OTF
Coney Island Whitefish Biologist
You might get quite a bit more if a coast guard station or sailboat with a tall antenna is around. But yeah. Short range.
VHF for urgencies/emergencies?
- Thread starter lairdb
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You might get quite a bit more if a coast guard station or sailboat with a tall antenna is around. But yeah. Short range.
Dapper Dan
Banned
There's actually ham radio maff we do to accurately calculate that. The USCG station at Fort Macon has a 300 foot mast. Most Coast Guard antenna are on 300+ foot masts. From a 300 foot mast to a diver at sea level the Line of Sight (LOS) range would be 22.44 miles. The Maximum Service Range (MSR) would be 25.89 miles. That's going to be uniform as you won't have any mountains or tall buildings to block the LOS on the water.
Of course you'll get a lot shorter range to a boat, 5.97 miles LOS and 6.89 miles MSR assuming the boats VHF antenna is 15 feet tall.
From 24 miles offshore I can hit the tower with my Boo-fang Chinese handheld radio in Morehead City beside WalMart. I usually carry it on the boat as a backup to the Marine VHF just in case of an emergency. I was able to hit the repeater in Morehead City on the dive boat and talk to my buddy in New Bern 40 miles away with that $30 radio.
What would be awesome is if some company would make a small dive case for handhelds that would fit in my BC pocket that I could dive with so if I was lost I could use the radio to find assistance. I'd pay for that.
Any of the small cases for the small PLBs will hold a BaoFung and short antenna quite nicely. HDVSEATEK, CUSTOM, WICKED, DRYFOB-XL, etc.
Dapper Dan
Banned
I have all of those but the WICKED. The DRYFOB-XL is the best buy, and comes in colors!
Dapper Dan
Banned
Sorry for the late reply, but indeed yes we can fit a number of the popular VHF radios, typically detaching the antenna and storing it beside the unit. If you send me the dimensions I can check it out and update our FAQ too. We’re also going to have a longer (8.25”) variant soon
Russjstewart
Contributor
Another factor using any sort of hand held vhf radio is where the aerial is in relation to your body/ head and the station you are communicating with. I have had experiences when using a hand held radio that having my head between the aerial and the other station degrades the signal. Putting the radio on the other side of my head or turning around improves the signal.
Waterwulf
Contributor
Regarding the laws of transmitting on Martime Frequencies with a Baofeng: I do a lot of off roading in some very inhospitable places along the Southern Border where the dangers aren't all from Nature. My Rat Rod Trail Rail has a fifty watt VHF radio in it and I carry a 3/5/8 watt hand held in my emer. gear. I programmed them both with an assortment of frequencies. The private airports tower, BLM Fire, the Sheriffs Department, Border Patrol, Civil Air Patrol, general aircraft traffic (for short range use), Marshall's office, etc. etc. etc. All of them are the general use frequencies and are not encrypted. I also have them programmed for several channels to use between vehicles when traveling.
I have a license that makes the GMRS/FRS frequncies legal for me to use but of course, I'm not legal for the "official channels"....not for normal use anyway. That's where the gray area of the law comes into play. Basically, it states that if a human life is in danger, certain laws are automatically suspended.
For example: A Police officer is injured and down. A civilian uses the Officers radio to call for help. A civilian on a Cop radio is a big no no bit it's ok this time. (As a thirty year retired LEO Vet, I've seen this one several times) Or your plane cashes in the snow. You've been out there for two days and are freezing. Then you find a camp but the door is locked and nobody is home. It's ok to break in under those circumstances. Or you're out in the boonies miles from civilazation and find a small wildfire caused by a crashed motorcycle with a badly injured rider. It's ok to use a restricted frequency to call for help. (No cell phone towers around but there's usually a Border Patrol or Sheriff's Deputy around monitoring for just this sort of call) It may not be legal to use a Baofeng radio on Martime frequncies under normal circumstances but if it's to save a life or prevent serious injury, who's really going to give a crap?
As far as antenna's are concerned: Yeah, transmitting from wave top height is probably not going to go to far unless the other guy's antenna is way up high. The most feasable option is one of those folding anternna's. They'll pop up to about six feet. The best option for range, is a balloon antenna. A small weather balloon, a little heleum cartridge inflator and a long wire antenna. Pop the cartridge, inflate the balloon and voila! You're talking to the world!
I have a license that makes the GMRS/FRS frequncies legal for me to use but of course, I'm not legal for the "official channels"....not for normal use anyway. That's where the gray area of the law comes into play. Basically, it states that if a human life is in danger, certain laws are automatically suspended.
For example: A Police officer is injured and down. A civilian uses the Officers radio to call for help. A civilian on a Cop radio is a big no no bit it's ok this time. (As a thirty year retired LEO Vet, I've seen this one several times) Or your plane cashes in the snow. You've been out there for two days and are freezing. Then you find a camp but the door is locked and nobody is home. It's ok to break in under those circumstances. Or you're out in the boonies miles from civilazation and find a small wildfire caused by a crashed motorcycle with a badly injured rider. It's ok to use a restricted frequency to call for help. (No cell phone towers around but there's usually a Border Patrol or Sheriff's Deputy around monitoring for just this sort of call) It may not be legal to use a Baofeng radio on Martime frequncies under normal circumstances but if it's to save a life or prevent serious injury, who's really going to give a crap?
As far as antenna's are concerned: Yeah, transmitting from wave top height is probably not going to go to far unless the other guy's antenna is way up high. The most feasable option is one of those folding anternna's. They'll pop up to about six feet. The best option for range, is a balloon antenna. A small weather balloon, a little heleum cartridge inflator and a long wire antenna. Pop the cartridge, inflate the balloon and voila! You're talking to the world!
It's not legal to use a VHF radio without a licence here (New Zealand) unless it's an emergency. Even if some jobsworth did decide to prosecute, I'd rather be in prison than dead. That said, you get lost at sea after a dive. What are you going to be able to tell rescue services about your position? That you see lots of water?
We will see an increase phones that have satellite connections soon. Not diving waterproof, but usable on the surface, so that's another option. We will need an underwater suitcase to carry all this stuff around!
We will see an increase phones that have satellite connections soon. Not diving waterproof, but usable on the surface, so that's another option. We will need an underwater suitcase to carry all this stuff around!
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