Typically can receive radio messages up to about 70 ft of depth, just below periscope depth.
Others went into detail so I'll not repeat this but will say in general, US commanders did not communicate with subs at sea the way the Germans did with their Uboats. Admiral Fife in Brisbane was "chatty" to degree, and
bit of a micromanager, unfortunately.
Even when US starting deploying wolfpacks, they had a on scene tactical commander to make decisions so HQ would not have to excessively communicate with them while at sea and exposing them to tracking.
The evening FOX traffic was the only regular communication and was sent in the evening, when subs were likely to be surfaced to receive it. Of course priority messages such as ULTRA regarding ship movements etc were sent, but it was often one way communication, no response required unless specified in the message.
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