Midland Neptune VHF/DSC

[Mhvoiceuk]

I just received a new Alan/Midland Neptune DSC VHF set today and my first impressions are that is a solid unit. It's waterproofed to 1m for 30 minutes, CE approved and has an all metal casing. I bought it on offer with a free GPS active antenna (Alan call it a GPS200 but it is in fact a rebadged Holux GM 210). At £159.00 including VAT and P + P this seems a very good deal - particularly as the GPS receiver on its own would be £80.00. It'll be reassuring to have 2 seperate GPS receivers on board - in the unlikely event that my Garmin fails then the lat and long can be read from the radio's display. Does anyone have any experience of this set? If so has it been reliable? I'm hoping this isn't a "you get what you pay for" scenario.


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[StephenSails]

We sold quite a few this year and it seems to have had very little teething troubles in its debut year compared to the Silva radio troubles we had last year.

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.yachtinguniverse.com>http://www.yachtinguniverse.com</A>

 

[stevebirch2002]

Hi

I also bought one for a Vega that I am refitting. Unit seems solid. Only slight downs are the display is not as large the big lcd displays you get on the Icom sets. There is no flush mounting kit so has to be installed using the supplied bracket. All in all for the price of £160 all in seems great value. Still wondering where to fit the GPS, I will try in the shelf under teh coachroof to keep it inside.

Regards Steve Birch

<hr width=100% size=1>Albin Vega "Southern Comfort" V1703

 

[Mhvoiceuk]

Yes I've been thinking about that. There's a sucker which could put it on a window. I'm going to fit it tommorrow. The lead to the battery is not that generous so I'll need to get some extra cable and connectors today.

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[Anonymous]

Where did you get that deal from? If you don't wish to publish the name publicly, could you PM me? Thanks.

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[Mhvoiceuk]

I got it from Low Tension Ltd.

Webpage for ordering here:

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.lowtension.com/neptunevhf.htm>http://www.lowtension.com/neptunevhf.htm</A>

I'm not affiliated BTW



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[Mhvoiceuk]

Just a quick follow up. I installed the Midland last week and it worked fine. The GPS picked up a signal through the coachroof with no problems. Solent Coastguard were good enough to respond to a radio check and they said they could hear me loud and clear and likewise so could I. I'll see how it fairs but for now I'm pleased. I've got my MMSI number through and my "tax disc". I also
registered with the Safety Identification Scheme on the MCA website. You can leave your call sign and MMSI details there. If you do register they'll send you a pack with an adhesive DSC Mayday
card for novices. I got my wife to see if she could follow it (not interested in sailing). She did and gave an instant perfect rendition of a DSC Mayday. Beyond that, it's kind of nice to know that you can tell anyone sailing with you to just press the red button for five seconds should anything happen to you. Even my five year old son could do that.

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[Anonymous]

>>it's kind of nice to know that you can tell anyone sailing with you to just press the red button for five seconds should anything happen to you. Even my five year old son could do that. <<

That's the real benefit for the yachtsman, as I see it, plus equally importantly, the exact position being transmitted on the initial call. I've often wondered how long it would actually take me (or worse, my wife) to write down the lat/long, and send a coherent mayday in the sort of situation that would require a distress call. It would be very easy to transpose a couple of digits (e.g. 42 becomes 24).

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[Anonymous]

I'm just about to order one of these Neptune sets as the offer expires at the end of December. Does anyone have an update from their experience? Normally I'd wait until the BS but this product/spec/price does seem very attractive.