Cobra HH325, Handheld VHF

The Cobra HH325 is a mid-sized marine handheld that is solidly constructed on an aluminum die cast frame. With an all up weight of 15.5 ounces it is certainly no lightweight.

The HH325 comes from the factory packaged with an AC charger that requires 14 hours to fully charge the 1500 mAH nickel metal hydride battery used in the unit. A DC charger cord and wrist strap is also included while an AA battery case is optional.

Cobra HH325

Volume and squelch control knobs are mounted concentrically on top of the case next to the jack where an external speaker or microphone would connect. The push-to-talk switch and lock buttons are side-mounted.

The remaining functions are controlled using eight front-mounted pushbuttons. One button control is available for transmitter power selection, call tone, channel changing, weather channel selection, quick selection of channel 16 or 9, and some scanning options. Transmitter power can be set to one of three levels, 5, 3, or 1 watt.

Scan modes include numerical, memory, and tri-watch. In the tri-watch mode 16 will always be one of the scanned channels; the other two are user selectable. The HH325 can use all Canadian, International, and US channels and NOAA weather channels.

This radio is capable of sending a call tone to other VHF radios able to receive it. When it receives a call tone it will vibrate or sound a tone.

Performance

Transceiver performance of the HH325 was about average. It earned good ratings for transmitter power stability and receiver sensitivity, but only a fair for transmitter frequency stability—still it remained well within industry and governmental specifications. Audio performance was good, it managed a healthy 93 dBA reading during our output test.

This radio refused to transmit due to a weak battery after 11 hours of our battery test. It passed both the drop and submersion tests too with no glitches.

We rated the HH325 display screen excellent, it’s big and displays much information. Large block style numbers are used to display the selected channel while a single smaller letter tells what channel group is selected.

Transmitter power output is shown onscreen as Hi, Med, or Lo. Battery level on the bottom right of the screen and shows a filled battery shaped icon when full. As the battery charge drops the battery icon empties too. A signal strength meter displays the strength of the transmitted or received signal.

Final Thoughts

This radio is waterproof and carries a JIS7 rating. This means it can be submerged to a depth of 1 meter for 30 minutes without sustaining any damage. It has a has a bevy of features and carries a 3-year warranty.

Buy this Cobra handheld marine VHF radio here.