Marine Radio

[Daniel Westfall]

Does anyone have a recommendation on a good (inexpensive) Marine radio for racing and emergencies. Hand held and water proof to some degree. I have been looking at MidLand and Uniden.
Anyone with experience with these radios would be helpful.
Thanks

[Roger]

I have owned the Uniden Atlantis 250 for over three years and am quite satisfied with it.

It has 5/1 switchable watts of power which is fine for our small lake. It is easy to use and includes weather channels and alerts, instant 9/16 access, channel scan, tri watch, and switchable for Cdn, US, or international channels. The kit retails for about 100 US$ and includes the radio, a spare battery pack for 6AA's, an AC charger, a belt clip, mounting clip, mounting bracket, antenna, lanyard and instructions. It is backlit for night use, and has a built in battery monitor.

I find that it is more useful than a 25 watt mounted unit, because I can carry it from boat to boat, or take it with me in the vehicle so that I can get a weather forcast enroute to the marina.

It is splash proof t the j4 standard, but not submersible to the j7 standard. That means it can be rained upon, splashed, dropped into the wet cockpit, but will not stay waterproof three feet under for 30 minutes, as per the specs for a true waterproof radio (j7). It is not DSC capable.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

[markst95]

I bought the Standard Horizon HX270S last year and have been happy with it. Submersible IPX-7 and has a nice quality feel. Standard I think has a 3 year waterproof warranty. Defender has them for $85 bucks. I sea kayak too so waterproof is important. Here's the link


http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?pat ... &id=321852

[Daniel Westfall]

Roger,
Thanks for the info on the Uniden Atlantis 250. I went to West Marine and looked it over. Bought one. Great radio. A lot sturdier than I thought it would be. Great sound. Now I have to wait till spring to see if it works.
It was under $100. I found a lower price at another on line site and he let me have it for that price. Pays to check around.

[Roger]

Charge it up, turn it on and press the Wx button and go through channels 1-10 to figure out which one receives your local forecast. I carry mine in the truck to get weather anytime and enroute to the marina during the sailing season.

[emuniz]

From a Costie sailor to a sailor. I work in the Search and Rescue division in Hampton Roads area, and with this I want to let you know that you should buy the best unit you can get. Yes hand held are good as long as they are submersibles if the intention is to use in a vessel that has the possibility of capsizing. Remember your life and the life of those that sail with you might depend on this little gadget. I have rescued sailor before thanks to their hand held radio. They were literally in the water talking to us and thanks to the unit they had (submersible unit) we were able to rescue them. We could hear every time the unit went underwater while they were talking to us. So please do yourself and fellow Coast Guard Search and Rescue personnel a favor and buy a good radio that you will be able to rely on to save your life.