Icom M31 handheld VHF

[pvb]

Just bought an Icom M31 handheld VHF. Got it from Pumpkin Marine (see ads in YM, etc) for £140 inc 12v charging lead - the cheapest offer I've seen. It arrived next day via the excellent BusinessPost service (gosh, ParcelForce could learn a thing or two from them!). Seems like very good value for money, and has loads of features, including a spare waterproof tray for alkaline (or maybe high-capacity NiMH?) batteries.

However, the comprehensive instruction manual has - on the very first page - details of how to make a distress call on Ch16. But the VHF itself has a label on the back which says "Not intended for distress and safety purposes". What's all that about then???

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[Oldhand]

M21 has same label on the back. Does it mean Icom have no faith in the reliability of their equipment?

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[PaulR]

one note of caution- we bought ourselves one earlier this year having been very impressed with icom kit in the past- very happy with the handheld except found the battery kept going flat even when set turned off- contacted Icom who explained that it is fitted with a "soft" on off switch which apparently still drains power even when off- their advice was to remove battery from set when not in use to avoid it being flattened- bit of a nuisance and frankly had we known would have put us off choosing it as can't have it (even though waterproof) ready to grab should unthinkable happen (would have to reassemble first and keep separate bits dry), now tend to reassemble and leave assembled when on board for weekend then remove battery at end of weekend until next time, still believe it is a good set but still don't see benefit of this "soft" on off switch (icom explain it helps them keep the set reliable and waterproof)

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[pvb]

Soft on/off switch...

Yes, there was a scrap of paper in the box warning about this. Apparently it draws 36mAh a day! The advice from Icom to "always fully charge your battery pack prior to going to sea" doesn't sit happily with the reality of a NiCd battery and its memory effect. Still, for £140 you can't have everything.

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[Solitaire]

Unlike a fixed VHF set, handhelds have a lower transmitting power level at the top end of 5 watts. Therefore the tx distance is considerably less than a fixed set which tx's on 25 watts. As Ch16 is used for distress and safety calling I'm assuming that the manufactuers are "protecting" themselves from any failure of a handeheld to provide for distress or safety calling over any real distance. Handhelds have their place, but I would not rely on one to get over a Mayday or Pan Pan! The Solent is however a different matter, there are boats never more than a few miles away at any time. But not all handhelds produced are used on a giant boating lake!


I use an ICOM M1 Euro V as a backup while instructing - it's attached to my lifejacket. It's get's very heavy use, but I must say that the battery life on it is outstanding. I did 3 courses last week and had the VHF on everytime I was on the water. Although I did'nt need to make masses of calls, the battery at the end of six days was still showing full charge. In fact, since I had the unit I have never had it fully discharge on me.

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[pvb]

Lithium Ion battery....

The M1 Euro V has a big 1600mAh Lithium Ion battery pack, so it will have a good battery life. But it costs around double the price of an M31 - guess you get what you pay for!

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[Solitaire]

Re: Lithium Ion battery....

As you say it's horses for courses. The M31 is a good bit of kit for the price, but I also wanted the mike that goes with the M1. I use the radio for interboat comms if out with a number of students and I have tried using a handheld without a mike - I get one hell of a crick in my neck trying to use it! I'm mostly instructing on ribs and don't have the kuxury of a chart table or such like.

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[tome]

Transmit power is not really an issue here compared to antenna height with a h/h versus a fixed installation. I would rather have my masthead antenna survive than my fixed VHF set - at least I could then plug in my h/h and expect at least half the tx range and full rx range on the reduced power.

Battery power is far more of an issue, and I don't understand why Icom (amongst others) persist with NiCads which are impossible to top-up charge due to memory effects. Lithium Ion batteries are far safer and you can ensure they are fully charged before each trip.

I use an Icom h/h with NiCads but have an additional battery pack which takes standard akaline cells as a backup. That way, I can fully run down the NiCads before recharging safe in the knowledge that I have a reserve.

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[gandy]

Is this to do with the new DSC stuff? According to other info, and discussions here, Channel 16 soon won't be the distress and calling channel any more. Taken literally, doesn't that mean that a non-DSC handheld isn't all that suitable as safety equipment? (Call all you like on Ch.16, but nobody's obliged to listen)

Tony S

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[Solitaire]

Yes, but not everybody has a mast do they! Handhelds are used on a variety of vessles. All very well spouting on about height of antenna but somewhat irrelevant in a rib or small power boat where, in my experience, there are a lot more handhelds in use as a primary source of VHF communication. A handheld used within its limitations of both low max power output versus a fixed set, and arieal height will be a limiting factor in an emergency situation.
I also would wonder at the number of people who have the facility to "wire" their handheld into the main antenna. Not everybody is as electrical adept as you appear to be.
No doubt Jon Brookes may enter this debate regarding the issue of using handhelds for distress/ urgency calls. But a handheld in a grab bag is still better than not taking one at all.

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[tome]

Agreed, not everyone has a mast but even on RIBs I've owned/used it's normal to have a decent half-wave or base loaded antenna on an A frame or equivalent and this will give considerable improvement in range compared with the rubber duck antenna fitted to a h/h.

Wiring a h/h to the fixed antenna requires a BNC adaptor, hardly rocket science! I do agree that a h/h in the grab bag is useful (or essential).

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[Solitaire]

It may not be rocket science to you - but I'm only a stupid advertising and marketing man! I could most probably sell ice to Eskimos but it ain't my job to make it. My antenna is screwed into the back of my fixed set. To remove it, I would have to get on my hands and knees to do it. Do I then have to go through the rigmarole of putting on this thing called a "BNC adapator" and then plug it into the h/h? Or would I have to have a sepearte lead to do it?
As the saying goes, "one man's meat is anothers poison". I 'd appreciate you telling me how to do this and where to get a BNC adaptor. I'm sure there may be others who would find your help of value.

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[Benbow]

>>I also would wonder at the number of people who have the facility to "wire" their handheld into the main antenna. Not everybody is as electrical adept as you appear to be.<<

No wiring is required !

Buy an adapter for a pound or two - I always carry one. I am surprised how few people who have both a fixed and a handheld have this. It almost provides a spare fixed VHF.

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[Tekkie]

Hi all IMHO it's all down to GMDSS. The statement identifies the unit as not the waterproof handheld as required under GMDSS for compolsory fit vessels.

All in my VHO. Jon Brooks (ICOM) where are you when needed

Brian

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[tome]

Yes, it's a bit of a fiddle to change over but technically easy. The adaptor is a BNC to UHF available from RS Components part no 257-2995 at £6.34. I'm sure Maplin and Farnell also stock equivalents. You would need to access the rear of the VHF set and unscrew the antenna, into which you screw the adaptor and then your handheld.

Another way is to make an extension lead in place of the adaptor with BNC male one end and UHF female PL259 the other. This would be better if there wasn't much slack on the fixed installation antenna.

If you also carry an emergency VHF antenna then this gives you a range of options should you end up with radio problems.

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[Oldhand]

Should have payed a little more and got an M21, battery stays up fine on that.

Suspect this is because:

M31 has no nobs therefore must be awake enough to know an "on " button has been pressed. M21 has an on/off-volume knob so "off" can mean "off".

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[Solitaire]

Thanks for that. It would seem, from my point of view, that having the extension option makes more sense as I have a "T" number on my h/h. Thus I could carry it in my grab bag and use it on any vessel I was operating on. Thanks again.

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[Mike_Martin]

This is only a guess.

It may be down to the fact that in the Maritime Service (not just GMDSS but always) the rightful place of hand-helds in the pecking order has always been that of secondary or "back-up" equipment. So although some (remember not all) pleasure users use them as primary equipment that isn't what they are made for.

Mike

<hr width=100% size=1>Team Executive,
Maritime & Aeronautical Team, Ofcom

 

[MainlySteam]

I am only guessing too Mike but I think that you are probably correct. My recollection of the SOLAS minimum equipment requirements only mentions portable VHF tranceivers as being for use in survival craft, not for alerting purposes from the vessel on which they are carried. Naturally, and as you infer, that does not preclude them being used as the primary radio on small pleasure vessels.

Would be interesting to hear what Jon has to say as I have not noticed such notices on their radios around this side of the world (but may be a recent thing and will find a radio shoppe to sneak a peak at one).

I assume from your response that it is not a thing come up because of the declared Sea Area A1 for DSC?

John

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[tugboat]

I have just returned from a trip where I used my M31 for the first time since purchase. It was switched on for a total of about an hour over about 10 days and in that same period I had to charge it 7 times as it was always flat when I wanted it. Not much use in a grab-bag situation! As already posted by others, I found out from ICOM about the 'soft' on-off button which causes a drain. Something else I learned (which is now undergoing test to confirm) is the importance of giving the battery a full charge, requiring about 8 hours. At switch-on, there is a brief battery voltage indication which gave me 8.7 volts after a full charge. ICOM say the set will then take about 3 days to self discharge. After 24 hours my voltage is down to 8 volts. There is the spare battery case which takes AA cells as a backup and that was one of my reasons for choosing the M31. There has been a big advertising push on these sets the last few months, but only now is this battery drain feature getting some publicity. I'm wishing now I'd chosen the Euro V.

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