Does anyone out there use those 2-way handheld radios I see for sale everywhere?? They claim to have a 5 or 7 mile range which would be great for me when Im out in the ocean. Any comments or recommendations would be appreciated.

thanks

I don't think you are talking about a VHF radio...go VHF for on the water. With the cheap walkie talkies, you can only talk to someone with another walkie talkie. With a decent VHF radio (can be found for under $100), you have the 5 mile + range and can talk to other boats and the coast guard.

Fred, a freind of mine with a 36 ft cruising cat has had a set of those little uhf radios for a couple of years and they are great for that purpose eg sending kids ashore in the dingy or when a fixed vhf is a little too 'fixed' for the purpose. I'm not sure how they would handle a dunking or if they'd get wrecked in use on a beach cat but by the prices they'd be pretty expendable anyway. For reference my friends set gets about 3-4 km across water not 6-7 miles and reception is worse over land
Cheers Phil

I just purchased marine vhf for about $70. Its not waterproof but you can get a waterproof bag for $10 or less. For emergency use this is great. The hand held with a short antennae does not have a long range as stated but will work better than smoke signals or blowing a whistle. You just need to make sure you have good batteries when you go out. The FRS radios have gotten much better at the range they will work in. They are also legal to use for casual conversation (i.e. keeping track of the kids in the dink), the VHF is not supposed to be used for that purpose. The new long range FRS will get almost the same range as the hand held VHF in open water (or land) so should be the choice for personal communication. If its for safety reasons I would opt for the VHF with WP bag.

Just my .02

Clayton

Its my understanding that you cannot use VHF for casual conversation on the specified regulatory channels like 16,9 and others I might not know about.

You can pickup fishermen talking to each other until the cows come home on some obscure channels.

Yes, get one. Submersable vhf's are better for your use. I wear mine on my jacket for easy access. And a cell phone in a zip lock somewhere on me also as back up. It's going to be to late when you need one and the boat is upside down and the radio is in a bag tied to the tramp! Actually The two times I was in distress last year I used the cell phone as primary communication because the signal is clearer- the coasties ask me to call them because the wind was like 20+ at the time(they could hardly hear me thru the background noise) and being so close to the water the signal wasn't that strong.

I use the least expensive Uniden, @$100. Supposedly water proof, I've had no "opportunity" to test the claim.

I rarely use it to talk on. However, it does provide ready access to NOAA weather, which I consider absolutely essential.

16 is for emergency and hailing and anyone with a VHF is supposed to monitor this channel. If you want to speak to a boat named "Flippen Fearless", it is acceptable to hail them on 16. Once they acknowledge with a reply, ask them to go to channel 68 or some other public conversational use channel to keep 16 clear from traffic.

Standard Horizon makes a VHF that also uses the "family radio" frequencies. That same model is genuinely waterproof, about the size of a deck of cards and costs around $300. The booklet that comes with the radio gives the proper frequencies to use and instructions for transferring to another frequency after hailing in order to communicate with fellow boaters, bridge tenders, Coast Guard, etc. I bought mine before heading for the Around The Island Race in Ft. Walton Beach although my model was the one before the current one with the family radio capability. You are not supposed to use the VHF for chatting with your friends on shore, hence the addition of the family channels to the latest model.

There is alot one should know before using a VHF and fines can be imposed for improper or sloppy use. SeaTow has three excellent articles at this site. Print them even if you don't have a radio. The knowledge could come in handy if you hop onto a boat that does have one.
http://www.boatingsafety.com/vhf1.htm

Mary, a review like what Dean points to would be good to see in an upcoming issue should you ever need "filler." I never knew how much the VHF radio was misused until I started doing race committee. Some people think of it on par with knowing which fork to use first at a formal dinner, but proper VHF use could be taken a bit more seriously by everyone, me included.

Great info - thanks, Dean.

That is what makes the FRS radios great for regatta work.

Very few people know that the VHF radios, frequencies and their use are tightly regulated by the FCC.
A vhf radio, handheld or base station, requires a license and has specific uses for certain channels.

The Family Radio Service(FRS)is one of the original Citizens Band Radio Services.
It requires no license.
If "you are not a representative of a foreign government" then you are allowed to operate an FRS radio.
A FRS unit is allowed to communicate with a GMRS unit.

The General Mobile Radio Service(GMRS) units are often look identical to, and are sold off the same rack as the FRS units.
The GMRS units do require a license.
There are usage limitations to the GMRS channels.

You need a license for a handheld VHF radio? Is that right?

No licence is required for a VHF radio.

Here is a good article about licensing requirements for VHF and other radio types commonly found on boats: http://www.southwindssailing.com/articles/0304/boatradio.html

I am always surprised when I read these forums and find people asking for info that is readily available on the internet if they would just type in key words and do a search. I know they have internet access since they are posting on this forum. I am prejudiced that sailors are smart people but I often find evidence here to the contrary!

If anyone is thinking about a radio purchase, now is a good time as Boat U.S. and West Marine both have some pretty good discounts on them in current sales, including the Standard/Horizon model (HX470S) that receives VHF, MURS, and FRS bands. And guess what? You do not have to have a store near you to take advantage of the sale since you can look at those offers and order items via the internet!

Mike,

They also say that sailors are lonely people and I find evidence in your post to back that up! DID YOU JUST CALL ME STUPID?????!!! Why I oughtta... (rolling up my sleeves John Wayne style)

The fact is that I've gotten a TON of great advice and recommendations on this forum from guys who have a lot more experience than me in this whole catamaran sailing business.
And as a rule I tend not to fully trust the advice of people who are trying to sell me something (like checking their websites DUMMY!). I believe that the advice I've gotten on this forum has always been objective, and I appreciate that.

Now why dont you go find a friend or something.

Anyway, Thanks to the rest of you for your input. I keep seeing those two way radios on sale everywhere for under $100. I usually go sailing while my wife and kids stay on the beach and I thought it would be a good way to keep in touch with her while I'm out there. more of a fun item than a safety one. but it sounds like they are not worth it.

Mike,
I have to agree.
Far too often people post "facts" on these forums without making any effort to investigate their authenticity.

These are some pages at the Federal Communication Commission website:
Family Radio Srevice(FRS)
http://wireless.fcc.gov/services/personal/family/
General Mobile Radio Service(GMRS)
http://wireless.fcc.gov/services/personal/generalmobile/
http://wireless.fcc.gov/services/personal/generalmobile/licensing/filing.html
Maritime Mobile Service (Marine VHF radio)
http://wireless.fcc.gov/marine/fctsht14.html


Fred,
I think you misunderstand.
Talking to friends and family, less than three miles away, is exactly what the Family Radio Service units are designed for.
When you say $100, are you referring to a single unit?
That is probably a full featured GMRS unit.
I have seen the FRS radios sold in pairs for as little as $30.

Sam,

Welcome to the real world! This happens in all walks of life not just this cat sailor forum. and I know it is annoying when people state opinions as facts. But just as in any other area of life, you take what you need and discard the rest. The person asking the question is ultimately responsible for how he uses the information he receives.
But to say that it is "stupid" to ask questions on this forum simply because a better source for the information exist somewhere else is stupid in itself. Its like not being able to ask my wife if its going to rain today simply because I have access to noaa weather info. I love this forum because people from all levels participate and from the whole mix some very useful information is produced. If this information bores some of you just skip the post and go to one that doesn't. Dont be snobs, I think the thing that unites everyone in this forum is the love of Cat sailing. Newbies and experts alike. Anyway.. enough said about this.

Regarding the radios I was talking about the set of two which I saw at BJ's (Our local Sam's Club) for around $60 the set. Youre right, I misunderstood, Just a little distracted I guess.

In the vernacular, I think what we're doing is called "chatting". I wasn't aware the "chat" police were making notes.

Since my background is stronger in language than in science, maybe I'll point out errors in grammar, syntax and spelling. I don't think much stupidity will be exposed, but some ignorance might be brought to light. Or, would that be rude and arrogant?

3 years ago I bought a pair of cheap FRS for exactly this purpose. $20.00 for the pair, with rechargeable batteries and chargers. They were cheap enough that I thought I would use them like SOMA was thinking. I thought they were 'disposable,' but they are still working well. I take one with me, and if My wife needs me to come back in, stop and pick up food, or whatever.
I would not rely on it for emergency use. I'll probably buy a VHF with the FRS capability for long trips, like Catalina.

The radio reaches as far as I can get on my lake, and almost as far as I'm willing to go in Mexico.

They also come in handy to talk between cars on trips. Also good for hunting and camping.