Whether it’s ensuring that your onboard fire extinguishers are serviceable, or that you have a sufficient number of life jackets and wearable personal floatation devices (PFDs) aboard, preparedness is every boat owner’s first responsibility. Arguably, the most critical item they need to have when they push off is an operational marine radio.
No matter how you look at it: when it comes to safety on the water, no other piece of equipment is more vital, or more relevant. That’s because, in addition to navigational updates and weather warnings, marine radios give you the immediate boat-to-boat and boat-to-shore communications that would be crucial in an emergency.
The fact is, marine radios provide a level of proven, old-school reliability that newer technologies simply can’t offer. Regardless of whether you’re required to have one onboard or not, it’s one of the best investments you can make into staying safe when you’re on the water.
Staying Safe in Coastal Waters with Rugged VHF Radios
Let’s be honest: while Australian rules on boating, as well as radio licensing requirements, vary from state to state, it just makes good boating sense for owners to have superior quality VHF marine radios on their equipment roster anytime they’re out in coastal waters. That’s because if you find yourself in need of urgent assistance, or within range of a fellow boater who needs assistance, a VHF radio is the surest way to make contact. It’s instantaneous availability that cell phones, GPSs, and EPIRBs can’t offer, and it’s completely independent of any networked, or subscriber service inconsistencies.
VHF Radio Advantages that Guarantee Reliable Comms
With its internationally allocated 156 -174 Mhz frequency range, VHF’s suitability for marine transmissions is a direct result of its uninterrupted line of sight (LOS) signal propagation. It takes a specialized VHF marine radio and antenna setup, however, to take full advantage of the attributes of Very High Frequency transmissions, which include:
- The ability to function without a network. Because VHF radio equipment doesn’t require network connectivity to establish communications, multiple radios can speak directly to each other as long as the LOS path between their antennas isn’t disrupted.
- Usability across larger distances. Depending on the strength of the transceiver and the height of the antenna, the wide-area propagation that occurs with LOS is enough to allow marine VHF radio signals to travel up to 160km from the transmission source, even in the poorest atmospheric conditions.
- The ability to communicate with networked telephones. With the telephony features built into many modern VHF radios for boats, it’s possible to use radio signal base stations that are interfaced with wired telephone networks to make calls directly to landlines and cell phones.
Make no mistake: while VHF transceivers have been a mainstay of marine communications for over a century, today’s marine VHF radios are designed especially to give boaters access to the no-fault communications that cell phones and other digitally networked devices can’t provide. And not only are the latest generation of rugged VHF radios more powerful than their predecessors, but their increased reliability means that they’re also better suited to withstand the type of emergency event that would warrant needing one.
Today’s Marine Radios are Tougher and Easier to Use than Ever
From lightweight, handheld radios like GME’s excellent GX625 with its extended-life 1200mAh lithium-ion battery and IP66-rated protection, to ultra-compact, dash-mounted marine transceivers like Icom’s IPX7-rated, IC-M330GE with built-in GPS and Class D DSC (Digital Selective Calling) distress calling, today’s VHF radios for sale are in a class all their own. These powerful radios combine the latest developments in marine VHF integration with unequalled simplicity, making them the optimal safety devices to have any time you’re headed for coastal waters.
For most boat owners, arguably the biggest advantage that these new VHF boat radios have over earlier models is their construction. Improvements in materials and assembly processes have played a major role in radios like the GX625 and the M330GE coming to the forefront of VHF boat radio innovation, together with improvements that include:
- Greater IP-rated durability. From torrential rain to full submersion, the rugged IP-rated cases used with modern VHF radios are designed to resist water and sediment ingress in even the harshest environments.
- Longer battery life. Although dash-mounted marine VHF radios for boats draw their power from your boat’s battery, longer-life lithium-ion battery packs provide the clear, dependable power that handhelds need for consistent operation under rough conditions.
- Increased user-friendliness. Easy-to-read displays, adjustable brightnesses and colours, and priority programmable channels, help make the latest generation of both handheld and dash-mounted radios more intuitive, and easier to operate at all times.
No matter if you’re looking for added strength or maximum convenience, top-of-the-line VHF marine radios for sale have all the qualities you need to make sure that your safety is a straightforward affair. And with their enhanced voice-only capabilities, VHF radios are just as effective for ordinary communications as they are in emergencies.
VHF Lets You Stay in Touch with Your Surroundings Anytime You’re on the Water
Whether they’re used to broadcast quick streamflow and fishing data to multiple listeners at once or to simply request quick launch information, VHF radios aren’t just for emergencies and weather updates. Their wide signal propagation means that when it comes to VHF radios, marine applications can vary widely, including:
- Contacting docks and marinas regarding berthing or refuelling;
- Communicating with freighters, barges, or other large vessels in poor visibility; or,
- Requesting bridge and weir openings.
Ideally, it takes having 2 boat VHF radios onboard – one fixed to your dash, and a portable one in your pocket – to be sure that your communications are covered at all times. That way, regardless of whether you’re on the bridge or below deck, you know that if you have an urgent message to broadcast, you’ll always have a device nearby to get it out.
The Final Word
At the end of the day, anytime you’re on the water, you need to be confident that if there’s a problem, you won’t have any difficulty putting out a call for assistance. You need tried and true marine radio technology, but you also need it to be more compact, and ultimately more durable than ever.
Whether portable or fixed, today’s superior quality VHF marine radios combine VHF’s natural advantages with the toughest, and most solid engineering ever employed for coastal marine usage. They’re built to withstand the worst conditions possible because lives depend on it.