# Who uses VHF and/or UHF radios?



## Gibbo

Occy,

I think you make a valid point re. an EPIRB vs a VHF/UHF radio. Can you elaborate on the price, size and robustness of the VHF/UHF option for those of us who aren't across these details?


----------



## Dodge

Occy there is a trend starting to show up here with UHF handhelds on the yaks.

At Poona a couple of weeks ago Ross/meoldchina was able to make enough regular contact with Tony/yaker despite not having line of sight through the mangroves islands...line of sight all is OK and great at sea with nothing to block the signal.

I'm a definite supporter of UHF and will buy one in support with another member [in discussions] as best deals are when sold as a pair of units, my preference is GME and 2 pack is $140 at Whitworths in latast catalog


----------



## Grazza

I agree Occy, the VHF is more widely used on the big blue but the UHF has proven to be quite handy. I have a hand held and a unit in my vehicle so the chook can track my movements if I'm not where I'm supposed to be


----------



## Dodge

occy said:


> Dodge you are spot on with the GME model by the way. It's a beaut little unit I hear.


Yes mate have used GME in 27Mhz [30 yrs]and 5W VHF [18yrs] and we found it out performed most other local brands, which is why I'm biased to them.

UHF is really only practical in company with another mate and that is how we would mostly fish when assistance needs other help available.

If I was going offshore alone regularly I would mount a 5W VHF as they are as water resistant as sounders


----------



## noboat

For solo missions I would get a VHF for saftey and for yak to yak coms you can't beat a cheap UHF. 
It all depends what you wan't to do with the unit.


----------



## Nodds

Hi all,
you can get a Humminbird 55s handheld VHF radio for $139. buy it now price from e-bay.

or a Uniden atlantis marine radio for $165. buy it now price.

As soon as I sell my ute I will be buy'n my first yak, and yes OCCY I will be getting a VHF for going out side. I think it's a small price to pay to feel safer in a place that is not real big on second chances.

Paul

PS I just want to say THANK U ALL. I have laughed and learned a lot.


----------



## Grazza

Dodge said:


> Yes mate have used GME in 27Mhz [30 yrs]and 5W VHF [18yrs] and we found it out performed most other local brands, which is why I'm biased to them.
> 
> UHF is really only practical in company with another mate and that is how we would mostly fish when assistance needs other help available.
> 
> If I was going offshore alone regularly I would mount a 5W VHF as they are as water resistant as sounders


 That's sound advice Dodge, will look into VHF before I head for the coast next. :wink:


----------



## JT

Can anyone shed some light on what is involved in getting the official license to use a VHF on the water e.g. time required, cost etc?

JT


----------



## troppo

I have 2x uhf handhelds but have rarely used them when yakking. Often I am out by myself so I can simply yell out if I want to get my attention, don't need radio. I took one once when I went out to sea by myself and told my wife I had it so if I got lost, have someone monitor UHF. Main reason I don't use em more is I have had problems with the rechargeable batteries or is it the recharger? Whatever, I have bought a stack of rechargeables and they only last a few minutes. :x

When out with Meoldchina off Mooloolaba, he loaned me one of his hand held uhf radios and it was extremely useful. He had it in a waterproof bag so if I vomited, it would be safe. Once he said about baitfish schooling and I hadn't noticed, so very useful

I have used the uhf in the past for various activities and the capability to talk easily with folk who are a km or so away is simply fantastic.


----------



## justcrusin

Gday Paul,
I voted in the been thinking about it, but it's really the want to buit can't afford it yet.

Cheers Dave


----------



## spooled1

We use cheap Oricom UHF handsets and store them in those BigW dry bags.

Performance depends a lot on swell size. The book reckons 2km range but its more like 300M in a decent swell. When its flat the range is fine.

The Chinglish instruction manual discusses repeater stations but that is beyond my scope of comprehension.


----------



## Dodge

spooled1 said:


> We use cheap Oricom UHF handsets and store them in those BigW dry bags.
> 
> Performance depends a lot on swell size. The book reckons 2km range but its more like 300M in a decent swell. When its flat the range is fine.


Dan I have been researching solidly in recent weeks because I intend going UHF

Evident is all sets under about $50 are in fact 0.5W units and perhaps the Oricom comes it that catagory, I met a bloke on Hinze Dam using Oricom and he found it great on the flat water and his was a small watt model.

1W sets in known brands are about $70+ each, if bought as a two pack, which is what I have arranged in cohorts with another AKFF member


----------



## slider65

You can buy a compact 5w UHF that is only a bit larger than the .5w for about $250.00. uniden make a good one


----------



## RedPhoenix

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

----

QlpoOTFBWSZTWfTyMTwAACDfgAASVI//MABBVgAv797gIACEIqfooeTSD1NPSNqGmjyPSBtQimg0wJ6QAAAAAdwZMSDksl+LfKuxpKxzoaC31TxJS56OhPh/urZcEZQcoYX3+PkT900c4RFKRAndlvXpmhBmFOurw5CWQN+oM1dAkvCFhRSxILJCEw6iYukC1klzOhAlQTmgYgf+jxOpBjRAd4HCq5Y/c275Un8XckU4UJD08jE8


----------



## Dodge

redphoenix said:


> Pack of 4 Uniden UH036sx-4's "up to 3+ km", $99 from Harris Technology:
> http://www.ht.com.au/N/0/keyword/uniden ... detail.hts
> 
> Not waterproof though.


Red thats good buying for the 1/2 watt sets at $25 ea no worries with waterproofing just a ziplock bag

Thanks for the info Slider but for that sort of money VHF would be better I think, I'm happy with the closer range of 1W UHF for my needs at only $70


> buy a compact 5w UHF that is only a bit larger than the .5w for about $250.00


----------



## FishinDan

You beat me to it Dodge. That is a fantastic price!

You could even splurge and get an Aquapac from Whitworths or something, and still have it for about $50.


----------



## JD

I know I'm a bit late for this topic, but, my son bought some cheaper uhfs and finds they chew the batteries quickly. Just a thought for anyone pondering spending $s on radios.


----------



## lonewolf

i use the icom m33 vhf,and find it a very good set for what i need/costÂ£141


----------



## wolfy

Re the licensing question - you don't need one to use it in an emergency situation, but you would to "chatter."


----------



## lonewolf

wolfy said:


> Re the licensing question - you don't need one to use it in an emergency situation, but you would to "chatter."


we use them over here for emergency,and to chatter,ofcom is the licensing over here.we operate on a channel that is arranged by us on the day we go out,the coastguard give constant weather reports to which are very handy


----------



## Lureme

I use UHF GME and Uniden, the GME being 5w and the Uniden 4x.5w [cost $84.0 on ebay to my door] and 1x2w, I use them at work so why not on the Yak.
Also get yourself a couple of "Crack of Dawn Dry Storage Bag for a Cell/ Mobile Phone or Radio" from ebay as they are great as ziplock bags fail [killed one UHF on the Caloundra bar  ].


----------



## Phoenix

Uniden Atlantis for me. I usually go kayaking with the wife - so great if one of us wanders/ drifts off.


----------



## Eberbachl

I have a pair of Uniden UHF 40ch 0.5w handhelds.

Whilst not waterproof, they have taken numerous splashes without complaint.

The performance is good for 0.5w, and the battery perfomance is outstanding with rechargeable Nickel Metal batteries.

I think they're fantastic for yak to yak communications, or to be able to contact your significant other who's waiting on the beach or in the car. For those purposes they excel!

I don't think they'e very useful for emergency comms though. You might get lucky and raise somebody in the area who can relay a message for you, but Marine VHF is a far better bet. I've been thinking about buying a waterproof Marine UHF to be able to contact the coastguard, and get weather reports etc...

If I were doing any sort of offshore stuff, I'd have an EPIRB attached to my person somewhere


----------

