Buying a vhf from the US

[Modulation]

I need a new vhf and find that the best bargains are to be found on American websites. Forgetting about all yhe delivery/shipping issues, does anybody know of specific reasons why a US set wouldnt work in the UK? Is the dsc function the same? Frequencies too?
On the face of it all should work anywhere (given that boats are for moving around in!)) but do they?

Thanks



<hr width=100% size=1>Brendan

 

[BootleBumtrinket]

They don't have channel M or M2, so are not much use

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[Solitaire]

I went through this same thing last year. You will have no problem using US VHF here but you could find yourself in deep water if you were to have a radio inspection. The likley hood of that is very very slim... but! In the end I bought in the UK as the prices were not that different after delivery and added VAT (if you get caught). Just as an example, the Icom IC-M401E, the "E" is for European, is £189.95 in the Spring 2003 Marine Superstore catalogue, the same model in the Westmarine 2003 catalogue is $199.99 plus all the add ons in terms of shipping etc.I can't remember where I bought mine from now, but you can get the price down by looking around. I bought UK for piece of mind, the cost differential was not enoughto justify being caught with the wrong "type" of radio.
But I say again, US bought ones will work here. It your choice!

M and M2 are for marina calls - most marinas work on Channel 80 (at least on the sea) and that is on all radios. In fact my UK bought set does not have M or M2

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[john_travers]

No M or M2?
My new radio didnt either until I questioned the supplier.
"Sorry" they said. "Must have sent you an inland waterways model"
They exchanged the unit for a full UK spec model.

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[Solitaire]

I've never need to use them, so I suppose what you don't have you don't miss! But I think I'll check again to make sure. What do you use M and M2 for?

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[Modulation]

Sent you a pm

<hr width=100% size=1>Brendan

 

[dickhicks]

They will certainly work in the UK, but as said earlier won't have M or M2 as standard although Ch 80 is M if I remember correctly. M2 is used for yacht club/racing I think. If it is a well known make like ICOM, I believe a dealer can reprogramme them for UK waters but check first. Others, like UNIDEN(as on eBay.co.uk) have never been sold in Europe so will not be CE marked or approved for use in Europe or UK. So in theory you could get it confiscated if an 'official' spotted it - but highly unlikely. (but don't you have to put make and model when you apply for a licence?)
Similarly, if a VHF is bought from Germany, Ch6 is only allowed 1watt, but if ICOM can be reprogrammed.

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[BrendanS]

That'll confuse him!
Hi! from one Brendan to another

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[dickh]

The other problem, unless you buy an expensive Icom, is that they will not be "DSC compatible" ie you will not be able to add a DSC unit at a later date. All EU VHF's have to be either DSC Enabled or capable of adding DSC at a later date.

If you are willing to risk a US VHF, there is a guy on <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.eBay.co.uk>http://www.eBay.co.uk</A> selling imported US Uniden VHF's at about £100... Type 'uniden' in search and they should come up.

<hr width=100% size=1>dickh
I'd rather be sailing... /forums/images/icons/smile.gif<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by dickh on 25/04/2003 10:35 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[Solitaire]

Beg to differ Sir! You can get an ICOM IC-M402 which needs a seperate upgrade unit for $169.99 or the IC-M502 which is a complete unit for $299.99 - both from Wetsmarine. Not exactly OTT.

That, however is not the point.

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[Solitaire]

I'm wrong! The IC-M402 has a built in DSC - even better value! But not "E" marked.

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[Modulation]

But does it matter that it is not e marked? Can the dsc capability be enabled here without adaptation? And you are right there are sets going for $170 which have dsc built in - just look at ebay.com (not ebay.co.uk - althouhg you can if you click on deliverable to the UK.

<hr width=100% size=1>Brendan

 

[BrendanS]

Yes, it probably will matter if not e - marked

The US have allowed a 'cut down' version of DSC (U.S. RTCM SC-101 standard), that do not comply with european or IMO (Solas) regulations.

I think one of the main differences is that if you are using the set to recieve or transmit, it cannot receive information on the DSC Ch 70. It cannot be enabled once you get it here, it's simply built to a lower, cheaper specification

Another point is that all new radios sold in the US, have to be DSC compatible, same as in UK (eg either they are already DSC, or you can add a DSC box to them) You need to be aware if that just means the cut down RTCM SC-101 version though.



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[Solitaire]

The "E" marking means it meets all UK and European radio legislation. I have just spoken to the UK marine radio licesensing authoritity. And this is what they have said. All marine radio equipment for use in Europe must meet the requirments as laid down in the Radio and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment Directive - EU R&TTE Directive. Such equipment which is installed in a boat which does not meet the requirements could subject the owner to confiscartion of such equipemnt and a fine.
The guy I spoke to said that equipment obtained from the US may already meet the directive and have been submitted and that the easiest way of finding out would be to contact the manufacturer directly. The equipment does not have to be marked as "E" just that it has been submitted!
In terms of being "caught" using non "E" marked equipment I was told that such unmarked equipment may cause interference and, I quote, "it would depend on who you interfered with as to how quickly you would be caught!"

As I said in an earlier posting - the choice is yours. I'd contact either ICOM or Simrad - most probaly in the US and ask them if US equipment meets the standard. I would suggest that if you spoke to the UK companies that......!!!!

Anyway. thats my last word on the subject - Good luck with whatever you end up doing! Mind you, I'd be interested to know what the outcome is, then we all may be buying our sets from the US, but I somehow doubt it.

Check out the following link as well - http://www.compliance-club.com/archive1/991211.html



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[snowleopard]

the US VHF channels are not the same as the international ones (though there are quite a few common frequencies). look for sets with US & international- you switch between the channel groups with a bit of nifty button pushing.

channel M appears as '37A' and M2 as 'P4' on us-made sets

some US sets have channel 0 which is entertaining (coastguard, lifeboat etc emergency working freq)

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[kgi]

the aerials and ancillaries are also worth looking at as well, they have a greater variety of aerials, and all the new co-ax connectors, no need to even strip the cable!!!!!!!..........keith

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[Andrew_B]

Ive bought most the the electronics for my boat from the US with no problems including fix and handheld VHF.
The Icom fixed set I bought didnt come on sale in the UK until 12 months after I bought one and when it did it was over double the price!
Go ahead and save some money.

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[Oldhand]

Channel M is 37 not 80. You will tend to get a zero response if you try to use "M" to contact marinas these days as 80 is certainly the South Coast marina channel. M & M2 are mostly used by race officers making announcements to their fleets.

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[kdf]

Brendan.
Lots of answers and lots of confusion. Most , if not all, US radios will have the ability to swtich between US and International channels. This means that if you change to International (usually via a setup menu or button) you then get channel 80 and M1/M2. This is what I got with my Icom.

DSC- Its true that previously most US radios came with a limited DSC capability. With DSC there are various classes - A through E (I think) and in Europe most private boats have class l D while in the US it was class E. This meant that US DSC didn't meet the mininium requirements for use in Europe.

Recently the US radios have been changing and if you look at the Icom 602 its got a full blown DSC class D and full international channels. This model is now being rolled out in Europe next month as the 601 but at twice the price of the US model.

You need to be sure that whichever model you get it has the CE sticker on the back. If you dont you can get into serious trouble with the regulators and end up getting fined.



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[Modulation]

Well!
Thanks everybody - lots of valuable info. I'm almost certain to buy abroad and will post a message with the outcome.


<hr width=100% size=1>Brendan