Customer Reviews

Uniden Voyager 54-Channel VHF Waterproof Two-Way Marine Radio

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a portable VHF radio, this product is the best. Compact,excellent range, and outstanding clarity. I am an ocean kayaker who was looking for a safety item ( to satisfy my wife) this product clearly delivers and provides the ruggedness and clarity that I did not think was available in a portable product. Uniden once again exceeds my expectations. When I can ride 4-6 ft seas 4 miles offshore and still have Coast Guard clarity should I have problems, I am impressed. I pack my Voyager and my Garmin GPS 60CS in my PDF with a high level of confidence that I will be home for dinner.

I used this radio for a while and one of the MAJOR reasons I bought it was for the S.A.M.E weather function. It is only supposed to alert you for weather issues in the user programmed county, instead of every county within the tower transmission range. SAME Weather in this radio does NOT work. I know that after seeing countless false alerts. I returned it numerous times to Uniden for repair and they finally admitted that it was properly setup and that they could/would not properly test it. They were never able to fix it. A replacement had the same problem. MANY emails and calls later and they simply stopped responding. I had the same problem with another Uniden VHF fixed mount radio that was supposed to be S.A.M.E. capable. They obviously don't know how to build a SAME capable radio and simple stop responding instead of fixing the problem. I will not buy another Uniden product. I wish my company could get away with that kind of bad support. It would significantly lower our support costs.

I bought this Uniden Voyager in 2006 after an USGC rescue in the SF Bay (Windsurfing). Since 2006, my radio has been carried with me every time I go windsurfing (50-100 times/ year). I never rinse it and rarely charge it. It is now in such an advance stage of corrosion, I am very surprised it still functions marvelously! Very impressed by how solid this thing is after so much time basking in salt water. Another positive is its very compact size. Definitely 5 stars in my book!

I use a pair of these radios as sportsman communication raft/shore, probably only 30hours/year (not much obviously). After several years, one of 2 stopped being able to receive communication (I don't why or what event caused that), so I bought a replacment rather than try to have repaired - the new one works fine.

Things I don't like is:

1. This radio doesn't remember the channel last used when powered off.

2. This radio defaults to emergency Ch16, so that needs to be changed back to your chosen station, upon every power cycle.

3. Of course, I don't like that one stopped working.

(these are the only reasons I give it less than 5-star rating, for recreational sportsman use)

Things I do like:

1. Very rugged, waterproof (my previous cheaper radio was not waterproof and destroyed when I capsized a rental ocean kayak.

2. The battery lasts a very long time - always enough for my entire several-day trips. I don't have detailed battery-life data.

3. Squelch knob works well - cuts out all noise. Speech is clear. Range is good as can expect.

4. Table-top charger is a cool professional-style design, maybe intended for mounting on horiz surface of marine console. For me (recreational ameteur), I enjoy the charger quality when using at home. LED charge-status indicator is good.

Yes, I recommend this product.

Fine Uniden Voyager Handheld in my opinion for two and a half years (up to now), but over the winter when stored in my house (charged, but not continuously charging) when I went to take it off the shelf and to the boat, I noted the radio was somewhat tilted out of its charger. Removing it, I saw that the battery had "expanded" by a 1/2 inch or more. Guess it kinda exploded - no mess, just its guts expanded and it spit its black battery case...so, I guess I need a replacement battery. Wrote to customer support at Uniden...got a "got your complaint" email but no proper answer so far as to what happened or why. This Uniden is a back-up to my 30-footer's built ICOM VHF at nav station (with a remote controlling mic at the helm), so I use the Uniden only as a backup...occasionally I take it with me off the boat or home to listen to marine weather conditions and forecasts. Replacement battery is apparently about $60 (+S&H) at several sources though I see it at [...] for $46.29, but I need to order at least $100 from them to make an order go through. So I took a couple of stars off this review for an issue that I think wasn't my fault, but that increases my cost of ownership significantly for this item.

Full featured in a tiny package. Appears very well-made & rugged. It's a pleasure to hold and use. All controls easy to use, speaker is loud & clear, and microphone seems to work great.

I just wish someone sold a rugged waterproof holster/pouch for attaching this unit to a lifevest. The antenna is longer than the unit itself which means either using a ridiculously large pouch or else unscrewing the antenna and using a smaller pouch. But this is not a complaint about the product, but rather a tribute to its uniquely small size.