Quote:
Originally Posted by BarryL
Just about all fixed mount radios can support a remote mic.
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I don't know about "just about all," but many of them can. For example: The Icom M402 did. The M412 does not. The M422 does.
You have to check.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BarryL
The latest radio from Standard Horizon can decode AIS broadcasts and display the AIS information on the radio screen as well as output it via NMEA 0183.
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The Matrix AIS and AIS+ (GX2100 and GX2150, respectively) do this.
Some of the Standard Horizon radios have a misfeature of which you should be aware: They only scan for weather alerts if weather alert is enabled
and the weather channel of interest is tagged for scanning
and you're actively scanning. If you're stopped on a channel (other than the weather channel) and a weather alert arrives, you won't get it. The Quest-X GX1500S (now out-of-production) and Explorer GX2000 are two SH models that behave this way. (Confirmed by SH.)
You have to read the user's manuals
carefully to discern the difference.
As for "best marine VHF radio": Couldn't say. Several years ago, during Yet Another VHF Radio discussion, a sailor allowed as how he'd carefully checked
everything that was out there, in a given price range, and found that Icom and Standard Horizon radios had by far the best receive audio. As an ex-radio guy I can tell you that's a more important criterion in a two-way radio than you might believe. All the bells and whistles and big, impressive displays and switches and knobs and doo-dads and output power and antenna height won't mean spit if you cannot hear
and understand what the guy on the other end is saying.
I know from my ham radio days that Icom was always one of the better brands of radios. (In fact: I'm pretty sure all the radios I have downstairs I never use anymore are Icom rigs.)
So I've limited my research to Icom and Standard Horizon radios. I've no need of AIS at this time, and money is tight (no room for "just because I want it"s), so I'm looking at either the Standard Horizon GX1600 (successor to the GX1500S, and has
proper wx alert monitoring) or Icom M422.
The SH is about $50-$75 less expensive. It has a bigger display. Reading the user's manual: The SH strikes me as having the more intuitive operation.
The Icom has better listed receiver sensitivity. This is a Very Good Thing. The Icom simply "looks" more rugged, to me. And the Icom is, well, an Icom
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They can both take a RAM (Remote Access Mic).
So you pays your nickel and you takes your chances.
I haven't made a final decision, but I'm leaning toward the Standard Horizon Explorer GX1600. If I had the money to burn, I might consider the Matrix GX2100. (I believe it also handles wx alert monitoring properly.)
Jim
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I said 80% because you can still call another vessel directly by inputting its MMSI even if your GPS is not connected (I think), but you do lose 99% of your emergency capability. I noticed that if my GPS is not turned on, my GX2150 has an alarm that kicks in every 5 minutes telling me to enter the coordinates manually. So I've now hotwired the GPS puck to the radio circuit so that it's always on if the radio is on.
