How to choose a VHF radio for your boat

Uniden VHF Marine Radio - 525 Shown

If you have a boat, and you plan to be more than 3 miles off-shore - you should have a VHF radio installed in your boat. VHF radios are great to help you check weather, communicate with other boats and land stations, and to hail people when you get into a jam or an emergency. Here is how you choose the right one for your boating needs.

Instructions

1. WHAT TYPE OF CHANNEL RANGE DOES THE RADIO HAVE?
   There are three main channel maps that a VHF radio should operate on. They are USA, Canada, and International Channels. If you want to be able to take your boat into any open water, you will want the ability to operate on all channels, if you are only going to keep your boat on lakes and rivers, you may only want USA and Canada channels. Most VHF radios support these channel ranges, but higher end models support more channels.

2. HOW MANY CHANNELS CAN YOU MONITOR?
   Channel 16 and channel 9 are the two most important emergency channels to monitor and access. Some of the lower end VHS marine radios only allow you to monitor one station at a time, but allow quick button access to one of these two channels. Other radios allow for multiple channel watching capabilities, and some offer "Tri-Watch Capability". You may find that these quick access emergency station features are very common across most VHF marine radios.

3. WHAT TYPE OF WATTAGE DOES THE VHF RADIO HAVE?
   VHF radios can only operate as high as 25 watts per law. Some radios give you the ability to adjust your gain (wattage power) throughout this entire spectrum, and some only give you dual options - 1 watt or 25 watts. You want to consider this when choosing a radio and really make your decision based on how far away from shore or land you will be. If you are going to be boating more than 1-5 miles off-shore, using an array of antennas, and you want to stay in contact, then you want to be able to adjust your gain for the best reception. If you will be in high-traffic densely populated areas all of the time - then you may not care for gain adjustment.

4. N.O.A.A. EMERGENCY / WEATHER ALERTS?
   NOAA weather alert channels are generally pretty standard on nearly all VHF radios available on the market. There is a difference though is how many you can access. Some only allow access to the top 10 NOAA channels, while other radios allow you to monitor national, regional, or local weather conditions. The local weather feature is found on higher-end units and is described as S.A.M.E. (Specific Area Message Encoding. Some radios also offer weather alerts that emit an audible tone when threatening weather is approaching your location.

5. IS THE RADIO CLASS D DSC, (Digital Selective Calling) RATED?
   There is a dedicated DSC channel (70), which actually acts like call waiting on your telephone. If you are already talking on your VHF radio or listening to someone, the caller's information will be displayed on your screen so that you can get a hold of them when you are done with the call you are on. Digital Selective Calling also allows you to send a distress signal at the touch of a button or exchange position information with other boats or stations.

6. IS THE RADIO GPS CAPABLE?
   Some VHF radios have basic GPS units built in to show you your position(latitude and longitude), date, time and speed. Most of these radios will display this information on the screen, however, some higher-end units actually allow you to connect the unit up to an external GPS plotter to help you chart maps and calculate more advanced navigational data. When choosing a VHF radio, it is a good idea to get a unit that shows you your position at the very least, so that you can get help when needed.

7. DOES THE RADIO HAVE EXTERNAL MIC PORTS FOR SPEAKERS OR A LOUD HAILER?
   This is a feature that I personally like, and it could be considered a "nice-to-have". A loud speaker system allows you to broadcast over an external speaker system on your boat to people in the water, other boaters, or to land. Also helpful for getting other boats attention during emergencies.

8. HOW WELL DOES THE RADIO TRANSMIT?
   Look for a radio that can provide at least 25-Watts of transmitting power with - 80dB intermod nominal. Radios with noise canceling microphones with help to block out background noise and allow listening to radio signals on the speaker/microphone. Some microphones may have various buttons and features built in as shortcuts for quicker channel access, etc.

9. WHAT DOES THE RADIO DISPLAY SHOW? IS IT EASY TO READ?
   Believe it or not, but screen displays are actually important on a Marine VHF radio. Look for a radio that has a large LCD screen Display with easy to read characters/icons. Check the angles of viewing to see test if you can see everything clearly. Checking out a radio in the store, then using it on your boat in sunny or stormy weather are two completely different scenarios. You want an easy to read screen! Also great to have are back lit function keys so that you can find all features in any kind of lighting conditions.

10. IS THE RADIO WATER SUBMERSIBLE?
    All Marine VHF radios should meet JIS7 standards and be submersible for 30 minutes in one meter deep water. Check and make sure that the radio you are looking to purchase meets these requirements.

11. These Marine Radio VHF features listed here are the best types required to ensure your safety and well-being when out boating. You may find that there are many other features and benefits available across different brands of models, but hopefully this helped you to identify the ones that you will use the most often - and which I find to be the most useful when I am out on my boat.

Tips & Warnings

• If you want to be able to talk to people out on the deck when your in the cabin, look for a loudspeaker option.

• DSC and GPS options are great because they help you to instantly identify where you are located, and give others your location in the event of an emergency.