A boaty Conundrum

[oldgit]

Having just watched another expensive bit of kit go plop into the briney.
Most of the previous stuff., fancy polarised and photochromic specs, posh sunglasses then cheap rubbish sunglasses, mobile phone(s) etc have all slid sedately beyond view into the murk of the waters of the East coast.
This time it was one of the better classes of Icom handportable and yes they do float and quite possibly a RED light was flashing away.
It all happened on somebody elses boat and by the time had got back my boat at the other end of the pontoons, got underway and then trying to estimate how far the tide might have taken it, finally gave up the search, admitted defeat and returned boat back to mooring.

Decided it would be budget low end ICOM this this time.
The budget Icom M 25 would appear to fill the void at around £150.00 on Ebay.
But its also listed nearbye sub £50.00 , just need to wait 10 days for shipping from somebody you have never ever heard off.
Will pay via Paypal.
Do not give toss about warranty as it will almost certainly suffer the same fate as the first radio.
More concerned that it will be programmed for our ITU frequencies ie our marina frequencies.
ICOM was not known for allowing any user programming and reluctant to faff about sourcing software and leads .

 

[Bouba]

Have you thought about only boating in crystal clear waters where you can see what you drop

 

[ProDave]

First thing I do stepping aboard, is empty my pockets into a safe place inside the boat, no car keys, mobile phone, wallet etc left in pockets to fall out and go for a swim.

The next HH, have a lanyard and a clip, so you can clip it to yourself.

 

[oldgit]

Have you thought about only boating in crystal clear waters where you can see what you drop

Have friends who enjoying spending a fortune.......
A To get their car parked in muddy field 50 miles from the airport.
B.Having to get up at the crack of dawn to ensure that they do not miss their flight due to the M ?? being shut or blocked.
C Spending a fortune on something that is not entirely unlike Coffee and eating something tasting like cotton wool in a Theme Cafe.
D.Standing in que of 160 other pissed off people getting ready to take off belts and shoes at the single customs gate.
C Trying to find somewhere/ anywhere to sit down with view of the Salidas board to see if their flight has actually left Nice or Malaga yet.
D Enjoy that jog to the departure in Gate somewhere near Brighton to watch everybody else board despite the airline having extracted money out of you under false pretences for early boarding.
E The chance to share some new disese entirely unknown to science in cramped alumium tube proudly displaying a Made with Care by Boeing on the side.
F Sorry, the cheap car you booked have all gone but we do have one at double the price if you are not prepared to walk to the Marina carrying all those Baked Beans and bits to repair your boat.
G. On the up you now know how to get to your boat without having to walk past the marina office.
H. On the up those winds might die down a bit before you have go home.

However curiously they all insist its only half a day door to door, with flights only 10/6d return and why dont other folks come down to enjoy the delights of the clear blue waters .

 

[Momac]

My Icom M23 handheld is the previous model to the M25 .
It has a very long battery life , months between need for charging, due to no battery hungry functions like GPS.
One time it had a good soaking on the flybridge which did it no harm whatsoever. Its still fine after 10 years.

I think £150 for the M25 is good value.
Perhaps some of the lower priced items you may have seen are fakes.

 

[julians]

I've got the m25, I won it for pic of the day from mby magazine.

It's a decent little handheld, but I think if you have a specific requirement to have UK specific frequencies then you have not got much choice but to stump up for the 150 quid version, otherwise I'd go for the cheap ones from aliexpress for 35 quid plus postage and vat.

 

[oldgit]

I've got the m25, I won it for pic of the day from mby magazine.

It's a decent little handheld, but I think if you have a specific requirement to have UK specific frequencies then you have not got much choice but to stump up for the 150 quid version, otherwise I'd go for the cheap ones from aliexpress for 35 quid plus postage and vat.

Would appear that the all the versions cover all the ITU frequencies and looks as though its user programmable as well.
Can manage without the marina channel 80 on a H/H as always at the helm and fixed VHF when entering marina.
Its just the thought that whats in the Aliexpress picture is not what arrives in the post.
Cannot find anybody who has actually gone via this route before.

 

[julians]

Would appear that the all the versions cover all the ITU frequencies and looks as though its user programmable as well.
Can manage without the marina channel 80 on a H/H as always at the helm and fixed VHF when entering marina.
Its just the thought that whats in the Aliexpress picture is not what arrives in the post.
Cannot find anybody who has actually gone via this route before.

There are a few reviews on the ali express site, most were happy with what they received. A couple were not happy as they were expecting the euro version, but got the international version, but nobody said the radio was fake/faulty etc. The fact that they published the negative reviews makes me think that the reviews were genuine.

So I reckon go for it, and report back, if its not good just put it down to experience (its not a huge amount of money) , and you can feel good about the fact that you let the rest of us know its no good.

 

[oldgit]

The wait begins......................
Wonder if the old radio is on the bottom yet or still merrily going up "n" down with the tide.

 

[SC35]

Brand new Icom M25 from Marine Superstore for £149.95 ...

Icom M25 Handheld VHF Radio

 

[trevbouy]

There's a review Icom M25

 

[oldgit]

Icom ic m25 5w 5km vhf marine radio marine walkie talkie vhf transceiver - AliExpress 44

£170 or £40.00 they will probably both make the same splash as they hit the water but one might result in a lot less swearing ?

 

[oldgit]

IC M25. Euro. UK purchase. £`150.00.- £180.00.
IC M25. Euro. Ebay £ 62.78 with P&P. Arrived today. 100% genuine item ,..................but No warranty .

 

[oldgit]

Ps. This is the USA version not the UK.

 

[Bigplumbs]

I have a very simple answer to this. I buy a laptop bag from Amazon (Many to choose from) I then fix 2 small stainless steel D rings below the steering wheel and 2 snap clips on the bag. All our valuable stuff goes in the bag (we call it the boat key bag) and I clip it to the D rings. These laptop bags have loads of pockets etc