handheld vhf
 

I felt a little lonely Tuesday afternoon after the wind picked up, looked around and not a boat in sight :( Today I stopped by West Marine and bought their basic $99 handheld; Standard Horizon HX 150. 5W, floating, submersible (IPX7). I could return it and spend more if anyone has a good reason but I doubt I'll ever be more remote than LA Jolla and I'm guessing this will be fine. Any thoughts ? As always, TIA for any comments :)

Sounds like a good find. Just remember to put in back in the cradle when you are done with it. My VHF takes AA batteries......a royal pain when compared to the rechargeable one you have. Remember the battery meter usually only works correctly when are transmitting. Meaning it could show 100% charged, then when you push to talk, it will drop considerably.

Man, that sucks. The west marine one that I bought came with both rechargeable and a tray for AAA's. I feel your pain on the alkaline batteries. I've tried the AAA tray in BAJA when rechargeable died and I actually lost wattage therefor lowering communication distance.

I was just looking at that unit and the HX300 at West Marine. I'm leaning toward the HX300 for $150.

There's a $20 mail in rebate on both units.

Man I know that felling I always go solo and some times its just a nice reinsurance having a good radio on hand..

I bought the VHF 75 at West Marine about 6 months ago and it really works well with 6 watts max, a 2.5 and a 1 watt setting to save battery power. The best thing is the water proof battery compartment has a better seal than the VHF 85 I had before. The VHF 85 had a poorly installed hinge pin on the door latch and after 8 months of use saltwater had gotten in and ruined the battery. Make sure you rinse off the unit after exposure to salt water and check the battery compartment seal after a couple of trips out to prevent any damage to connections or battery. The VHF was only $119 and has great features and comes with a 110 volt and also a DC charger cords for the charging cradle.