DSC Radios
Ian Sandell
soon. From a quick look at specs of DCS radios, I cant see much
difference, except price. What are the features to look out for?
Ian
Graham Frankland
"Ian Sandell" <i...@sandell.co.uk> wrote in message
news:t3hci0h5qflcap641...@4ax.com...
> Our VHF seems to be dying a slow death, so I may have to replace it
> soon. From a quick look at specs of DCS radios, I cant see much
> difference, except price. What are the features to look out for?
>
I installed the XM DSC or, to be correct I installed 3, the first 2 being
faulty!
In operation (which is of course normal VHF use 99.9% of the time) it works
well and the range seems good. Operation is simple with a turn knob for ch.
change and buttons for high/low, ch16, scan & memory. When the distress
button is pressed once, a menu appears with several distress situations to
select from, it's then held for 4 secs and transmits the distress until
answered. Easy to store MMSI no's. The extension speaker doesn't switch off
the internal one, which is a problem with several others we looked at. It's
also waterproof.
Graham.
PyroJames
> soon. From a quick look at specs of DCS radios, I cant see much
> difference, except price. What are the features to look out for?
I just bought a Silva S10, for £200, and would return it if I could. Apart
from the fact is is less than 5 weeks old, it has already been back for
repairs. The main things I don't like about it is push button menu operation
for everything, volume and squelch included, but it rapid switches back to
channel up/down after setting the volume. As it also has direct push button
for channels, this really pisses me off. Volume is the one thing on a VHF I
constantly zoom up and down, from a low listening level, to a higher Tx/Rx
level.
Even at £550 I'd buy an Icom if I was doing it again.
--
PyroJames
Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints.
Davie Scott
and also I found display difficult to make out both in terms onf clarity and
size of charcters. Maybe just need new specs though ! LOL
"Ian Sandell" <i...@sandell.co.uk> wrote in message
news:t3hci0h5qflcap641...@4ax.com...
Ian Sandell
Thank Graham.
Do you know how many no's it can store?
Ian
Ian Sandell
Sounds like one to avoid - that's useful.
What is so good about the Icom?
Ian
Ian Sandell
radio is difficult to read display.
Ian
Ian Petrie
>> "Ian Sandell" <i...@sandell.co.uk> wrote in message
>> news:t3hci0h5qflcap641...@4ax.com...
>>> Our VHF seems to be dying a slow death, so I may have to replace it
>>> soon. From a quick look at specs of DCS radios, I cant see much
>>> difference, except price. What are the features to look out for?
>>>
I've just bought a Silva S15 with the Navtex and GPS repeater - £350 ish.
I bought it because I wanted the VHF in the cockpit ( Prout Catamaran )
and it is touted as waterproof. All the adverts mislead, suggesting that
it can do more as a GPS than it actually achieves, but I just wanted to
save the cost of a GPS repeater. The navtex function was the clincher - it
looked like a way to save a hundred quid or so against three seperate
items.
The radio is OK. Adequate volume over my echoing Volvo inboard. I can't
comment on the sensitivity yet as my masthead arial cable has been
stretched and may well be limiting reception. When I want to transmit I
rig the emergency arial.
I don't mind the volume and squelch selection. - You press a button then
use the channel up and down buttons to alter the setting. It drops back to
the channel change function very quickly.
Changing channels is a bit of a pain - press press press press press press
press etc. I was hoping that the numeric pad on the handset would change
channels like a TV remote - but no.
Dual watch isn't intuitive to set up. You can sometimes end up watching a
totally different channel.
The memory watch is good though - once your usual channels are tagged you
can leave it jumping around any number of them. I normally watch 16,67
plus whatever the local coastguard transmits the weather on plus a handful
of ship to ship channels just to be nosey.
The GPS function is less useful than I hoped - i wanted a cockpit
repeater. It reads NMEA for the GDMSS function of course but doesn't read
the distance to waypoint sentences that a normal cockpit repeater would
use to generate its display. You have to feed waypoints into the S15 to
get full use but it only holds about 20 very basic points - and I'm not
into duplicating the effort. Sailing is being reduced to far too much
button pushing already.
The Navtex function is worthwhile - and just makes it worth the cost. It
does everything that a standalone dual band navtex offers.
Accessing messages is done from the handset. This is a bit peculiar and
not very user friendly. You have to use none-intuitive combinations of
presses to work through the messages.
The one thing though that really annoys is the warning beep when a Navtex
message comes in. Every message produces a loud double beep, independent
of the volume setting and with no way that I can find to turn it off. I've
reduced the incoming messages to a minimum just to get rid of as many
beeps as possible so I miss out on all that knowledge about unreliable
lights in the Outer hebrides that were such a vital part of every day
convcversations in South Wales :)
I haven't used the DSC facilities yet - to be honest, I've mislaid my MMSI
number - but there is a reasonable directory size, enough for my needs any
way, and the numeric pad on the handset is only used for DSC calls so it
will end up like a telephone.
The set is waterproof - supposedly - though there is no seal on the VHF
antenna connector. The navtex/nmea connector has a plastic shroud which
seals well enough with a bit of help from the Vaseline pot. The power
leads similar.
The display is a bit oversensitive to sunlight. Definitely more so than my
instruments. the first day after I fitted it the display overheated and
completely blacked out. It came back once I shaded the set and now I have
to keep an eye that it doesn't happen again.
The mounting bracket - a wide U with knobs either side of the set - is OK
for mounting to a horizontal surface or under a deckhead but hasn't enough
reach to mount on a vertical bulkhead. The set is left facing much further
up than I really want.
I suspect that the S15 is one of those "first in the market" products.
Later multifunction products will address its failings and the S99 will
probably be user-friendly, sun proof and beep free - and will probably
incorporate all the rest of the instrumentation and a gin bottle level
indicator. At that point there will be an S15 shaped splash and the credit
card will get another squeezing.
Ian
--
Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/m2/
PyroJames
Only by reputation for ruggedness, and the fact that it has all the features
I like. Specifically dial up volume and squelch, and a key pad on the radio,
not on the mike. Key pads on mike and telephone handset really annoy me. :)
My last top of the line VHF has just died after 12 years service, somehow I
don't see the Silva giving me anything like that, the Icom, I do.
I think that I might go to the Southampton boat show with a shopping list.
This is helped by the gf having an interest in doing the same, to chase up
diving contacts, and is thinking about getting a RIB for diving. :)
--
PyroJames
You're never cold with a pyromaniac.
SKMonel
wrote:
>Our VHF seems to be dying a slow death, so I may have to replace it
I have been through two DSC radios. The first a Midland/Neptune which
I loved the operation of, but was not compatible with a Garmin GPS, so
I sent it back. Now have the NASA DSC 35 [or some number like that].
It works well is waterproof [they say] is easy to change channels, but
I have to go to the radio to change the channels not do it from the
mike which I could with the Midland. For the money, I like the NASA
brand, never had to send anything back unlike some other brands like
Simrad.
SK
Ian Sandell
That's one that I am interested in but I also have Garmin GPS. What
was the interfacing problem?
Ian
SKMonel
wrote:
The Midland would not accept the signal from a Garmin and some other
type of GPS. Compass Watersports did send me an Allan GPS as an
interim solution until they could do a full recall after the sailing
season and come up with a permanent fix.
I was concerned they were still trying to solve the problem and they
may never get it right. so I decided to send it back and get something
like the Nasa that I knew other members of my club had bought and were
happy with. The NASA DSC35 from Marine Superstore in Port Solent was
only £159.95 as an online order and free delivery.
all teh best,
SK