Question about VHF (marine) radios

Hello... I'm new to the kayaking scene. I've done lot's of freshwater fishing, but never had a need for a marine radio. I was just wondering if there is any licensing required. I have an Extra-class Ham radio ticket, but as I said, I've never had the need for a marine VHF rig, until now.

Wut's da scoop?

No license required for marine VHF, just charge it and use it. 

73,
Jay (K6JRS)

No license required for marine VHF, just charge it and use it. 

73,
Jay (K6JRS)

Tanks dooood! 

Hello, also new to the kayaking scene.  Anyone have suggestions on what specific Brand/Model of VHF radio to get and why?   I'm still looking and weighing options... 

Hello, also new to the kayaking scene.  Anyone have suggestions on what specific Brand/Model of VHF radio to get and why?   I'm still looking and weighing options... 

Yeah, I could also use some suggestions on what would be a good value in a hand held VHF marine radio. Something pretty basic, waterproof, and inexpensive. i am spending so much money on the yak (and a plethora of other accessories), I'm trying to keep cost low, with sacrificing too much in quality/practicality.

Any tips?

You would be better off saving for a quality VHF that is submerseable and floats.  My first VHF was a waterproof unit that was on sale for $50.00. It only took four months for the salt and the sea to corrode the internal electronics.  A waterproof unit isn't really waterproof, a submerseable unit is though

Scott

What kykfshr said. If you're using it in the salt it's gonna get worked fast so you will get what you pay for. I'm a big fan of the Uniden Voyager. It's the first and only VHF I've had and has lasted well over the years.

Z

Yep, what they said.

Submersible, not just waterproof is key, and even then submersible's MUST be rinsed in fresh water after a dunking in the salt or they will corrode (DAMHIK¹) Actually, the cheap submersibles work great as long as you take care of them (rinse after use. repeat). You should be able to find one for less than $100 online, just make sure it says "submersible" somewhere on the package.

 Floating is also a very good feature to have as well as fish don't have hands and have a hard time using the "push to talk" submersed vhf's that go overboard¹. You could attach a floaty to your radio, but its kind of cumbersome.

I suspect that many submersible handhelds will be dropping in price in the near future as DSC and DSC/GPS is implemented, but I would not hold my breath waiting for that to happen.

 Those features, however, seem well worth having. I'm currently waiting on a handheld floating vhf/dsc/gps (that was supposed to be next day'd to me last Thursday. )  It sells for about $200 and I've heard it as low as $160. I'll post a report when it gets here.









¹(Dont Ask Me How I Know )

Those features, however, seem well worth having. I'm currently waiting on a handheld floating vhf/dsc/gps (that was supposed to be next day'd to me last Thursday. )  It sells for about $200 and I've heard it as low as $160. I'll post a report when it gets here.

That LHR-80 looks tempting. Looking forward to your report. 

Curious how the "Track-Your-Buddy" feature works.

I have a "submersible" VHF made by Standard Horizon. It's sort of a base model. It has lasted me quite a while, but the rechargeable battery pack was destroyed due to salt corrosion. I completely agree with what was said earlier, that you must make sure to keep salt water off those battery nodes at all cost. I have since switched to the AA battery pack and bought a West Marine VHF dry bag for it. It is a little bulkey, but the VHF never sees a drop of salt water. I also gave the battery nodes a good shot of dielectric grease after a good cleaning.

I have a "submersible" VHF made by Standard Horizon. It's sort of a base model. It has lasted me quite a while, but the rechargeable battery pack was destroyed due to salt corrosion. I completely agree with what was said earlier, that you must make sure to keep salt water off those battery nodes at all cost. I have since switched to the AA battery pack and bought a West Marine VHF dry bag for it. It is a little bulkey, but the VHF never sees a drop of salt water. I also gave the battery nodes a good shot of dielectric grease after a good cleaning.

Just an FYI, the AA battery packs don't give you as much transmit power as you get using the regular batteries provided with the unit.  The current carrying capacity of the AA's just doesn't allow for 5W transmission.  Something to keep in mind ...

-Allen

I also keep my radio in a waterproof bag. It allows access to all the features and keeps the speaker dry. I've found that when the speaker cone gets wet, the audio quality craps out very quickly.

Jay

I have a "submersible" VHF made by Standard Horizon. It's sort of a base model. It has lasted me quite a while, but the rechargeable battery pack was destroyed due to salt corrosion. I completely agree with what was said earlier, that you must make sure to keep salt water off those battery nodes at all cost. I have since switched to the AA battery pack and bought a West Marine VHF dry bag for it. It is a little bulkey, but the VHF never sees a drop of salt water. I also gave the battery nodes a good shot of dielectric grease after a good cleaning.

Just an FYI, the AA battery packs don't give you as much transmit power as you get using the regular batteries provided with the unit.  The current carrying capacity of the AA's just doesn't allow for 5W transmission.  Something to keep in mind ...

-Allen

Yeah, I sort of had a feeling that would be the case. A new VHF is on my loooooong wish list. 

This season I purchased the Icom M36 to replace the Hummingbird I dropped over the side.  The Hummingbird was submersible but that helped little when it slipped out of my hands in 150 ft of salt water.  I went with the Icom since it FLOATS..  My thinking was; in a worst case scenario where I needed to rely on this valuable piece of technology to save my bacon, I would want it to stick around so I could use it.  I tested it, and it indeed does float.  Wish it was a bright color instead of black though, would help in locating it more easily if lost overboard offshore.

This season I purchased the Icom M36 to replace the Hummingbird I dropped over the side.  The Hummingbird was submersible but that helped little when it slipped out of my hands in 150 ft of salt water.  I went with the Icom since it FLOATS..  My thinking was; in a worst case scenario where I needed to rely on this valuable piece of technology to save my bacon, I would want it to stick around so I could use it.  I tested it, and it indeed does float.  Wish it was a bright color instead of black though, would help in locating it more easily if lost overboard offshore.

The girlfriend bought me an M36 last year and I haven't had any issues with it so far.  1st trip out it got washed overboard but luckily bsteves had my 6 and scooped it up.  They do indeed float!  One of the other nice features is that once you immerse them, a simple key combo initiates an automatic clearing of the speaker cone. 
I do rinse it after every trip in the salt and to date, there's no sign of corrosion on the battery or recharge terminals.  I wish I could say the same for my fish finders....

I hadn't thought about the color before.  Good idea!  I might have to hit it with some dayglow spraypaint.

-Spot-