You don’t need to spend a bundle of cash to get a first-class handheld VHF radio. In this, our second review, we’ll show that a C-note might be all it takes.

From left to right: West Marine VHF 50, Uniden Voyager, Uniden MHS350, Uniden Atlantis 250, Standard Horizon HX270S, Icom IC-M2A, Icom IC-M32, West Marine VHF 150

Dropping down a notch in price from the more expensive radios in our prior test doesn’t necessarily mean sacrificing quality or performance of the functions and features we believe are most important. In our testing, most of these radios performed as well as those in the more expensive group in all categories. So what do you lose by opting for a less-expensive radio? Bells and whistles. If DSC calling (only two units in our expensive radio test had this…