what handhelf VHF have you got and what would you recommend please?

[Dockhead]

I've had various handhelds from all the makers over the years.

Current primary HH is the SH HX851. I don't like it. It's very bulky, too bulky to really keep on your person. Has terrible battery life and no battery gauge. It does have an AAA battery tray, but it won't work on lithium AAA cells. Sound quality is good, but HH's like the latest Icoms with DSP are much better. Battery tray is essential if you want to use the HH in the ditch bag (one of the main uses of a DSC HH).

The new Icom DSC HH looks great, but no battery tray!!! I am tempted to buy one and use it as the primary HH, and keep the SH for the ditch bag.

There is a Midlands DSC HH which is highly rated, best on test in some U.S. tests. Don't know if it's sold in the UK.

I had a Cobra HH325 which was dirt cheap and surprisingly excellent. Very good sound, better controls than the SH, real quality device despite the ridiculous price (I think less than 100 pounds). Very good battery life. No DSC. Stolen in Cherbourg on my very first Scuttlebutt Rally some years ago.

I am waiting for someone to make a DSC handheld which is extremely compact (so you could keep it in your lifejacket pocket), has excellent battery life, has a battery tray and is designed to work on lithium cells, and has DSP sound. And which is charged with a Micro-USB 5v charger so you don't have to have a separate dedicated charger for it. Has coaxial rotary audio gain/squelch controls like the lovely controls on the Cobra. And which works on VHF/UHF amateur radio bands, but I guess that last point is already getting into unrealistic fantasy land.

 

[TonyBuckley]

I can tell you what NOT to buy ! I made the mistake of ordering a waterproof, non floaty Silva S12 then not using it for a while ( ie guarantee to return ) - it's useless, squelch is in digital steps; at one step roaring static, next down everything silenced !

My SH is a bit like that but the digital steps are small enough to be usable. It was a present and works well, but if I bought another today, I would prefer one with an analogue rotary squelch.

But the battery lasts forever!

 

[baltic]

I've got a standard horizon HX260E seems like I've had it for ever use it more than my fixed dsc set calling marina staff etc its given great service and that charge seems to go a long time between charges

 

[nicho]

I'm not bothered about USB charging, but I'm surprised an included 12v charger is so rare. My Cobra handheld came with one in the box.

Pete

I'm thinking of a Cobra - are they OK?

 

[Biggles Wader]

I have a Cobra 325.It serves my (limited)purpose well.I did have the smaller Cobra(125?)but it failed the throwing overboard test.:ambivalence:

 

[Momac]

I recently bought an Icom M23.
http://www.gaelforcemarine.co.uk/41290/Icom-M23-Handheld-VHF-Radio.html
I haven't had a chance to try it yet. Up to now I have only used a fixed vhf .
It's quite compact and light weight which is good. Looks and feels good quality and adequately robust . Chunky enough to keep a good grip on it in cold wet conditions I imagine. It Floats and flashes.

 

[Scubadoo]

I recently bought the Standard Horizon HX851E... Purely based on the fact it was Standard Horizon and it had built in GPS/DSC..

Happy with it.. clear sound.. floats.. but eeish, it's big for little hands! (oh and the 12v charging lead for the supplied cradle is usually an optional extra)

When I compared the SH HX851E and the Icom IC-M91D (both pretty much same spec) at the boat show, I found the HX851e awkward to hold properly (a bit bulky) and ended up with the Icom. The Icom has given great service so far and no problems, battery last well too.

 

[Scubadoo]

One thing to note if you buy a DSC handheld, they are not legal in Europe yet, just the UK (unless that has changed recently?).

 

[MarcJ]

I have the Standard Horizon HX300E and froth about it regularly to others...

The Key Selling Point for me is - It's the only Handheld currently available that comes with a USB charger instead of forcing a 230v wall charger on you with the *aftermarket accessory* of a 12v charger! The box includes a wallplug that the USB cable can go into for 230v charging, or you can charge off a laptop, car radio, emergency power stick, and so on....

it has a Mini-USB charging point protected by a sealed spring-loaded door - this means the charging point is genuinely waterproof as opposed to the rear contact style adopted by many models. Floats, Waterproof to IPX7 and has a Flashing Red LED when it touches water.

I upgraded to this one from the HX290 and wow, what a difference, the sound is crisp and clear, much more than the 290 was, it's light, compact, and fits in the hand really nicely, making it comfortable and easy to operate.

I'd recommend this model to anyone, and often do!!!

+1 seems a very good build quality!

 

[nicho]

I have a Cobra 325.It serves my (limited)purpose well.I did have the smaller Cobra(125?)but it failed the throwing overboard test.:ambivalence:

I use an Icom hand-held as standby radio in the aircraft in case the fixed units fail It's very good but it was very expensive, and there's no real alternative for aviation. I'm thinking of the new Cobra HH350, at £99.95 in the Force4 catalogue.

We don't get the boat for another couple of weeks, and the fixed RD68 is fine, so I just want a standby, and the 350 looks like it will fit the bill.......unless someone knows different!

 

[mrming]

Another vote for the Standard Horizon HX280E. Great price, great battery life and nice build quality. The ship's radio is barely on since I got it.

 

[Gwylan]

Pi££ed off with ICon on the rechargeable battery change and the expense of converting perfectly good radio

New battery, charger and so on.

Bought a new Cobra MH325 for much less than the ICon upgrade option.

And It will be a deal hammer substitute. Built like a brick outhouse and the batteries seem to last forever. Become the radio of choice for the cockpit, over the hormonal ICom command mike that is installed.

 

[Artic Warrior]

Icom ....the battery lasts amazingly long without charging

 

[prv]

I have a Cobra HH325, bought about five or six years ago. Definitely looking rather the worse for wear since it fell unnoticed into the bottom of a small RIB on a rough day (so rough we had to abandon the trip) and spent an hour or so being battered around the metalwork and abrasive non-slip, mostly underwater. The battery pack had come off and was eventually found in the drainage sump.

The only damage was that the battery clip had broken, but I managed to replace that with a bit of bent stainless quite easily. Otherwise lots of scuffs but nothing affecting the function. The body of the radio is metal, which no doubt helped.

I would rate Standard Horizon a better make, but Cobra is certainly respectable, and tend to be good value for the features and accessories included.

Pete

 

[FishyInverness]

On an entirely objective point of view, I would say perhaps avoid the newer Cobra models for the moment - i've seen more HH350's returned with problems in the short time they've been sold through work than I was expecting. This could just be a quirk or just bad luck, but it caught my interest.

and unless you only use your radio in sheltered areas like marina or canals, then avoid the Cobra HH125 like the plague, like I said on here before, it should have buzz lightyear painted on it and sold in pairs to kids...awful, awful radio (just seen one mysteriously "lose" channels M1 and M2?!). The Older HH475/330 (if I recall model numbers correctly) were great little things, bombproof and packed with features for the price, i'm amazed they discontinued them...

 

[prv]

I defer to Fishy's expertise

I have one radio, he sells lots of them.

Pete

 

[FishyInverness]

I defer to Fishy's expertise

I have one radio, he sells lots of them.

Pete

True but don't always listen to me, I don't get to play with them all (I wish!) I have owned in my time an HH125 (Awful), Midland Atlantic XT (Better, but not great), S/H HX280 (Good but like carrying a brick), HX290 (See HX280 but perhaps with less mortar!) and HX300e (Really good) - I would also rate the ICOM M23 for everyday leisure use if it was a bit more versatile on the charging choices!

 

[jwilson]

Have two Cobras, one HH300 now 9 years old, still OK, one HH325 three years old. Not the toytown HH125 models though. Both work well and have proper knob-adjust squelch and volume, and easy access to M1/M2. Also they come with all the extras.

The Silva I had was rubbish, glad when it got dropped into a wet RIB floor and died. Have also used a Raymarine h/h and did not like it.

Icom and SH are the premium brands though there really does not to me seem much wrong with Cobras.

 

[surekandoo]

I have a very nice Raymarine with a detachable battery pack that would take 6 x AA batteries if the charger went duff

+1 my first handheld was an Icom. The cost of replacing the battery pack was astronomic, so I replaced it with the Raymarine.

 

[rbmatthews]

Also SH HX851E. Seems very easy to use once you have played around with the menus. Can use it to check that fixed Dsc is actually working. Had to buy 12v charging lead for £10. Battery life seems good and GPS fix is quick. Quite large but waterproof and floating means it is a good emergency aid.

Richard

We have the HX851E also. Very pleased with it; the only complaint is that the screen is easily scratched - ours was inadvertantly left upside down on the GRP, bounced up and down for a bit, and ended up with so many scratches on the screen that the lower part of the display is now unreadable. Its probably best to leave the protective film on or make sure that it always is screen side up.