to scramble around looking for it in an emergency. You can extend your fixed mount VHF's range by mounting it where you can move it to some kind of extension to get it higher in the air. I have mine where I can unscrew it from its mount & with a short piece of PVC pipe (with a male adapter on it) slip it over my 8' anchor pin and get higher up in the air. Before I had the anchor pin, I just carried a piece of PVC in one of my rod holders for the same purpose. Make sure you hook up your VHF to your GPS so you can use the DSC function that sends out your location and mayday by pushing the emergency button. You also need to get an MMSI number so they will know who you are & what your boat is.

[lonesouth]

MMSI is free.

I ended up with a Standard Horizon Quest GX1500s. After reading and reading and reading, this one had the features I wanted and a good price. I don't think you can go wrong with either SH or Icom though.

[MudDucker]

The fact is that the range with a handheld is very limited. It is really on good to contact a close vessel. I have one, but I don't fool myself that is much good. The other types of signaling devices are much more effective. So if I had to chose, I would say to buy an eprib first.