Cobra Submersible Handheld VHF $40

 Stumbled on to this in a Gander Mt. catalog. Found a few favorable reviews in a couple of yachty forums, and plopped down my plastic for one. Is it as good as an icom? Probably not, but it is submersible and best of all, cheap!

http://www.gandermountain.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?r=view&i=420054&pdesc=Cobra_HH300_Handheld_VHF_Radio&merchID=4005&str=hh300

Anybody have one? If not (once again):"give me the helmet, I'll be the stuntman".

damnitjim! i knew i paid too much for my uniden atlantis...

nice find..

Richard, I think you'd find that your Uniden is probably a better VHF than the Cobra.   Then again, I've never seen a side by side comparison of signal strength, battery life, and/or durability.

yeh, brian, was thinking the same thing, based on memories of the CB's my father had in the 60's and 70's..dad loved his cobra base stations, but wouldnt put anythign but unidens in the cars he owned.

over the years, traveling out to the back end of beyond like i did into some really rough countrysides, say like liberia, if i had to supply the radio, uniden/bearcat was my 1st choice..just plain always worked.   

but, dag, what a bargain if i were new[er] to yak fishin and needed a radio on a tight budget.....

 

I've actually had a good run with Cobra handhelds. Although I have not tested them in the wilds of darkest Africa, mine has worked well for a few years of abuse in the bottom of my boat. My only problem has been with the Li rechargeable battery and this one uses AA's or over the counter rechargeables.

Again, I would not compare it to a uniden or an icom, but $40 bucks would not buy the holster for either of those. Should be good entry level stuff and at that price point is almost disposable which is really important on my boat as its soooo easy to have them disappear over the side ( I hate that word "should")

Funny you should mention it WR, I have an Atlantis too. (That needs a new battery)

Wali,
i picked up the atlantis to replace the humminbird [ a gift from my paramour, she got it at a local Joe's]  that got hosed during my inadvertent surf swimming forays into the big blue at cape kiwanda back in sept. it's been dunked twice already and hasn't even hiccuped once.

the humminbird, on the other hand,,,i'm still waiting for them to honor the warranty and registration on it.. and am not holding my breath..

but, yeah, thats a great price point for entry level radio. always looked at it like this; even a cheap tool/radio/car/ house/computer/whatever, is better than no whateveritis in an emergency.
 

Got it today (wow, quick shipping!). Looks good.
The radio is a little smaller than the Atlantis, but bigger than most Icom's. The antenna, on the other hand, seems HUGE. Its not a 1/4 wave telescope like an old walkie-talky, but it looks long compared to the radio (Now that I notice it, rubber ducks are pretty much all the same length). Still, it seems a bit much to clip to the top of my PFD, but I'll figure something out. (hey, it was $40 bucks!)
 The seal on the battery tray looks good and seats itself well when you slide the tray into the radio, then locks with a 1/4 turn screw. Looks like it should be solidly splash-proof, but I would not take it snorkeling. Besides, its really hard to talk underwater.
 Got a new set of NiMH batteries charging and when they do, I'll have to go find somebody to talk to. Till then, the jury is still out,,,