6 Watt Handheld Floating VHF Marine Radio with Bluetooth & NOAA Weather
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When heading out on the water, a VHF radio is vital for communication and safety. With advanced safety features, easy menu navigation, and 24 hour access to emergency alerts and broadcasts, Cobra’s got you covered.
Keep your phone safe and dry by making calls directly from your radio with added Bluetooth® capabilities.
Automatically records the last 20 seconds of VHF calls so you can always play back what you missed.
The orange core floating design means easy retrieval if dropped overboard so you never lose your radio.
Block out background noise and have more clear conversations.
Select between 1, 3 and 6 watts of output power for short and long range communication
Get different options for low, medium, and high power for various range of communication.
Make crystal clear transmissions
Make and receive phone calls while keeping you phone safe and dry
Choose between 1, 3, and 6 watts for short or long communication
Clear, illuminated display makes reading radio information easy
Replay the last 20 second of missed VHF calls
Orange core, floating design means you’ll never lose your radio
Find parts & accessories for Cobra MR HH500 FLT BT and customize your setup to prepare for every voyage.
Take your knowledge to the next level. Get information and product support all in one convenient location.
Item # MR HH500 FLT BT
SPECIFICATIONS
FEATURES
Bluetooth® Wireless Technology - Keep your cell phone safe and dry by pairing it to the radio.
Rewind-Say-Again® - Replay missed VHF calls.
Floating - Never lose your radio. The floating design and orange core make retrieval easy if dropped overboard.
Noise-Cancelling Microphone - Blocks background noise for clearer conversations.
6 Watt VHF - Select between 1, 3 and 6 watts for short and long range communication.
What is the range of my Cobra marine radio?
It is difficult to provide a number, because range will be affected by the following factors:
Transmit power: Higher transmit power gets better range. Transmit powers up to 25 watts are allowed.
Length of the antenna: Short antennas will get shorter range. Long antennas will get longer range.
Height of the antenna: The higher the antenna is mounted, the better the range.
Antenna tuning: Having a properly tuned antenna will maximize your range. Checking the SWR of the antenna will identify how well your antenna is tuned to the marine band.
Atmospheric conditions: Atmospheric conditions can affect radio propagation. If conditions are just right, there are times when you can transmit 100 miles or more. On other occasions you may be limited to only 10 miles. Although these extremes occur infrequently, it does serve to illustrate the effects of atmospheric conditions.
Your location: Your location will also influence the range. For example if you are located on an inland waterway where buildings and trees can block your signal, you will get less range than if you where in the middle of the ocean. With a handheld radio your range will vary depending on whether you are inside the cabin (worst range) or standing on the highest portion of the deck (best range).
Battery condition (handheld models): Low batteries will cause your transmit power to drop, which will reduce your range.
The combination and severity of the above factors will determine your range. Several of these factors can change on a day-to-day basis.
If we were to eliminate all the negative effects, a properly setup mobile radio transmitting 25 watts will communicate as follows:
-A powerboat communicating to another powerboat: approximately 20 miles.
-A powerboat communicating to a well-equipped shore station: approximately 50 miles.
-On a sailboat with the antenna mounted at the top of the mast, communicating to another sailboat: approximately 40 miles.
-On a sailboat with the antenna mounted at the top of the mast, communicating to a well-equipped shore station: approximately 80 miles.
Handheld radios will communicate as follows:
-A 5 watt handheld will communicate approximately 7 miles to another handheld, or approximately 20 miles to a well-equipped shore station
-A 2 watt handheld will communicate approximately 5 miles to another handheld, or approximately 15 miles to a well-equipped shore station
What is DSC (Digital Selective Calling)?
Digital Selective Calling (DSC) is a radio technology allowing enhanced distress radio messages to be sent digitally. In addition, a DSC equipped vessel with an MMSI number can make a "private" hailing call to another DSC-equipped vessel. Only the vessel being called will receive the initial contact, but the subsequent conversations will take place on an open, “working” channel, which can be monitored by any VHF equipped vessel within your broadcast range.
What is a Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI)?
Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) is a unique 9 digit number that is assigned to a (Digital Selective Calling) DSC radio or an AIS unit. Similar to a cell phone number, your MMSI number is your unique calling number for DSC radios or an AIS unit. The information provided when obtaining a MMSI number is transferred into the U.S. Coast Guard's national distress database for use in emergency situations.
Is there a fee to obtain an MMSI?
MMSI numbers are free for BoatUS members or $25 for non-members. To obtain a new or change your existing MMSI#, visit: https://www.boatus.com/MMSI/MMSI/ObtainMMSI#!
Why should I register my VHF radio and obtain an MMSI number?
Your VHF radio is the single most important piece of safety equipment you can have on board your vessel. By using a VHF radio with Digital Select Calling (DSC) capability, you increase your safety dramatically by taking advantage of enhanced communications options. These options link you to other vessels and rescue facilities, providing a strong, modern safety net not offered by mobile phones while in the water.
Why is it so important to have a DSC radio with built-in GPS and/or the option to connect to an external GPS?
Having a built-in GPS in a emergency, one push of the Distress button, transmits the distress signal containing your MMSI# and location Lat/Lon information to USCG and all other DSC capable receivers within your broadcast range. Should (you) the operator become incapacitated, the radio will continue to send the mayday signal.
If your DSC radio does not have a built-in GPS, the Coast Guard urges, in the strongest terms possible, that you take the time to interconnect your DSC-equipped radio to an external GPS. Doing so may save your life in a distress situation! Here is a link to an external GPS available from Cobra https://www.cobra.com/collections/marine-accessories/products/cm300005cobrapositioningsystem
Why join Sea Tow?
As the official VHF radio of Sea Tow, we recommend it. It is the #1 choice of boaters nationwide for boat towing and expert on-water assistance. Membership offers discounts on fuel, boating supplies, restaurants, and gives you an experienced captain standing by 24/7 in case you need help while out on the water. Joining Sea Tow will help prevent out of pocket expenses and save you valuable time in the event that you do need a tow.
Overall rating: 3.2777777 / 5 from 18 reviews.
Review topics: ["features","radio","number","speaker"].
"Usually don’t write reviews, but I haven’t been using this lately. I’ve had it for many years. It always worked perfectly for me and honestly, I haven’t used in years and I just charged it. It still holds a charge. Can’t wait to start using it again. This season on my Kayak."
"Worked well as bluetooth conduit so I could leave my phone alone, but not as well as a VHF radio. Used about 20 times in a kayak. Never fully submerged, rinsed clean with freshwater, but plenty of saltwater splashes. Could see rust buildup and corrosion dripping in display screen after first season. Second season just stopped working. Not worth it for just a few seasons, maybe I just got unlucky."
"After 6 months of light use, water intrusion killed this"submersible" radio."
"good walkie talk"
"The sensitivity is poor, making this handheld device practically unusable. It fails to receive any signal even at a distance of one kilometer. Additionally, it was ineffective even near locks."
"Excellent radio, great for ocean kayaking."
"I can use this radio for several events and trips we take each year. I haven't had to use it yet, but I've had it on while out and around to listen and test the scanning. Nothing heard yet. I hope it comes in handy next week for one of three events going on. The quality of the parts seems less than what I had expected, I hope they last many years. Only time will tell?"
"Got two brand new HH500 and scan functions does not work on any of them. No way to fix or update without returning units. Really disappointing."
"I purchased the Cobra MR HH500 FLT BT and I'm pretty unsatisfied with it. It never worked right, the sound was horrible. I though that it was just how it was suppose to sound but when it stopped working after only a handful of uses I knew it was busted from the start."
"First, this is a great vhf radio. But there are some quirky things that you might like to know... First is that it allows you to connect a cell/mobile phone via bluetooth which could save your phone from a dunking. I was expecting to be able to use it with a BT headset as well, but no. You can buy their own headset but you can't use an existing BT headset. Shame. I haven't tried the phone feature and probably won't use that capability. The charging stand is fiddly. You can either have the insert to the stand in, in which case you can charge the lithium battery by itself or take it out and have the whole VHF unit in the stand. But getting the battery out is a little fiddly as you need to undo a screw. Sure this helps with the waterproofness but makes it clumsy to remove. Would only do it if I needed to use the 5AA battery pack blank that they provide for emergencies. You can have either mains or 12v charging, but you have to use the stand to charge. No way to connect the battery directly to the handset. Again probably helps with waterproofness but I now need to buy a second stand. I want to be able to charge using 12v on my boat and then bring the unit home and charge via mains charging. Manual is clear. You get a good selection of accessories in the box. But I would have liked to know that the stand is essential to charging and would have bought a second at the time to avoid more shipping charges. They also make a big deal about bluetooth and maybe the use case is what others want, but I would have liked the option to use my own BT headset."
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