Would you recommend the Silva S15 VHF / Navtex?

S

shamrock

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27 Oct 2001
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Cumberland, BC
www.tydewi.co.uk
We have been considering a new DSC VHF and also thinking about a Navtex, now I see that Seamark Nunn have a deal on the Silva S15 which does both, incl antenna, for 270.

But it's still a fair amount of cash so I ask: Has anyone used one of these, with / without the Navtex, and would you recommend it?

thanks

Nick
 
If you do a search you will find replies to my post of 11 Feb 2005 which will tell you all you need to know.
 
Sorry - I did search but was clearly asleep this morning as I didn't change the date range from 'last 1 week' so found nothing!

Doing it properly shows me it was good to ask the question - looks like we'll be buying seperate bits of kit.

Thanks

Nick
 
Many people on this forum are very negative on the S15. It has had its problems, but I'm pleased with the latest version I've just installed. How long it will last remains to be seen, but so-far so good. Any other positive views out there??
 
I have a replacement here with the latest software. (Original radio sent out an acknowledgement to an urgency call which this class of set is not supposed to be able to do.) The new software seems to address some of my concerns so I will be installing it to see how I get on this season.

I would be surprised if directing output to the external speaker and then disconnecting it will really silence the DSC alarms. If it does that will be a big improvement. Small buttons and complex menus remain; and I don't feel that I can recomend it.
 
I have bought one, and am finding installing it a bit of a problem, although that is not necessarily a criticism of the thing itself. I tried to interface it to my Raymarine plotter for the GPS, but the thing won't accept the NMEA output. Best guess for this is that the plotter prefaces each sentence with its plotter rather than GPS identity. It will happily accept data from my handheld, so I shall simply interface it with that. It is not easy to fix in a flush mounting, but can be so mounted using an ICOM kit. The Navtex seems to work, but I haven't used it in earnest yet so I can't say.

So far as the user interface is concerned, I agree that it's not brilliant, but it does offer a lot of facilities in one package, and it is hard to see how it could be much simpler. The absence of turning pot knobs for volume and squelch is a bore, but not insuperable.

Hope this helps.
 
That's strange- I have a Raymarine plotter and the NMEA output is accepted with no question by my Silva DSC10- I wonder if it's just the Navtex one which is causing trouble.
 
Just exchanged mine for the newer version. I had a few problems with my old one - plus the Navtex beeps drove most people mental. However newer version has options to turn off beeps and to select between ext/int or both speakers.
Having said that I just received an invoice for £98 - which I sent back as I was under the distinct impression they were replacing a faulty unit under warranty as it was less than 12 months old! Nice try though...

I think the radio is a great idea - good space saver for small nav stations plus once you get used to the controls it's easy and logical to use. I've found it simple to set up and use it with a Garmin fixed 128.


Jono
 
Just spoken to Silva, apparently there are 2 types of data cable, one cable has additional wiring to connect to the power supply to boost the NMEA input for quite a few low powered GPS, will connect these up and let you know how I get on. Nice to know the manual is kept upto date, anybody want a firelighter. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
 
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