NASA Stingray 5600 VHF Radio

[Porthandbuoy]

NASA Stingray 5600 VHF Radio.
International channels.
1W/25W Power setting.
Dual Watch.
Mounting bracket.
Power lead inc. in-line fuse holder.
Fist Mike inc. clip/bracket.
Arial not included.

Worked fine up until I unplugged it this afternoon.

£25 + Postage at cost.

 

[mainsail]

Don't sell it!! And don't buy a Lowrance LVR250 DSC VHF

This sounds like a re-badged version of the Aqua-marine 5600.

I made the awful mistake of replacing my Aquamarine 5600 with a state-of-the-art Lowrance LVR 250 DSC VHF.

The Lowrance (like all too many Lowrance products) has a totally incomprehensible manual. I defy anyone to set up the "3-Channel Watch" facility as per instructions. The sound quality from the speaker is tinny and poor compared with the Aquamarine.

A radio should be something that's clear and intuititive to operate - in an emergency your wife or kids could be required to use it without days of pouring through the user guide before .
I thought I had a big problem with the Lowrance when I started using it as - although I could receive OK (albeit tinnily) no one could make out what I was saying.

It took ages to find out why,. The Lowrance microphone features several buttons and a large grill - but the grill actually is for a loudspeaker in the microphone - and is not what you speak into. The microphone is actually behind a tiny hole in the microphone case which is easy to miss and all too easy to cover ( and muffle) with your hand.

As for DSC - well who needs it? Who bothers with it? ...No one.

As for GPS - well you have to buy some sort of GPS chartplotter and hook this up to your radio to allow the DSC system to broadcast your chart position in an emergency.

As GPS units are everywhere these days - even in small pocket digital cameras - you have to wonder why radio manufacturers aren't compelled by law to include them in all marine VHS radios. Their failure to do is nothing short of a scandal.

Meanwhile I'd hang on to the 5600 if I were you. It's a good set.