West Marine VHF

[st599]

Does anyone have any experience with a US firm called West Marine? Are they OK shipping to the UK?

I'm interested in the WestMarine VHF150 or VHF250?

Any Comments on these radios?

Thanks /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[Tekkie]

I do not believe these are CE approved, and as such would be illegal to use in UK on a UK registered vessel. Other than that I cannot comment on the radio.

 

[npf1]

They will work OK but won't be CE apprived, if that bothers you. Also will not have 37, M1 or M2.

 

[Danny]

As far as the company is concerned I reckon they are pretty good. I've bought stuff from them both in the US and from over here and found them OK. They used to have an excellent catalogue with loads of useful additional info in. Don't know if they still do this though as I try to resist catalogues these days - too much temptation! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Salty John]

West Marine is, together with its sister company BoatUS, the biggest chandlery chain in the USA. The radios you refer to are handhelds, I believe, so the CE issue isn't relevant. I don't know this model, or where it is made, but it will be made by one of the radio manufacturers and branded for West Marine. Pricewise, if you add 42% to the £ price and it still looks a good deal, then it probably is. This is my rule of thumb for determining a good deal from the US. It allows for freight, duty, VAT and risk factor.

 

[BruceDanforth]

West Marine are huge in the states. The Fort Lauderdale store is supermarket sized. They will ship to the UK but you might get clobbered by customs for tax. A friend bought one of their handhelds: it was fine and had a switch to choose European or US channels. Don't know if it was type approved in the UK but it seemed to work as well as any. I have some of their binoculars and they are Ok too.

 

[Tekkie]

[ QUOTE ]
The radios you refer to are handhelds, I believe, so the CE issue isn't relevant.

[/ QUOTE ]

Why?? They can create cross channel interference the same as Fixed can they not?

 

[npf1]

BTW - in the US West Marine and US are generally know as the expensive option!

Agree that their catalog (like a phone book) is an excellent resource. It basically has details and prices of almost every bit of equipment on the market.

 

[npf1]

Brain C - channel interference???? Is that fact or baseless scaremongering. Please explain.

US radios are exactly the same as the UK models except for the differences highlighted above plus they have a wx channel. Oh and they are a hell of a lot cheaper, even after shipping and VAT.

Not too long ago, some UK dealers will also reprogram a US model for 37, M1 and M2, although I doubt many do it now cos of a crackdown by the UK distributors.

 

[st599]

It does say it is switchable between US and International frequency plans - does International not have 37, M1 and M2.

As for CE, I'm not intending to place it on sale in the EU? Do I still need type approval?

 

[npf1]

Switching to international doesn't give you the missing channels. But, it's not exactly a problem is it - how many times have you used those channels in the past????? 37 used to be a marina channel but as far as I am aware, they all use 80 these days. M1 and M2 are sometimes used for race control.

I'm not weel versed on the CE issue but do a search on the forum using google and I'm sure you'll find Jon Brooks of Icom commenting about it. As far as I am aware, if you want to be fully compliant, the CE is relevent for all radios in the EU.

 

[st599]

But a CE marked radio can create cross-channel interference if not cared for.

I'm quite happy to bung all my RF kit on a spectrum analyser to look for out of band transmissions.

 

[BlueChip]

Some years ago I bought a VHF from West Marine. After switching to international channel settings (and it defaulted to USA everytime it was switched on) it worked ok, except that Ch67 was restricted to 1W output. This might be important, I was uncomfortable with that and shortly after sold the radio on eBay

 

[essexboy]

Better than most UK Chandlers, service and price !

 

[Heckler]

why should they cause cross channel interference? scenario, boat from the states comes here, do they have to buy a ce approved radio? i think not, anyway radios in the bass superstore in orlando had the same as the cobra i bought here, switch to give canada,usa or europe channels.
stu

 

[Tekkie]

[ QUOTE ]
Brain C - channel interference???? Is that fact or baseless scaremongering. Please explain.

US radios are exactly the same as the UK models except for the differences highlighted above plus they have a wx channel. Oh and they are a hell of a lot cheaper, even after shipping and VAT.

Not too long ago, some UK dealers will also reprogram a US model for 37, M1 and M2, although I doubt many do it now cos of a crackdown by the UK distributors.

[/ QUOTE ]
No not scamongering it is a potential problem. Not my spin check out CE approval.http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radiocomms/...tomz.com/search/pdfhelper.tk?sp_o=13,100000,0
This forum makes me chuckle /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif some one asks a question, a answer is given in good faith then it's assasination time.

 

[cliff]

[ QUOTE ]
No not scamongering it is a potential problem. Not my spin check out CE approval.http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radiocomms/...tomz.com/search/pdfhelper.tk?sp_o=13,100000,0
This forum makes me chuckle /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif some one asks a question, a answer is given in good faith then it's assassination time.

[/ QUOTE ] Try This Link - makes interesting reading.
Agree about the assassinations - there are a number of "stalkers" (for want of a better word,which I am not) on here who think they know it all and seem to take delight in trying to put others down but you soon identify who they are and can have a laugh at their ignorance of the subject. Still if we did not have a few anal retentive characters on the forums then the forums could become a little mundane. There is always the "ignore this user" button - great tool for saving reading the crap some spout on the forums.

Now waits for the stalkers to come out of the woodwork and start the assassination attempt.
--------------------

"Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity"

 

[npf1]

asking for an explanation hardly passes as an assasination! But hey, each to their own.

I'm aware of the Ofcom rules and have re-read them per your link but I still don't see anything that states an intereference problem. For example, take two high quality radios, same model number, except one is Euro designated and CE approved. Yes, there are the channel differences mentioned above but looking at the specifications of the radios (per the manufacturer's manuals), all else is the same such as frequencies of other channel, power, S/N etc. And those specs meet the ones set out in the Ofcom document, except for the differences already highlighted. If they didn't, there would surely be a problem whenever a non EU vessel (a significant proportion of the commercial traffic in the English channel) using non CE marked radios operated them in European waters.

 

[Lizzie_B]

Frequently use West marine, BoatUS.DefenderUS and BoatBandit.
It is worth comparing prices especially checking out BoatUS and WestMarine's 'clearance section' on line.

Recently got SWMBO some deck shoes.LIBS 'special' price £79.99, West Marine clearance section $18.99 (last year's blue)!

I bought two excellent handheld radios at DefenderUS, $99 the pair (was special buy one get one free deal).

West Marine and BoatUS can sometimes appear more expensive, but if you might be tempted to make another purchase at some time they do some good 'free to join' loyalty schemes that give between 10 and 15% off.

Price differential becomes even better if you know someone that travels between UK and USA relatively frequently!!!

 

[BrendanS]

technically, using a US VHF in UK will contravene all sorts of legislation. CE marking etc. More immediately, you will not be able to ask for assistance under warranty, as most UK dealers won't touch imported gear. If you want a cheap deal the import from US version is fine, most can be configured to UK channels one way or another. If you want to be legal, you need to have a European sourced CE approved version