Ken -- I have to agree. I think you will be gravely disappointed with a handheld. I presume you are thinking cost & "for emergancy use only" . If that's your criteria - quite frankly, take your cell phone with you and pre-program MP phone # into it.
I had a handheld for a few years on the Lake and it's reception is great -- It "hears" all the big 25w radios. It's transmission however is/was horrid. There are way too many obsticles (islands, cliffs, etc) to make it truely effective. Today we still use our (old) handheld but it is merely a means of communicating back to shore (our cottage) so that we don't have to yell etc. or when boating in the general proximity of the cottage to alert the wife, et al.
Example: our cottage is in the proximity of FL#1 --- once under the Wiers bridge and into Paugus the Handheld doesn't make it! In the other direction (line of site) it is barely audible from the Merideth Town Docks. It will recieve well from behind Govenors Isl - but slip behind another island (Timber etc) forget it. And these are not "cheap" handhelds.
A bunch of experts will certainly chime in here and talk about "line of site", elevation, atmospheric conditions, on & on -- I'm simply sharing real life!! We love our 25w in the boat and it carries 2/3 of the lake most all the time.
p.s. -- This screen name (Phantom) is our boat/hailing name.
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