VHF Radios

[Ricardo Caivano]

Any recommendations on handheld VHF marine radios? I tend to dislike too many bells and whistles...

Thank you much

[gyork]

You might start HERE

[David M]

Ricardo, I've had this one for a few years with no issues.   It's a basic model with few if any bells and whistles.  Reviews were quite positive when I bought it.

STANDARD HORIZON HX300 Compact Floating Handheld VHF Radio with USB Charger | West Marine

[mhabich]

I have Icom M93.  It has DSC, which is a cross between a bell and a whistle, and therefore is large and hard to fit in a lifejacket.  Icom does make simpler good radios.  Be sure you get one that floats.

[Ricardo Caivano]

Thank you!

 

[gyork]

Most importantly, IMHO, figure out how to attach to your PFD.

[EEL]

I am likely missing something, but I do not see the advantage of a floating radio and instead see potential disadvantages.  Like Gary, I believe the radio should be tethered to the PFD if you are going to have it "at the ready".  In that case why is floating necessary?  Maybe easier to retrieve?  On the other hand, to make a floating radio, it must have a specific gravity of less than one and to accomplish that the manufacturers in the past have used lighter materials, smaller batteries, and increased, less dense volume.  They are getting better, but those traits are not positive ones to me.

As for selecting a radio, here are some general random thoughts. If you paddle solo and/or in consequential environments, consider a DSC model. It provides an enhanced level of help for keeping a bad day one in which you dodge the farm again to one in which you don't. Play with any radio you are considering.  Does it have a solid and tough heft?  See how it fits in you hand with and without gloves you might wear.  How easy is it to use with cold water gloves?  How are buttons placed and how easy to select? How easily and well does the radio scan selected channels, perform dual watch, and respond to weather alerts?  These are often used modes of operation so ease of use important.  How clear and loud is the audio? How easy to read is the display in bright sunlight? Is the display cluttered or simple? How stiff is the antenna (seriously, a flexible antenna is much better)?  How secure is the battery pack attachment and is there a gasket?  When you remove the battery pack, what are the contacts like, is there any indication water could easily intrude on the electronics?  Any exposed metal on the radio?  Are exposed charging contacts gold plated and/or replaceable? Its a bummer to have a fully functional radio with iffy, irreplaceable corroded charging contacts. What jacks are on the radio and how are they "sealed"?  Personally I do not like any jacks because even if they are watertight, they will corrode and become iffy unless sealed well as in a couple of layers of electrical tape.  The listed RF specifications for most radios are quite close, but not a bad idea to check receive sensitivity by comparing how many NOAA WX stations you can receive when checking radios. Overall, the two good manufacturers readily available are Icom and Standard Horizon, but don't assume that means any radio from them will be good.

Nerdy stuff.  Some radios are rated for 6 watts and some are rated 5 watts. This is an insignificant difference and should be ignored when selecting a radio. You may notice that some models are available as "intrinsically safe" versions.  Those models are commercial grade radios.  Commercial grade as opposed to consumer grade models are made to "take a beating and keep on ticking" and to do so for a long time.  Given the abuse a kayaker's radio is often subjected to, a radio more in the commercial grade line might be a better choice.  My opinion  is manufacturers do not design/make marine HT radios for the use kayakers subject them to in terms of water exposure.  Saying a radio is IPX7 or 8 rated is simply saying the radio can be submerged once in quiet water for a brief period of time, taken out, and the water intrusion will be minor and not keep the radio from working.  It does not mean the same can be said if the radio is repeatedly subjected to being submerged over years, if it is subjected to dynamic water forces, or if the controls are used when wet.  Let alone the cumulative impact of being consistently subjected to a very corrosive environment.  Also, having an IPX 7 or 8 ratings does not mean a radio will meet lower IPX ratings.  For example the IPX5 and 6  rating  tests the ability of a device to survive being subjected to jets of water ( think being hammered by a wave), but I am unaware of a marine HT radio having an  IPX5 or 6 rating.  Interestingly, fixed mount marine radios with IPX 6 and 7/8 ratings are readily available.

Ed Lawson

 

[Ricardo Caivano]

Thank you Ed for the very detail recommendations on what to look for in a radio.  Ricardo

[billvoss]

If you want DSC in a handheld, here are the choices I'm currently aware of:

• Standard Horizon HX890 for around $200
• Cobra MR HH600 for around $210, adds a Bluetooth feature where it acts as a smart phone headset.
• Icom  H94D for around $350, adds AIS.

From a safety perspective, I strongly prefer a radio able to send out a distress signal digitally with GPS coordinates.

However, you can certainly purchase a much cheaper radio without DSC, and any VHF radio is much better than no VHF radio.

[Pintail]

You lot: what does DSC stand for, please?  What does AIS stand for, too?

Lord, you'd think we were all experts here, with the acronyms flying around all over the place...

[Jim Snyder]

You lot???

From my HX870 manual:

From the Google:

 The automatic identification system, or AIS, transmits a ship's position so that other ships are aware of its position. The International Maritime Organization and other management bodies require large ships, including many commercial fishing vessels, to broadcast their position with AIS in order to avoid collisions.

For more alphabet soup, you have to have a MMSI to use DSC.

[EEL]

DSC= digital selective calling.  In practical terms it is a feature of a radio with GPS and vessel ID set (important components) that enables the operator in distress to punch a button and a digital distress call will be sent using the vessels GPS coordinates and an identification number.  Part of the DSC system is also that any nearby vessels will automatically retransmit the distress call if they receive it which increases the odds the distress call will be heard by an appropriate agency like the CG to respond. 

AIS= automatic identification system.  In practical terms it is a radio system which functions as a  transponder broadcasting at regular intervals and provides information about the vessel as well as speed and course.  Websites that display ship data  are using data from AIS systems.  https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:-37.2/centery:40.0/zoom:4

For fun, pick a vessel close to shore and click on it.  You can drill down and get a good deal of info.  A ham radio friend of mine likes to contact hams onboard ships and uses AIS to find out about the ship he has contacted.

There is a lot to be said for having a properly setup DSC equipped radio as it provides enhanced ability to have a distress signal heard and acted upon.  Not the least of which the rescue service will have very good location information.

 

Ed

[billvoss]

22 hours ago, Pintail said:

You lot: what does DSC stand for, please?  What does AIS stand for, too?

Lord, you'd think we were all experts here, with the acronyms flying around all over the place...

Sorry Pintail.  I first learned about digital selective calling (DSC) back in 2010 when I bought my first marine radio for kayaking.  Which is also when I learned about Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) numbers, which act as a globally unique identification number for a vessel.  Among other things, a DSC VHF radio can use an MMSI number sort of like a phone number to call a specific vessel.

Pragmatically, the main reason for a kayaker to have a digital selective calling (DSC) VHF radio (with GPS, but that combination seems to be standard now), is it will have a simple emergency button, lift cover, push button.  Once that button is pushed, the radio will repeatedly send out a digital SOS which includes your GPS coordinates until some other radio, usually the Coast Guard's around here, digitally acknowledges the SOS.  Also every other DSC VHF radio within range will beep or otherwise alert their operator of the SOS.  Even my little hand held radio beeped at me quite insistently when it picked up an SOS.  The vessels with fancy electronic charting systems integrated with their AIS and VHF systems will also see your GPS coordinates marked on their chart.

You can also send a digital Pan-Pan or Sécurité signal with GPS coordinates using the radio's menu system.  In all three cases, the Coast Guard is very likely to immediately notice your signal, and the other ships in your vicinity are also very likely to notice your signal.

With a verbal SOS, Pan-Pan, or Sécurité some human has to hear and recognize what you are saying.  Then they have to ask you where you are, and understand your answer, assuming you accurately know where you are.  Alternatively, the Coast Guard has pretty good direction finding systems, but nothing close to GPS accuracy.  The Coast Guard also doesn't have 100% coverage close to land where kayakers tend to play.

If everyone you were paddling with had a DSC VHF radio some of the other DSC features like group calling, and position polling could potentially be useful.  However, DSC is not required on handhelds, so I've never used the other DSC features while kayaking.

The automatic identification system or AIS was developed to prevent collisions.  The electronics have been working their way down from large ships where it has been mandated since before I started kayaking, to smaller and smaller boats as costs have plunged.  The main point of AIS from a kayaker's perspective is to be able to identify and directly call a bigger boat equipped with AIS if it is on a collision course.  Note that the Icom H94D only RECEIVES the AIS information, it does not transmit AIS information.  However, that still means a kayaker could identify the ship's name and the MMSI of every large vessel within sight, and call one directly using their DSC radio if desired.  I can see that being especially useful at busy crossings.

Here is a review of the Icom H94D radio which discusses the benefits of having AIS in a handheld in more detail.

[Joseph Berkovitz]

Here are another couple of things to throw into this mix. I’m not advocating for any particular option here, these are just choices that may be relevant for kayakers alongside (not instead of) VHF radios. I think redundancy is good.

- your smartphone can give you your GPS coordinates to verbally relay over a VHF call even if you have no cell signal. On iPhones this is on the built in Compass app.

- the coast guard can use your smartphone to locate you if you do have a cell signal. Typically this would be in response to a 911 call but one could also give ones phone number over a regular VHF distress call. 

- if you do have a cell signal, calling 911 or a local marine authority can be a good choice alongside a VHF call.  For example the local Harbormaster in Marblehead has told me to always call his office via the police dept. if in trouble OtW nearby, as he can respond faster than the time it takes for CG to figure out to call him. 

- satellite based devices like SPOT or Garmin inReach are another (although pricey) possible complement to DSC radios as they connect you with a dispatch center even when VHF or cell can’t reach anyone. If you are in Maine offshore and outside of of a rocky island you may not have VHF line of sight to anyone or anything. 

obviously to leverage any of these options you need to be able to use these other devices in a tough situation in the water. With practice, a good waterproof case (and something to brush water off the screen) it can be done. 

[Jim Snyder]

I've often thought it would be a good idea to do a simulated rescue situation in cooperation with Coast Guard and others where an incident escalated along a planned path and have a rescue drill. Maybe I can find someone to cooperate.

[Joseph Berkovitz]

Bay Area Sea Kayakers do this without the coast guard - they have zoom workshops, with video turned off and different members role-playing paddlers and CG operators and nearby boats in breakout rooms. I have never attended one of these but I heard people learned a lot from trying it. I would bet it starts to feel pretty realistic pretty fast. If you like I can find out more. 

[EEL]

Bill wrote:  "With a verbal SOS, Pan-Pan, or Sécurité some human has to hear and recognize what you are saying.  Then they have to ask you where you are, and understand your answer, assuming you accurately know where you are.  Alternatively, the Coast Guard has pretty good direction finding systems, but nothing close to GPS accuracy.  The Coast Guard also doesn't have 100% coverage close to land where kayakers tend to play. "

Very good points. Verbal communication can be more difficult than expected and lack of accurate location info can be a huge issue.  I suspect we have all heard the CG ask for help in locating a vessel which has indicated they have a problem, but could not provide accurate and precise location information.  I believe CG signal triangulation is at best @1 degree accurate which is no small error looking for a needle in a haystack. The signal strength needed for good verbal communication is much greater than needed for digital protocols like DSC which is another important consideration. Here is coverage map for CG VHF coverage in NE. Coverage maps are calculated and not the result of empirical tests.   They assume a 1 watt transmitter 2M above ocean surface.  They do not indicate antenna performance, but assume they are thinking fixed mount antennas.  Our handhelds have miserable antennas in comparison and the difference in height matters as well. Note the gaps in coverage in Maine which might be relevant to kayakers as Bill said.  Those gaps apply to voice and DSC as DSC uses one of the VHF marine channels.

As Joseph said redundancy is good and it is always possible to be in a location where your radio is essentially useless because nobody will hear you. Something to consider when assessing risk and gear to have.

Ed Lawson

[billvoss]

3 hours ago, Joseph Berkovitz said:

- satellite based devices like SPOT or Garmin inReach are another (although pricey) possible complement to DSC radios as they connect you with a dispatch center even when VHF or cell can’t reach anyone. If you are in Maine offshore and outside of of a rocky island you may not have VHF line of sight to anyone or anything.

I also carry a now rather old personal locator beacon (PLB) to cover the no VHF reception scenario.  I went with the PLB approach because it does not require a subscription, and international standards required a reliable device.  The downside of international standards is that the commercial market gets to use the latest and greatest technology, while the international standards market remains stuck with old technology.  The other downside of a PLB is that it is an EMERGENCY ONLY device.  While commercial devices like the SPOT or Garmin inReach let you send non-emergency messages, which effectively let you routinely test your satellite communication system.  On the other hand the commercial services make most of their money with subscriptions, not from the original equipment sale.  So over time you tend to spend more with commercial services.

Ideally, carrying three radios, cell, DSC w/ GPS VHF, and a satellite communication device is the fully paranoid approach.  However, do remember if it is not on your body, you don't have it.  (Basically, don't assume you are still with your kayak and its contents in an emergency.)