Help w/Hand Held VHF's ?

[dave11]

I got an Icom M-34. There is a "Desktop charger BC-173". To that charger you can attach either of two cords. There is one for AC power and another one for DC power. There is not a number on my DC cord. I got mine at WM, and the salesman was not aware that there was a DC cord available. With a little prompting from me, he looked into it. And lo and behold, he had one in the store.

Just give them a nudge and get the Icom. I can't verify that it floats, but it works very well otherwise.

 

[sparky]

I swear by my Standard 270. $100, comes with that awesome 1700mAh battery AND the alkaline back, plus AC and DC charging cords and the charging base. I also like that it has a knob for power/volume, not buttons. I hate having to hit up, up, up, up to turn an important message up, and the darn ICOM beeps every time to confirm the vox change. The Standard will just let you crank it up.

If you have $300 to spend, there's a new Standard with a built-in GPS too. I like that model, although it has the lower batt capacity, and costs more. I'm planning on buying one for my ditch bag this year.
:edit: The new one with GPS, the 850 model, floats.
:edit2: It also doesn't come with, or even accept, afaik, the alkaline battery packs.
:edit3: I just checked, and it also uses a button for volume now. WHY STANDARD, WHY?

Just FYI, the ICOM that "floats" means the bottom of the radio will be even with the top of the water. I'd more say "it doesn't sink" than "it floats". We've got both, and the Standard has held up better than the ICOM.

I just stuck a floater on my Standard, and now it really floats, plus has a bright red float that you can see from more than 3' away.

 

[B-Faithful]

Call boe and talk to Jim. I think some now offer GPS positioning and DSC. If they would make one that would float that way, it is the way I would go for offshore use. If you lose your electronics (lie. ose all power due to a bad alt) you will still have your position and the ability to communicate on one device.

BTW, Jim generally recommends SH over ICOM

 

[ryanc2]

I picked up the West 150 and have been happy with it so far. It has VHF/FRS/AM/FM and comes with 1400 battery and spare pack for loading with AAA's as well as desktop and car charger. It doesn't float though.

I guess the other bands won't matter to you since it won't leave your truck, but then again, why would you then care if it floats?

 

[ryanc2]

I was wondering if someone would notice that.

answer to yer question........

If I buy one that floats, it'll never leave truck, if I buy one that won't float, I'll take it out and drop in off the dock. Murphy's Law or something like that.

:roll:

Same reason why my keys should float :lol:

 

[Megabyte]

I was wondering if someone would notice that.

answer to yer question........

If I buy one that floats, it'll never leave truck, if I buy one that won't float, I'll take it out and drop in off the dock. Murphy's Law or something like that.

:roll:

Same reason why my keys should float :lol:

The Admiral knows that I have one very hard and fast rule...
The keys and the cell phone always go into a pocket before a foot hits the dock.
Keys or cell phone in hand while walking the dock is just asking for Murphy to make an appearance. :wink: