Recommend me a hand held VHF

[st599]

If the operator is licensed, he can operate on a rig ginned up out of baling wire and old vacuum tubes, if he can make it work on the permitted frequencies. Kind of the point of amateur radio.

With the caveat that most of the amateur bands are at multiples of frequencies, so if you do design a crap output stage, the harmonics ruin other Ham bands. That's not true of the Marine band.

 

[wonkywinch]

With the caveat that most of the amateur bands are at multiples of frequencies, so if you do design a crap output stage, the harmonics ruin other Ham bands. That's not true of the Marine band.

Not true. Not all ham bands are harmonics of each other. Take the 2m band for example (almost adjacent to the marine SRC band).

2nd harmonics of the marine band could potential interfere with aviation ILS (instrument landing system) frequencies and 3rd harmonics emergency service communications.

If anyone chooses to buy a $10 Baefungdung transceiver and use it in the UK, and plenty of people do, I don't see that as any different from other selfish behaviours like not having or using black water tanks in bays or rivers. Users just don't see the trail of crap they leave behind.

 

[Dockhead]

With the caveat that most of the amateur bands are at multiples of frequencies, so if you do design a crap output stage, the harmonics ruin other Ham bands. That's not true of the Marine band.

Maybe not so much harmonics, but a baling wire output stage may certainly splatter across adjacent frequencies.
Liddish, but not prohibited on the amateur bands so long as you are not violating any of your various no harmful interference obligations.

 

[Mark-1]

2nd harmonics of the marine band could potential interfere with aviation ILS (instrument landing system) frequencies

Doesn't really detract from your point but google says Marine Band is 156-162 MHz and ILS is 108-112 MHz, or 329-335 MHz for glide scopes. So no overlap of the 2nd harmonics.

I'd have thought the low hanging fruit would be for Trading Standards to utterly stamp on importers of counterfeit radios. That's already illegal, easy to prove and damaging UK businesses.

 

[wonkywinch]

Doesn't really detract from your point but google says Marine Band is 156-162 MHz and ILS is 108-112 MHz, or 329-335 MHz for glide scopes. So no overlap of the 2nd harmonics.

I'd have thought the low hanging fruit would be for Trading Standards to utterly stamp on importers of counterfeit radios. That's already illegal, easy to prove and damaging UK businesses.

Twice 162.00 is 324.00 MHz which pretty close to the glide slope band (328.60 to 335.40MHz) so a bit of spectral splatter from a cheap transceiver could easily interfere with the glideslope receiver of an approaching aircraft. It's why you need a licence to transmit so you have knowledge of these potential issues.