Gear

Handheld VHF Marine Radio Reviews

A handheld VHF radio is one of the most important safety devices any boater can have, standing just behind well-maintained life jackets.

By Randy Vance

Updated: September 25, 2021

Having a handheld VHF radio on board can keep you and your crew safe. Courtesy Standard Horizon

Today’s handheld radios can save time searching for boating friends, ease communications in port, and keep you apprised of threatening weather conditions. Most important, in the case of an emergency, some can continuously broadcast an SOS complete with your GPS coordinates beginning at the touch of a button. Though some older radios still function without digital selective calling (DSC), this functionality is required by federal law on new fixed-mount radios, and a number of high-end handhelds now also have this feature. DSC has an important convenience in addition to its safety advantage of auto-hailing in an emergency. By using DSC technology along with a radio registered (at no cost) with the FCC via boatus.com and other sources, you can directly hail a single vessel via its maritime mobile service identity (MMSI) number, or hail a group of MMSI numbers programmed into the radio’s memory. All but one of the handhelds we tested has DSC capabilities. – Shop for more VHF Radios here

How We Tested

How do these radios stack up? First, we could not test the radios’ SOS capabilities—that is illegal because it could initiate a search-and-rescue mission. We didn’t want US Coast Guard swimmers dropping out of choppers at our launch ramp. So, we have to trust the government agencies that regulate this element of VHF communication devices. We also didn’t test the DSC capabilities because the radios are permanently assigned to vessels and ours would be returned to the manufacturers.

Transmission Clarity

We posted a team of experienced boaters on two vessels about 2 miles apart, each with two of the test radios. Each made a call at the highest output setting to the other, and we subjectively noted the clarity on each radio. Then we swapped radios to repeat.

Reception and transmission clarity were scored on a scale of 1 to 5.

Icom incorporated an AIS receiver in its handhelds, adding safety. Courtesy Icom

Icom M94D

$300; amazon.com

Warranty: 3 years

Professional-grade and powerful, this DSC-equipped handheld VHF was first to boast an internal GPS, and is now the first to include an AIS receiver to keep boaters informed of surrounding vessels’ AIS signals regarding destination, course, and speed and collision alerts. (It was interesting to note several neighbors broadcast AIS in their backyard moorings.) Select a favorite channel to scan or scan them all. Dual Watch scans your selected normal call channel, plus Channel 16. Tri Watch covers Channel 16, a call channel and one more.

Likes

AIS reception gives a wealth of information about surrounding vessels transmitting AIS.
An LED flashes automatically when the floating radio falls into the water.
Adding MMSI numbers for direct hailing is easy via DSC for up to 75 individual MMSIs and 25 groups of MMSIs.
A 2,400 mAh battery.
Flash-and-float feature automatically turns on a flashing strobe if dropped overboard.
Aqua Quake, a speaker vibration tone, can be activated to shake water from the speaker after submersion and is handy in stormy weather as well.

Improvements

LCD screen is legible, but doesn’t meet the high- clarity resolution of the Uniden.
This unit is more feature- filled, but the radio is bulkier than the other candidates.
AA battery pack is optional.

In the Box

Antenna, FA-SC59V
AC adapter, BC-123SA
Battery charger, BC-251
Battery pack, BP-306
Cigarette lighter cable, CP-25H
Belt clip, MB-133
Hand strap

Output Power: 6 watts (high), 1 watt (low)

Battery Life: Up to 10 hours

Battery: 2,400 mAh

Waterproof Rating: IPX7

GPS: Built-in

Floats: Yes

Usable Channel Groups: INT, USA, CAN, WX channels

DSC: Yes

Dimensions (W×H×D): 2.4-by-5.7-by-1.7 in.

Weight (approx.): 12.6 oz.

Test Results

Transmission Clarity: 5

Reception Clarity: 5

The Icom’s clarity of transmission and reception made this model most important in testing because it helped determine the clarity scores of the other radios.

Link your phone to the Cobra to receive calls on the VHF. Randy Vance

Cobra MR HH600W FLT GPS BT

$210; basspro.com

Warranty: 3 years

“Breaker one-nine!” is what pops into the brain when most think of this popular citizens band radio manufacturer, but Cobra’s experience in VHF marine radios is extensive. It shows in this marine white-and-international-orange-colored, fully featured DSC- and GPS-equipped model. Like Icom, Cobra has a rewind function that allows message playback, and adds recording and saving capability too. Ten weather channels and a dedicated MOB hard key add convenience and safety.

Likes

Bluetooth connectivity enables mobile-phone use through the waterproof radio, keeping the phone safely stowed.
Included extra AA battery pack and charger-stand adapter enable continued use while charging the lithium battery pack.
Hard keys are provided for the MOB and play-again functions.
Power-save mode for GPS extends battery life.
Flash-and-float feature automatically turns on a flashing strobe if dropped overboard.

Improvements

It was audible to all ears, but Cobra’s radio wasn’t as crisp and clear while listening or calling.
Screen resolution was legible but not as sharp as the Uniden.

In the Box

Antenna
AC adapter
Battery charger
Battery pack
AA battery pack
Charger adapter for extra battery pack
Cigarette lighter cable
Belt clip
Hand strap

Output Power: 1, 3, 6 watts

Battery Life: 10 hours at 6 watts

Waterproof Rating: IPX7

GPS: Built-in

Floats: Yes

Usable Channel Groups: INT, USA, CAN, WX channels

DSC: Yes

Dimensions (W×H×D): 2.83-by-5.71-by-1.87 in.

Weight (approx.): 11.6 oz.

Test Results

Transmission Clarity: 3

Reception Clarity: 3

Cobra’s features, such as Bluetooth connectivity and its play-again feature, balanced what we thought was disappointing (when compared to the others) but functional audio clarity.

A powerful, clear-sounding radio, but it lacks DSC, which is important for safety. Randy Vance

Uniden Atlantis 275

$125; basspro.com

Warranty: 3 years

Uniden has a long history in radio communications. We’ve tested its work before in both Uniden-branded radios and a West Marine private-label radio, and clarity in transmission and reception was tough to beat. It is compact in the hand and light in weight. The floating, waterproof radio has a strobe/LED that illuminates when immersed.

Likes

This VHF features an extremely clear, crisp LCD screen.
Screen’s backlight is dimmable and changes from red to white.
Most-used functions, like watts output, backlight, weather and dual scan, have hard keys.
Squelch and volume conveniently share the same toggle button.
Unit rotates to remove from the belt clip.
A transmit boost key raises output to 6 watts for calling when radio is set to low watts.

Improvements

Channel numbers are not accompanied by channel use designations.
Transmission wattage is adjusted with channel selection.
Operating menu is not intuitive, requiring memorization of multiple simultaneous keystrokes.
Lithium battery is permanent, limiting operation to one cycle between charges, and is not designed for quick removal and changing.

In the Box

Antenna
AC adapter—space-saving design
Battery charger
Cigarette lighter cable, CP-25H
Lithium battery pack
Spare AA battery pack
Belt clip, MB-133
Hand strap
Data cable

Output Power: 6 watts (high), 1 watt (low)

Battery Life: 10 hours

Waterproof Rating: IPX8

GPS: Built-in

Floats: Yes

Usable Channel Groups: INT, USA, CAN, WX channels

DSC: No

Dimensions (W×H×D): 6-by-2.5-by-1.7 in.

Weight (approx.): 8.46 oz.

Test Results

Transmission Clarity: 5

Reception Clarity: 5

The Uniden is modestly priced but lacks DSC. Still, one of our testers is an electrical engineer with a long history in radio equipment and immediately took a shine to this radio.

Logical menus and easy-to-navigate soft keys. Courtesy Standard Horizon

Standard Horizon HX890

$199.99; amazon.com

Warranty: 3 years

Like Icom, Standard Horizon’s VHF is professional-quality, and the HX890 has most of the top safety features, save for the AIS receiver sported by Icom’s M94D. The built-in FM receiver allows for casual listening. Two scrambler systems allow private communications between Standard Horizon radios similarly equipped. The case is slim and comfortable in the hand.

Likes