# UHF Handheld radio - what to get??



## Peril (Sep 5, 2005)

Motorola has been in the radio business since Faraday was a boy, so I wouldn't discount them. I don't mid their phones either.

I bought a pair of UHF radios because they were cheap. However, there are a few negatives:

* UHF is not monitored so you can't count them as a safety device;

* range seems to be much less than the published figures;

* a waterproof one will set you back as much as a waterproof VHF;

* when I put one in a waterproof bag, it severely curtailed the range;

* many bozos use them - Roberta you don't want to listen to their infantile prattling;

* one rolling and one day out in rough seas means no more radios.

I bought a VHF instead. It will particularly serve me when I fish out on the wobbly alone


----------



## BATMAN (Mar 28, 2008)

Hiya

It all depends on how you are going to use it but if you are only going to be a 100 yards away from each other in yaks then the cheaper units will do you fine.

I purchased an IECOM top of the range radio that gives me about 5km line of site but when I added a extra long external antenna it gave me approx 20-25km depending on terrain. I wanted this set up when riding motorbikes and combined with throat mics I could keep in contact with my mate and other riders. We used to send a guy up the road to the top of the mountain and he would report back on things like road conditions, traffic, mr plod etc....as a group it kept things safe.

I would highly recomend sing one if you are going to paddle distances in open water and in difficult weather, make sure you know the marine channels.

Cheers

Batty


----------



## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

ive got a pair of crappy Oricom ones which came free with a dodgy set of home phones I bought. I think they are 0.5w but the range of up to 2-3km does me fine most of the time on group trips where I'm usually within a km or 2 of my paddling buddies. they wont work if theres any line of sight interference eg if one of you is behind a headland etc, but so far they've served me well for what I use them for.


----------



## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

arpie said:


> I like the idea of having 2 so that when I yak with someone else, they can stay in touch .... don't want to spend a fortune tho!


Roberta 
This is what I use mine for just fishing mate contact....I bought variable 1w or 0.5w and after a few uses rarely use 1w, with 0.5w being adequate for a couple of kms apart.

Dave rightly says chatter is a problem, in our case its generally, builders, truckies etc but we can overide them to talk because of a closeness on the water and we are not parrots anyway, maybe 20 words in a session.. I just blank out the chatter unless I hear Dodge or Richo spoken

The water proofing I did just with a ziplock sandwich bag with no signal affect and can talk and receive through the bag OK...I use a 2 hole paper punch to punch a hole *outside* the zip for the a lanyard and the UHF is fully sealed inside the bag


----------



## yankatthebay (Dec 14, 2007)

I just have one of those cheapo UHF radios. I have it in a waterproof bag from Aquapac (got a VHF in the other aquapac, dont ask how I got 2 of them).
I only expect to need the UHF for short range so I am not worried about a bigger antenna or higher power. If you do want the extra power, it might be cheaper to get a 0.5W model and add a bigger antenna to it. You have to remember that for every 3dB you add to the antenna strength, you double the power.
So if you have a 2dB antenna by default and you change it for a 5dB one, your 0.5W model becomes a 1W model. If you add an 8dB antenna instead, you get a 2W model, 11dB gives you a 4W model, etc, etc, etc.

It actually makes me wonder if the power of the radio is actually 0.5W or if they are just adding up the power, plus the antenna gain on the labels. Need to use a wave analyzer to test that theory.

Anyways, I use the VHF as my security device, not the UHF. Since VHF has better range and gives good security out to sea, which you probably aren't going to need in a hurry. Just need a UHF to tell the stinkboats not to run you over, which I thankfully have not needed to do...yet.


----------



## Joffa (Nov 8, 2007)

I just bought a new Cobra VHF for around $200 from C H Smith marine. I do have some cheap UHF radios, but felt that on the water VHF was the go. Its IPX 7 rated (waterproof at 1 meter for 30 mins). Dont know if it floats yet, but felt this was good to keep in my PFD. Just my ramblings....


----------

