Albin Owners Group

I'm looking to get a handheld vhf as backup,Defender has the icom,m25 for $129. Anybody have any opinion on the subject?

I like all of the major brands. I had a West Marine unit (made by Uniden) that I loved but I've broken the battery latch and I'm not sure if it's worth fixing.

I've been considering the Standard Horizon HX870. A bit more expensive but I like that it has GPS and DSC built in. Good for trips in the Whaler or, if I ever actually get one, a RIB, as well as redundancy for the ships GPS.

Most of the knocks on it seem to be the white display (not great for night vision) but I'd rarely be using it at night. I also have a Uniden MHS75. Decent radio. The only thing I don't like is it only came with a 12v charger. Believe it or not I don't currently have a working cigarette lighter outlet aboard, so I have to remember to charge it in the car.

In my estimation the only brand to buy is Standard Horizon.
They offered an extension on my warranty when I purchased an 870 at the February Atlantic City boat show when I told the company I wouldn't be using it through the winter.
The 870 has the DSC and AIS (if I remember correctly). Mine is a couple of years old so it may not meet the current specifications.
Dont forget if you get a model with DSC to register for an MMSI number.

Best regards,
 
Charles
 
Charles Williamson
m/v Nepidae
Albin 43 Sundeck 
Nepidae.trawler@gmail.com
MTOA 3927
AGLCA 12114

Ditto on the Standard Horizon HX870. It has a lot of nice safety features and has been great for keeping the kids in touch while using the dinghy. They love the GPS info on the display so they can see how fast they are going! The only problem we have had with it is when it gets wet. The speaker/mic fills with water and takes a long time to dry out. It is pretty much useless until dry. This may be a problem with all handhelds though.

As a follow on to this post - for a number of years I've used the West Marine VHF 250. It's a really nice, compact VHF made by Uniden. 5watts, and includes VHF, FRS, AM and FM bands. And very rugged. It's now discontinued - more on that in a bit. When the included battery pack wouldn't hold a charge (after years of dependable service) I was able to obtain additional batteries from Uniden (It also has an AAA adapter pack - so I wasn't totally without use of it).

Naturally, right after getting the new batteries - I broke the latch that holds the battery in place.

Having looked for used ones in the past with no luck I figured I'd just throw it, and the battery packs, out and get something new - like the fancy HX870 mentioned above.

JUST as I was about to toss it I thought - why not call West Marine and see what they could do for me? So I did, and they connected me to Uniden repair. For a flat fee of $69 + $10 to cover shipping I'd get back either my radio, in like new condition, or a replacement. SO I boxed it all up and sent it in. One week later and it's on its way back to me. I'll have it this weekend.

While all this is going on (getting to the discontinued point now!) I did a quick search for VHF250 - and found a guy on eBay selling brand new (not in the original box) units for??? Yup - $69! And free shipping! So naturally I ordered 2 of them! On Monday. I'm holding them in my hot little hands right now, on Wednesday afternoon!! e-commerce rocks!

The vendor apparently has a few left - so if you want a solid, compact, not too fancy handheld VHF cheap - check it out. (I have zero connection with the vendor - I just really like this radio!)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/182265452242

Doug,Thanks, I have never bought anything on eBay ,I'm very suspicious of all e commerce without some firsthand feedback, I'll look into it, and at $69, bucks looks like a win,Pete

Bam.. got mine coming like I need a third hand help? Liked the tri watch feature.

Ordered it this morning,sadly I scheduled my haul out for Oct 17th as all the other dates were getting booked, and I anticipate a more normal winter here in Ct, I might have to pop the whaler in the water for the fall blackfish run,

Pedro wrote:Ordered it this morning.

Excellent! I'm sure you'll be happy with it, especially for the price.

I was playing around with mine last night. Now that I have two (actually three, but don't have the repaired unit back yet) I can test out the FRS bands as well. Kinda cool.

Pedro wrote:...sadly I scheduled my haul out for Oct 17th as all the other dates were getting booked, and I anticipate a more normal winter here in Ct.

We'll see what happens. I love how the weather service can't get a week's worth of weather consistently right - but can forecast months ahead!!

I called Essex Island yesterday to see how late they'd let me stay in the marina. December 1st baby!

That will actually lead to an EARLY haulout for me, as in the past I've had her hauled on the last work day at Norwalk Cove before Christmas. Since I'm no longer a year-round customer there I expect they'll haul her shortly after I arrive back. Of course if the weather guys are actually right I won't be doing much boating even in November.

DougSea wrote: I was playing around with mine last night. Now that I have two (actually three, but don't have the repaired unit back yet) I can test out the FRS bands as well. Kinda cool.

On curises our family uses the FRS band so that will be fun if I can find a good channel to use. Then I can listen to other marine traffic.

Hey Guys, Did you test your radios yet? Got mine today, doesn't transmit or receive vhf,just my luck,,, first and last eBay purchase,,,,

Pedro wrote:Hey Guys, Did you test your radios yet? Got mine today, doesn't transmit or receive vhf,just my luck,,, first and last eBay purchase,,,,

Sorry to hear you're having a problem. Both of mine work perfectly on all bands. Have you contacted the seller for a replacement? Don't give up!!

A quick thought - make sure it is set for US bands. It supports US, Canadian and International. Not sure if that would make a difference, but it might.

DougSea wrote:

Pedro wrote:Hey Guys, Did you test your radios yet? Got mine today, doesn't transmit or receive vhf,just my luck,,, first and last eBay purchase,,,,

Sorry to hear you're having a problem. Both of mine work perfectly on all bands. Have you contacted the seller for a replacement? Don't give up!!

A quick thought - make sure it is set for US bands. It supports US, Canadian and International. Not sure if that would make a difference, but it might.

It would..

Yes set to US band tried every frequency, we have the seatow auto radio check near me, I tested it right beside my I dash vhf, no dice,I'm sending it back and I'll buy something from west marine,

I'm a little confused. Did you try and transmit to your ships VHF, or just the SeaTow test? Just seems strange that it wouldn't work.

Assuming you're not headed on any trips soon I'd still ask for a replacement - but that's up to you. I'm still a big fan of the radio AND e-bay! Don't let one bad experience put you off. Not everything I've picked up in the store has worked either.