GMRS and Marine HT radio

[Steve]

http://www.buytwowayradios.com/products/cobra/cobra-mr-hh450-dual.aspx

 

has anyone used these before?  I was looking at what to get for boat use, ship to shore or ship to ship at the lake, etc.   Doesn't seem like it supports repeaters though, so that might be a deal breaker.

 

[PastorGary]

The Cobra MR-HH450 radio, as mentioned, is not user programmable for frequency upgrading or changes. It is a dual service Part 80 and Part 95 type-certified radio that can not be changed from it's factory settings and options and is not GMRS offset capable.

 

User Manual:  https://www.cobra.com/sites/default/files/manuals/MRHH450DUAL_MANL_ENG.pdf

[Steve]

thanks PastorGary for the quick reply.

[PastorGary]

Anytime, Steve -

[jvfreetage]

Well, I can tell you by looking at the specs with 3 watts UHF you might get 2 miles out of it in real world applications, unless you put a good antenna on it. Probably less than a mile for full quieting. If you're getting it for the weather protection and GMRS use, probably a good investment.  From working on the boats here in Hawaii, I can tell you that handheld marine radios just don't work in the ocean.  They're good for close in comms, but for some strange reason they just don't like to work too well unless you can connect them to an external antenna. You'd figure with the salt water you would get excellent propagation.  

 

ANYWAY it doesn't look like a bad radio.  I especially like that it can float!!! That can always come in handy around here.  If you get one, let us know how well it works, I'm kinda curious.

 

73

James

[wholeflaffer]

I have a couple of Standard/Horizon HX370 handhelds. These were combination Marine and VHF Land Mobile (LMR) radios - production ceased a couple years ago.

 

The LMR side was computer programmable, and I put a bunch of 2-meter ham (and MURS) frequencies in them. Narrow/wide selectable, repeater and PL compatible, and true 5 watt output...nice radios! And the LMR channels were right alongside the marine ones, so no need to change modes or personalities to switch from one service to the other.

 

But without UHF they were obviously NOT GMRS, sadly.