Advice- Hand held radios

[thane]

The time has come to replace my old built - in radio. I am very interested in buying a hand held VHF radio.
At the present time I am undecided between the Silva M 298 and the XM 2000 both appear to meet my requirements.

I would very much appreciate any advice from fellow sailors re the relative strengths/ weakness of the two models

Regards

David.

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[[3889]]

Had both and would definitely recommend the xm2000 for reliability, usability and durability. Maybe I would have had only had 1 radio if I'd bought Icom,simrad etc. but needs must.

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[LadyInBed]

Remember that replacing a built - in radio with a hand held will drastically reduce your range.
Fixed 25Watts - 25 to 30 miles
h / h 5Watts - 2 to 3 miles, a little more if you can connect it to a mast head antenna.

XM 2000 is 2Watts output if you don't have the 1A/h battery and charger option!
<hr width=100% size=1><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by NigelB on 15/07/2003 22:37 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[KeithH]

I recently bought the Silva S12. The price is starting to drop, as the competition increases. So shop around.

Key advantage over S298 is that the unit is waterproof. That is an important feature for me. Batteries are better too (Ni metal hydride I think).



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[thane]

Hi

Many thanks for your reply - did you have any problems re range and battery life?

Most of my sailing is English channel - Foreland - Dover/Calais/Dunkirk

Cheers

David

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[thane]

Nigel,

Thanks for your advice - I seem to have misread the advertising as I thought the

given range for the XM2000 was at least a 5watt output, how can the 2watt range be extended??

Many thanks

David

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[LadyInBed]

Paraphrase from Sailing Today July 2000 where they tested 11 models
they quote:
'Standard Battery' as 7.2v 600mAh - 2Watts output
'Alternative Battery' 6xAA 12v 1Ah - 5Watts output


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[dick_james]

I use a Silva 298 as back-up for the fixed set and the only problem for me is that it only takes its own specific battery (like a mobile phone) and when it has run down - which does not take long, it then has to be recharged. If I were choosing again I think I would try one that takes AA size batteries either re-chargeable or ordinary types.

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[Dave99]

I have to say that I have been very impressed with my XM 2000 handheld and was amazed that the range with another yacht was 5 miles on low power. Its very easy to operate. Prices dont seem to vary much but some seem to come with more accesseries than others. I got a mains charger,12V charger, waterproof bag, rechargeable Ni-cad and standard pack to put AA batteries in.

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[thane]

Dave,
Thanks very much for your advice. I have decided to go for the XM 2000
your deal was very good where /when did you get it?

Once again many thanks

David

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[StephenW]

Take a look at the Icom M21 - excellent unit, very small, dual and tri-watch and they will be reducing in price now as they are no longer a brand new model.

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[StephenW]

Just a thought - when looking at handhelds you might also look at the Icom M21 - nice unit, waterproof and takes both dedicated and AA battery packs.

I bought one last year and it has been very effective, also pretty compact

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