Small VHF Radio - Advice please.

DIW

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Due to very limited space available for a fitted VHF I have looked at the Standard Horizon GX 1100 and the Icom IC M411, being the smallest I can find. Both have good specs but would welcome advice if any one has experience of either. Thanks
 

capsco

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I have the Standard Horizon 1100, it seems to be very good, I did however fit an extension speaker that improved the sound quality a lot, I paid less than £100.
 

FishyInverness

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If you're looking for the smallest feasible fixed radio for the space, then the ICOM M401 would fit the bill.

However, it achieves this by sacrificing the inbuilt DSC functionality - in most other respects it's the same as the M411. The DSC control unit can be purchased seperately for mounting elsewhere.

Did my VHF Training on an M411 - Liked it, easy to use, easy to see, Robust manufacture that you expect from ICOM, it's what I would buy if I upgraded from a handheld in my wee Fishing Tender!

Not sure if that was the kind of answer you were looking for, but seeing as the M401 was designed for Rib Centre Consoles where space is at a premium, thought it was worth a mention...
 
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kashurst

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I have just fitted a Icom 411 to current boat. I had one on my previous boat and it was excellent in every way.
 

PaulGooch

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Both very good sets, nothing to choose between the two in terms of quality/reliability really. The Standard Horizon does have three years warranty. I've had a few SH sets and they've mostly been very reliable. Did have a couple of faulty ones a couple of years ago, within weeks of one another, but they were sorted very promptly and without fuss.
 

oldgit

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MainICM401EURO.JPG


If your eyes are anything like mine you need the one with the biggest clearest display especially if things get bumpy.
My present boat came with a virtually new Midland Neptune it looks the business with a splendid marine white case and a whole keyboard full of flash looking knobs........however its a triumph of gizmos over practicality.
It is far to complicated and the screen is so tiny, the display numbers so thin and weedy that is near impossible to read under most conditions
I defy anyone to decipher the GPS read out without a microscope,its going out the cabin door and on to Ebay as soon as the funds for a new ICOM arrive.
 
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Firefly625

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Both very good sets, nothing to choose between the two in terms of quality/reliability really. The Standard Horizon does have three years warranty. I've had a few SH sets and they've mostly been very reliable. Did have a couple of faulty ones a couple of years ago, within weeks of one another, but they were sorted very promptly and without fuss.

In fact yesterday after quite a bit of research I just purchased a new ICOM IC-M505 to replace my 10 yr old ICOM M501 to give me DSC which I have been without since buying my Hardy. FYI the Icom does also come with a 3yr warranty.

I do rate the Icom units, they are good, also where my VHF is fitted I cannot have a standard size unit as I don't have the depth, both the 501 and 505 units are half the depth of a standard VHF, useful to know if restriction on space is due to depth of unit rather than width or height!!
 

Firefly625

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Hallo Firefly625,
You wrote:
"I just purchased a new ICOM IC-M505 to replace my 10 yr old ICOM M501 to give me DSC..."
I am interested to buy the ICOM M501 when it is working and in regular condition.
I will pay you 60 Pounds.
Why? I can use it in Germany as a radio for SRC Training.
http://funk-an-bord.de/src-theorie-praxis.html
http://funk-an-bord.de/src-pruefung.html


Thanks for the offer! I have promised it to a friend at the moment, I will let you know if does not want it..

Got to say having removed it this weekend and installed my new icom 505 both very nice units, and the 501 VERY small,
 

yacht1948

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ICOM M501

Hallo Firefly625,
You wrote:
"I just purchased a new ICOM IC-M505 to replace my 10 yr old ICOM M501 to give me DSC..."
I am interested to buy the ICOM M501 when it is working and in regular condition.
I will pay you 60 Pounds.
Why? I can use it in Germany as a radio for SRC Training.
http://funk-an-bord.de/src-theorie-praxis.html
http://funk-an-bord.de/src-pruefung.html

There are restrictions when you intend to put a old marine radio into another boat.
Once installed, an old radio can be used for livetime until there is a change in ownership of the boat.
I am not shure how it is in UK.
In Germany the boat radio license contains only the type of the radio, e.g. ICOM M501, and it is allowed to replace a broken one to another ICOM M501.
In Spain the boat radio license contains the _serial_number_ of the marine radio. When it is broken, you have to aply for a new license.
And even more, the radios have a limit in "homologisation". E.g. the M503 was allowed to installed up to 2007.
I am interested to understand how this is regulated in UK.
Thanks
 

FishyInverness

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I have an Icom handheld, but was considering installing a fixed VHF, but am unsure as to the benefits of a fixed unit over a handheld ?

Think you got overlooked a bit there, though it's really a question for another thread, rather than drifting a bit, but for ease of reply, i'll give you the basics:

Main Fixed benefits are :
* Increased power output = Usually 25Watt fixed as opposed to about 6Watt from a handheld.
* DSC facility and ability to link to a GPS system (though the handheld approval has now happened in the UK and you will slowly see DSC/GPS handhelds appearing)

Can't think of any other benefits that aren't dependant on another bit of kit, but i'm sure someone would pick up anything I missed.
 

Firefly625

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There are restrictions when you intend to put a old marine radio into another boat.
Once installed, an old radio can be used for livetime until there is a change in ownership of the boat.
I am not shure how it is in UK.
In Germany the boat radio license contains only the type of the radio, e.g. ICOM M501, and it is allowed to replace a broken one to another ICOM M501.
In Spain the boat radio license contains the _serial_number_ of the marine radio. When it is broken, you have to aply for a new license.
And even more, the radios have a limit in "homologisation". E.g. the M503 was allowed to installed up to 2007.
I am interested to understand how this is regulated in UK.
Thanks

UK rules are indeed different. There is no restriction in how many times a VHF is replaced in a boat, you could have a new one every year if you wished and put the old one in another boat.. so long as not DSC VHF it would be that simple, if DSC then each time you would need to clear the MMSI number from the vhf.... ofcom regulates/issues VHF radio licences and you just need to register if it is a handheld unit, fixed or fixed dsc but even this licence is free.
 

DIW

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Think you got overlooked a bit there, though it's really a question for another thread, rather than drifting a bit, but for ease of reply, i'll give you the basics:

Main Fixed benefits are :
* Increased power output = Usually 25Watt fixed as opposed to about 6Watt from a handheld.
* DSC facility and ability to link to a GPS system (though the handheld approval has now happened in the UK and you will slowly see DSC/GPS handhelds appearing)

Can't think of any other benefits that aren't dependant on another bit of kit, but i'm sure someone would pick up anything I missed.

Thanks for the input Fishy, I did wander off piste a bit !
 

FishyInverness

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Thanks for the input Fishy, I did wander off piste a bit !

S'ok, i think the thread is drifting even further now so I think we're ok ;)

I think the thing to consider is whether, in your application, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages of going to Fixed from Handheld, and whether your specific application requires it.

I fish out in the Inner Moray Firth/Beauly Firth in a 3m inflatable Dinghy, Land on three sides, mobile phone range. So I take a handheld, but because i've radio checked about 10 times and only received 1 response (3 watt handheld just off the deck with hills on all sides) from the coastguard I have often considered getting a Fixed radio - when i've considered what else I would then require : 12V Battery with some way of charging it, Place to mount the radio on the Dinghy, VHF Aerial and Frame to mount it on, i've always abandoned the idea, considering that in an emergency situation someone would pick up my handheld mayday even at short range and relay it, and that if the worst comes to the worst my Mobile Phone in an overboard w/proof pouch has GPS/Compass with Lat and Long readings.
 
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