Standard Horizon HX210 6W Floating Handheld Marine VHF Transceiver [HX210]

This is the second HX210 we have bought. It's a great radio for the price. It charges in about 3 hours and is powerful enough to work well on Sarasota Bay. It floats and is submersible to 3 feet. Luckily, we have not had to test those features. It also comes with a 3-year warranty. And the company, Standard Horizon, stands behind that. When our first one stopped working within the 3-year timeframe, we returned it to them, and they sent out a new one in about 2 weeks. We are pleased with the product and the manufacturer.

We use this item on our boat as a second backup to the onboard radio. Works quite well.

I haven't used it in the field (or on the boat, to be more fair), but just going through the manual and reading about all the features, I'm really amazed. Dual/Triple Watch, FM ratio, floats, LED light, 1w/6w switching. I'll get back here after I've used it for a while.I'm the photographer at a yacht club and this will be a huge asset at sailboat races.

Part 1. SIZE and PortabilityWow..... Here is my first impressions on HX210. First thing It’s unbelievable that this radio is MADE IN JAPAN for under $100 !!! I have not seen electronics from Japan for this price for 20 years now! Also as result this radio comes with 3 year warranty which is rather unusual for consumer product. So quality and water sealing has to be top notch that makes me believe that I own very reliable product,Secondly, I was interested in how portable this radio is compared to others that I have. I owned multiple radios over time from FRS radios to Business radios. So based on single HX210 pictures it was hard to judge how small or portable it actually is. Finally, when I received it, my feel is that it’s pretty big and bulky and not exactly portable in comparison. You can see on my picture, Marine COBRA HH100(white) and the BAOFENG (that lots of people are familiar with) are much smaller. Aside from the performance differences, comparing only by size, I consider COBRA and BAOFENG small and portable radios. HX210 IS NOT. Old Marine Cobra is not submersible, 1W power running on 4 AAA batteries, Cobra is intended to be placed in waterproof bag in order to float or be submerged. Unfortunately, Cobra’s bag also muffles sound and makes it almost unusable in the real world. Performance-wise is not on comparable with the HX210 of course. Motorola HT1250 business radio is roughly same size as HX210 to give you an idea, albeit HX210 is lighter. Relatively Large size is to make it float as part of its design. Its problematic to clip HX210 on your lifejacket for paddle board or kayak, as its size will always be in your way getting hit by the paddle or your own hand movements. I just clip it to the paddle board itself.

The media could not be loaded. Booted right up and was easy to use without the instructions (the manual is thorough and well made). The radio signal inside my concrete apartment was surprisingly good.

Loud clear transmission easy to use great reception, battery saver mode makes battery last a full 12 hour work day with constant transmission and then some. Only negative thing is the battery is secured to the radio and you don’t have the option to have 2 batteries. If it dies you can’t switch with a charged battery

The radio works very well and is easy to set up and use. The battery life seems to be acceptable. I have 2 so one is always on charge in the nav station. Good handheld.

Performed as expected and even floated in the ocean when I accidentally dropped it in !