Handheld VHF with removeable batteries for the grab bag

tudorsailor

tudorsailor

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I was reading an interesting thread about grab bag contents on the Cruisers Forum. Someone who actually had to abandon ship gave some lessons learned. One was that the handheld VHF needs to be one that can take ordinary AAA or AA batteries. So it can be packed with spare batteries in the grab bag.
Most radios have LiIon batteries. There are only a few that can take alkaline batteries
Can forumites recommend a radio that they have and like?
Thanks
TudorSailor
 
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http://www.marinescene.co.uk/view/231/raymarine-ray101e-handheld-vhf-radio
 
The Standard Horizon HX870E is an excellent waterproof floating DSC VHF, and it has a built-in GPS receiver. It has a high capacity 1800mAh Li-Ion battery, and an alkaline battery holder is available as an accessory. There's a water-activated strobe light too, which could be handy. I've had mine for a year or so, and like it very much. At about £180, it's great value.

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You can buy a case for disposable batteries for the Icom M35, and I have one for my M32. I would go for lithium rather than alkaline, by the way, as they have a far higher capacity and a longer shelf life. Hideously expensive, but worth it for important things.
 
Hello there, with all respects, if you choose a radio with the latest generation battery, and a normal on/off switch (eg Icom IC-M 71) it won't go flat in the grab bag during the course of a season, and will keep TX'ing from you liferaft until you die of thirst.
The advice is wrong in my opinion, the very last thing you will want to be doing, in a survival situation, is fannying about with AA Duracells. .
Happy new year to all, PL.
 
I wondered about having a cheaper HH VHF that stays in the grab bag and is not used routinely. My concern about having a more expensive unit that is used daily is making sure it gets into the grab bag in the pandemonium. The Cobra 125 is mid £50s but I think not as waterproof.
TudorSailor
 
Paddy Layback said:
Hello there, with all respects, if you choose a radio with the latest generation battery, and a normal on/off switch (eg Icom IC-M 71) it won't go flat in the grab bag during the course of a season, and will keep TX'ing from you liferaft until you die of thirst.
The advice is wrong in my opinion, the very last thing you will want to be doing, in a survival situation, is fannying about with AA Duracells. .
Happy new year to all, PL.
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There's some truth in what you say; Li-Ion batteries hold their charge fairly well, and latest generation radios tend to have high capacity batteries. But battery life is very dependent on the amount of transmitting, and I'd suggest that in a liferaft you might do rather a lot of that! The ability to stuff some AA batteries into the radio is therefore a feature worth having, if only for "peace of mind"!
 
tudorsailor said:
I wondered about having a cheaper HH VHF that stays in the grab bag and is not used routinely. My concern about having a more expensive unit that is used daily is making sure it gets into the grab bag in the pandemonium. The Cobra 125 is mid £50s but I think not as waterproof.
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As you say, the Cobra HH125 isn't waterproof, and it only has a 3 watt output power. I wouldn't want to rely on it in an emergency. If you want a cheapish dedicated grab-bag radio, you can get a floating waterproof 5 watt Standard Horizon HX300E for £99 or less.
 
Well might I humbly suggest that couple of spare Lithium (or the latest type) batteries would be the ideal solution?
Won't the dedicated, hi tech SH/Icom battery give a lot more minutes on transmit than random duracells?
Sure it would set you back a close to a hundred, I would guess.

Just out of interest, I have tried an SH HX851, the first DSC/GPS handheld, (which sounded ideal for the belt or grab bag in theory), and it EATS batteries for breakfast, lunch and Christmas dinner. Duracells would last about 25 minutes on a warm day..

No argument with any of your views, just that it's a subject of great interest to me ;)
 
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Paddy Layback said:
Well might I humbly suggest that couple of spare Lithium (or the latest type) batteries would be the ideal solution?
Won't the dedicated, hi tech SH/Icom battery give a lot more minutes on transmit than random duracells?
Sure it would set you back a close to a hundred, I would guess.
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Yes, may well be a better solution. Spare Li-Ion batteries for my HX870E are about £40 each.
 
My grab bag has a SH HX290 with its lithium pack and an AA battery holder. All batteries are unplugged as I do not trust modern electronics not to to have a slow long term discharge, even if the on/off appears to be all mechanical. All waterproof packaged. My GPS is a separate unit that takes AA, similarly packaged.
Agreed with elsewhere below, GPS in a VHF will help to eat batteries and I can turn my GPS on when I need it.
KISS
 
tudorsailor said:
I wondered about having a cheaper HH VHF that stays in the grab bag and is not used routinely. My concern about having a more expensive unit that is used daily is making sure it gets into the grab bag in the pandemonium. The Cobra 125 is mid £50s but I think not as waterproof.
TudorSailor
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I've also been considering the little cobra as a cheap grab bag option and because it takes AA cells if which the grab bag contains a couple of dozen. It's power output doesn't worry me because I would be using it not to call for help (I have PLBs for that) but to talk to rescue once nearby. However I am concerned that it's not waterproof enough. My current HH lives by the companionway and is waterproof, hopefully it would come with me if ditching but I would be worried about capacity of its internal, non-replaceable battery.
 
pvb said:
If you want a cheapish dedicated grab-bag radio, you can get a floating waterproof 5 watt Standard Horizon HX300E for £99 or less.
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This is an attractive option. I was already thinking of adding an Anker powerpack to the grab bag to charge phone(s). This would also charge the HX300 too

Thanks for all the input.

TudorSailor
 
Force 4 are selling the HX300E for £100, as are Gael Force. The alkaline tray from Force 4 is £18. Personally I am very wary of using alkaline batteries for emergency kit as they tend to have a fairly short shelf life in a marine environment unless you leave them in a sealed packet and I'm not sure I want to be opening a packet of batteries and fitting them into a device in an emergency. I have an Alkaline tray for my H/H but the battery life is pretty short - if I had my own boat I think I'd go for an extra Li-Ion battery and charger and hope I could grab it when needed rather than faff around with alkaline.
 
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