Handheld VHF Radio???

[ReelMasta]

Is anyone using a handheld marine radio to communicate with the other anglers on the water?

My big antenna is broken and I could never get the mounted radio to work at all so I was thinking a handheld might work.

Any thoughts on models?
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[OCF]

I bought one from Cabelas a year ago - Uniden maybe a Cobra (I'm not sure?). I was a little disappointed. On Strawberry, out in the middle of the reservoir, I was able to communicate to other boats maybe within 1/2 mile radius. I don't think it went much further than that.

It would be Ok if you were traveling with others & stayed very close to each other. If you were seeking help, I think it falls way short.

Having said this, I still carry mine!
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[nofish2]

I have a Humminbird bird hand held that I used in my tin boat, it works ok but not as good as a hard mounted radio. I would love to get rid of it.
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[fmrusmc]

I use a Baofeng UV-5R. I can program a lot of frequencies in it and I can communicate with my kids on their uniden radios with it also. Just have to find the freqs!
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[Littlebuck3333]

I have a uniden and works great up to the gorge I can be up around the ranch and talk to my wife back at anvil fine been a few years but used to work great course they aren't gonna work like the one in your boat but seemed fine to me
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[Bduck]

I have been using a Uniden Solara for years with 8' antennae. Been able to talk with Buckboard store as well as others on the water in Buckboard area from Lucerne. There are complaints about those who use handhelds vs the other style. My personal preference & suggestion is to mount a radio in your boat with 8' antennae.
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[mtncat1]

the only problem with hand helds is range ,line of sight is 5 miles max ,much less if there is terrain ,i have had friend s that use them exclusively and get by fie
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[ReelMasta]

Yup just gonna replace the hard mounted radio I guess. Thanks for the input.....
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[Matador]

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[addicted2fishin]

How is the range on these compared to the FRS / GMRS radios? I've always used FRS/GMRS. Several years ago I was coming down out of the canyon to the South of Bear Lake and was able to talk to family staying in the condos on the West side of the lake. I'm guessing that was around a 5 mile reach.
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