Buying a fixed-mount VHF Radio
Brand and Feature Comparison
Some of the features are very useful; some, less so. Though one mariner may find a particular feature very useful, another may never use it. Part of this depends on the waters on which you navigate. Part may depend on whether or not you're a gadget freak. If you like all the bells and whistles and will probably use them, then by all means, get the radio with all the bells and whistles. But if you don't feel the need, if you don't believe you will use the features of a given Make / Model, then save your money.
Our research has come up with 16 different brands from which to choose. There may be more. As you probably know, there are some manufacturers which sell to merchandisers who put their own brand name on products. (For instance, West Marine's fixed mount VHF radio is made for them by Uniden.)
We can't do all of the work for you - the models change too frequently and we don't have the time to make a specific brand - model comparison and keep it up to date.
So what we'd like to offer you are links to all of the brands where you may find features, specifications and prices of each model offered.
Originally, it was our intention to explain in layman's terms what, to the non-geek, the incomprehensible terminology means. Looking up Frequency Deviation which term is in many of the specification sheets of various VHF Marine Transceivers we find:
Cobra
Furuno
Garmin
Humminbird
Icom
Lowrance
Midland
Motorola
Northstar
Raytheon
SimRad
Si-Tex
Standard
Standard Horizon
Uniden
West Marine
Furuno
Garmin
Humminbird
Icom
Lowrance
Midland
Motorola
Northstar
Raytheon
SimRad
Si-Tex
Standard
Standard Horizon
Uniden
West Marine
With so many brands of VHF Marine Radios and so many models within each brand and so many features and accessories from which to choose, it is very difficult to wade through all of the information without becoming confused.
While we do not claim to be unconfused, we attempt here to organize the confusion to help you make an informed decision on which features you will want on your VHF Radio.
While we do not claim to be unconfused, we attempt here to organize the confusion to help you make an informed decision on which features you will want on your VHF Radio.
We have tried to find links which give complete features and specifications. In most cases we were successful. However, many did not give complete and detailed specifications. In others you must dig a little. In the Cobra link, for instance, click on the photo of the radio, then click on Product Specification, then click on Manual PDF, then go to the last few pages of the manual. Fun, huh?
There are several - the ones not underlined - for which we have no links. There are many places, especially discount and closeout places, which sell these, but none of them give the specifications. So if price is your ONLY criteria (which we doubt because you wouldn't be reading this if it were) then hop on in and find the lowest price. Not necessarily the smartest thing to do, but they don't seem to legislate against doing dumb things. If you find a link which gives the specs, please send it to us and we'll include it here.
There are some claims which are totally bogus. There is a vendor selling Cobra handheld VHF radios which claims that their HH25 model has a 27 mile range. For a one to three watt handheld? Maybe they use the new improved Miniature Mile which also gets you better gas mileage. (check it out if you want) Cobra, by the way, is more honest.
There are several - the ones not underlined - for which we have no links. There are many places, especially discount and closeout places, which sell these, but none of them give the specifications. So if price is your ONLY criteria (which we doubt because you wouldn't be reading this if it were) then hop on in and find the lowest price. Not necessarily the smartest thing to do, but they don't seem to legislate against doing dumb things. If you find a link which gives the specs, please send it to us and we'll include it here.
There are some claims which are totally bogus. There is a vendor selling Cobra handheld VHF radios which claims that their HH25 model has a 27 mile range. For a one to three watt handheld? Maybe they use the new improved Miniature Mile which also gets you better gas mileage. (check it out if you want) Cobra, by the way, is more honest.
Sensitivity: The ability to receive weak signals.
Selectivity: The ability to tune in one station and reject others on close frequencies.
Image rejection ratio is the ratio of (a) the intermediate-frequency (IF) signal level produced by the desired input frequency to (b) that produced by the image frequency. The image rejection ratio is usually expressed in dB. When the image rejection ratio is measured, the input signal levels of the desired and image frequencies must be equal for the measurement to be meaningful.
Selectivity: The ability to tune in one station and reject others on close frequencies.
Image rejection ratio is the ratio of (a) the intermediate-frequency (IF) signal level produced by the desired input frequency to (b) that produced by the image frequency. The image rejection ratio is usually expressed in dB. When the image rejection ratio is measured, the input signal levels of the desired and image frequencies must be equal for the measurement to be meaningful.
Frequency Deviation is used in FM radio to describe the maximum instantaneous difference between an FM modulated frequency and the nominal carrier frequency. The term is sometimes mistakenly used as synonymous with frequency drift, which is an unintended offset of an oscillator from its nominal frequency.
Nobody wants to know this.
However, there are some things which may be important to understand. If you are comparing two radios, similar in price and features, know that selectivity and image rejection specifications are more important than sensitivity
However, there are some things which may be important to understand. If you are comparing two radios, similar in price and features, know that selectivity and image rejection specifications are more important than sensitivity
Nope, we were wrong. Nobody wants to know this either.
DSC Classes
Class A - has 2 receivers. It CAN receive DSC signals while transmitting AND receiving. It's required on commercial ships and they cost $800 and Up
International Class D. Has 2 receivers. It CAN receive DSC calls while receiving on another channel. It CANNOT receive DSC calls while transmitting. Prices start at $200. Has full DSC capabilities.
Class SC-101 and US Class D. Has 1 receiver. Cannot receive DSC calls while receiving on another channel. Has limited DSC capabilities. Costs under $150.
But there are some things you will want to know:
| If the description says this: | This is what it means: |
| Full Function DSC Capability | Class SC-101 and US Class D (see below) |
| Class-D DSC Capability | International Class D (see below) |
| All NOAA / Weather Channels & Weather Alert | Does NOT include S.A.M.E. Alert (see below) |
| All NOAA /Weather Channels and Weather Alert with S.A.M.E. Filtering | Includes S.A.M.E. Alert (see below) |
| Noise Canceling Microphone | Masks out engine noise, wind noise and other background noise |
| Easy to use simple operation | To the geek who designed it, maybe. Many times there is an on-line manual you can look at to verify this claim |
| All USA/International and Canadian Marine Channels | They all do. We couldn't find any that didn't. |
| Control from Handset | To claim this feature, all they need is a simple up / down channel selection. Some will do about everything but stir the soup. |
| GPS Interface | They've all got it - by law. |
| NMEA (National Marine Electronics Association) 0183 Protocol | A standard used for one electronic unit to communicate with another. (Geek Speak Here) (see below) |
| NMEA (National Marine Electronics Association) 2000 Protocol | A newer industry standard - in the process of being implemented. (see below) |
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Built in AIS (Automatic Identification System) |
This feature to helps you identify and avoid other vessels at sea. (We'll have a page up on AIS soon.) |
Pick out and make a list of the features and accessories you want on your radio.
Then click on the links below and start looking until you find one that meets your criteria. Then shop around for the best price on that unit. Prices vary from under $100. to well over $2,000. (The $2,000 variety are built for commercial ships - you can probably get all of the features you need for well under that.)Make no assumptions - if the description doesn't say it has a certain feature, the unit described most likely doesn't have it.
NMEA 0183 and NMEA 2000 explained
Almost all GPS devices, as well as other electronic devices for boats which connect to each other use NMEA 0183 Standard. It has several drawbacks, but the biggest one which will affect you is the fact that there is no standard plug / socket between units. This means that you have to connect the wires yourself. They are often very fine wires and difficult to connect with butt connectors or spade connectors and terminal strips.
There is also no standardization with wire color coding, so you need to pay close attention to the instructions in each manual of the two units you are connecting. The brown wire on your GPS may need to connect to the purple wire on your radio.
Further, the 0183 standard is much slower (4800 baud, in geek speak.)
The newer NMEA 2000 standards solve most, if not all, of the problems of the old standard. It allows all of your electronic equipment to talk to each other. For instance, the instruments on your navigation station will talk to the gauge on your helm, even if they are of different manufacture. It also allows easy plug in of all components.
There are several manufacturers who use proprietary standards so their instruments and sensors will only talk to their instruments and sensors. They are concerned that if they comply with the new standard that their system sales will be hurt. This may be true - in the short run. But we feel that the consumer will benefit if the industry were to comply with with industry standards. And in the long run, if the knowledgeable consumer purchases equipment from manufacturers which comply with industry standards, then those manufacturers will come out ahead. Get the whole story here.
Manufacturers of Marine VHF Radios which are currently complying with NMEA 2000 standards, at least on some models include:
Lowrance
Garmin
GPS with NMEA 2000:
Maretron
Lowrance
Furuno
Garmin
Airmar
Lowrance
Garmin
GPS with NMEA 2000:
Maretron
Lowrance
Furuno
Garmin
Airmar
There are many more technical specifications, but because we are not expert enough in the field of electronics, coupled with the fact that the specifications are written differently by each manufacturer, we are unable to make an intelligent or useful comparison.
For instance: one brand says "Adjacent Channel Selectivity -60 dB" while the next says "Adjacent Ch. Selectivity - More than 80dB. Which is better? Why is one expressed as a negative? We have no clue.
One refers to Frequency Error ±0.3kHz. Another refers to Frequency Stability +/-10 ppm. Are these different ways of measuring the same thing? Again, no clue.
For instance: one brand says "Adjacent Channel Selectivity -60 dB" while the next says "Adjacent Ch. Selectivity - More than 80dB. Which is better? Why is one expressed as a negative? We have no clue.
One refers to Frequency Error ±0.3kHz. Another refers to Frequency Stability +/-10 ppm. Are these different ways of measuring the same thing? Again, no clue.
Accessories
There are some accessories you may want to consider, such as a remote microphone (called a RAM mike or a WHAM mike depending on brand.) We use one because our VHF radio is at the nav station below deck, and it's handy to have a second at the helm. A remote mike does the job without needing another installation of a radio as well as antenna and 12v power. Some units will accept these, some not, so if you feel you may want one in the future, make sure you get a radio which has that capability.
A remote speaker for at the helm can be an essential accessory, and almost all VHF radios have an output for it. However, a hailing speaker, which some may want, may not be available in some models.
Some have a fog hailer with bell and whistle output. Some have an intercom system.
Keep these in mind as you select the radio you want.
A remote speaker for at the helm can be an essential accessory, and almost all VHF radios have an output for it. However, a hailing speaker, which some may want, may not be available in some models.
Some have a fog hailer with bell and whistle output. Some have an intercom system.
Keep these in mind as you select the radio you want.
Caveat Emptor
(Let the buyer beware)
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Notice: While we make every effort to ensure that the information provided on this website is accurate, we can not be held responsible for any mishaps which may occur as a result of your using information found in this website without verification through other, more authoritative sources such as the U.S. Coast Guard. |
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