Reddit mentions: The best marine two-way radios

Yup, Standard Horizon HX290. https://www.amazon.com/Standard-Horizon-HX290-Handheld-Marine/dp/B00AN92KG0

It's kinda expensive but it's an excellent handheld and it floats. Easy to adjust volume knob as well.

Many thanks for the detailed recommendations! I will look into the Motorola T800's.

The Standard Horizon HX210 is what we're currently recommending, as it's water resistant, floats, and is designed/certified for marine use.

Would love to find a marine radio that ran on 18650's or AA's, but it looks like it's something that will have to be 3-D printed.

That's a good idea. I was looking at the PDF NOAA charts, but I didn't think to have them printed big like that.

Is there any advantage to a mounted radio vs. a handheld radio? I was looking at this one, which I think has the same features and is about $100 cheaper.

We brought walkie talkies to Symbiosis last year. We hardly ever ran into people on the same channels. The bigger problem was that the range on them was AWFUL. Partly, Symbiosis was really spread out so you had to be really close to people to hear them. We hardly used them. I didn't buy them though so I don't know which ones they were.

Edit: I think it was these but I'm not sure. I didn't think we had kids ones. My friend bought them. Had I known, I would have probably invested in nicer ones.

Edit2: Walkie Talkies are a great idea since cell reception is very poor at LIB compared to other fests I've been too!

I got it HERE
Frequency Range - RX:1.8-30MHz TX:All HAM HF BANDS

Operating Mode - SSB(J3E)，CW，AM(RX Only), FM, FREE-DV

TX Power - 5W (Standard, DC 13.8V) , 15W (Full,DC 13.8V)

Receiving Sensitivity - 0.11~0.89μV(RFC 50-20)

Minimum Frequency Step - 1Hz

Operating Voltage - DC9~15V

Antenna Impedance - 50Ω

Frequency Stability - ±1.5PPM @ Power on 5 Minutes (Standard) ; ±0.5PPM if Optional TCXO Used

Product Dimension (W × H × D) - 215×74×62mm（Mounting Bracket Included）

Weight - 21.97OZ

i HAVE NO IDEA BUT AMAZON HAS OPTIONS FOR YOU
http://www.amazon.com/Uniden-Waterproof-Two-Way-Marine-MHS75/dp/B001J5MQ20/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1425215988&sr=1-1&keywords=marine+radio+handheld

From the FCC website:

You do NOT need a commercial radio operator license to operate, repair, or maintain any of the following types of stations:

Two-way land mobile radio equipment, such as that used by police and fire departments, taxicabs and truckers, businesses and industries, ambulances and rescue squads, and local, state, and federal government agencies.

Personal radio equipment used in the Citizens Band (CB), Radio Control (R/C), and General Mobile Radio Services (GMRS).

Auxiliary broadcast stations, such as remote pickup stations.

Domestic public fixed and mobile radio systems, such as mobile telephone systems, cellular systems, rural radio systems, point-to-point microwave systems, multipoint distribution systems, etc.

Stations that operate in the Cable Television Relay Service.

Satellite stations, both uplink and downlink of all types.

That said for BiFL I would get these:

Waterproof VHF portable radios

> Edit: I believe fixed mount VHF radios for recreational use are limited to 20 watts, while handhelds are typically 1 watt. A very rough rule of thumb is 1 watt = 1 nautical mile of transmission.

I don't know if there's an actual limit for handhelds, but mine has a 1watt and 5watt mode. I believe the legal max is 25 watts, so most fixed mount VHF aim for that.


While we're on the subject, I've been eyeing the Standard Horizon radio with DSC and GPS built in - anyone here have experience with them?

Really can't help you much there.

I have [this] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AJVMVQQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Vk1WCbEAJ0WR7) handheld Cobra radio. It works fine - I keep it in cup holder and tuned to 16 while I'm out. I don't know much about fixed ones though.

$90. If you can afford a boat, this is a trivial cost.

$35.99 on Amazon

RS-918 about $430 bucks brand new. USB interface for both rig control and sound on and out.

RECENT RS-918SSB HF SDR HAM Transceiver https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072155421/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_.uiCCb583A5TV

This is the radio I carry. It's a bit pricey, but the peace of mind is worth it. Let's say I'm too far out to swim in and something goes badly wrong with my yak. This thing means I'm going to be able to get home.

http://www.amazon.com/Uniden-Waterproof-Two-Way-Marine-MHS75/dp/B001J5MQ20/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395334585&sr=8-1&keywords=marine+radio+waterproof