SAILOR VHF RADIO PROBLEMS

[athene]

Has anyone else experienced the disastrous effects of 10 years in the
Mediterranean or similar hot climate on the handsets supplied with Sailor VHF radios?

On our set, purchased in 2000 prior to leaving the UK, not only has the rubber covering of the lead rotted, but also the rubber on the handset PTT button, rendering it almost inoperable. By contrast, the rubber coating on my Icom SSB set (fitted in 1987) is still going strong after 25 years.

Emails to Sailor in Denmark have produced a zero response. Does anyone have similar negative experiences of this company?

[goboatingnow]

sailor are owned by Thrane and Thrane in the Uk

Dave

[athene]

OK - I know I'm probably going to get nowhere with this one, so let's at least have a bit of fun at Sailor's expense!



ODE TO A SAILOR VHF

A decade has passed since you joined me aboard
As the ultimate mariner’s friend,
But little I knew you were fatally flawed
And would leave me distraught in the end.

Your rubber has rotted, your cord is a sight,
With its entrails all open to view;
Your PTT button is perished and quite
Unlike its condition when new.

Though shielded from sunburn, kept out of the rain,
I cosseted you through the years,
I’d sooner have sent you to Denmark again
If I'd known it would all end in tears.

It’s not that I bought you at deep discount prices
Or failed to maintain you with care;
But what isn’t so nice is, if we have a crisis
I’m better off firing a flare!

I shudder to contemplate all of the woes
That could stem from your premature failure;
So it’s vital I highlight what every girl knows:
That you’re really not safe with a Sailor!

[athene]

Well, I'm pleased to say this problem has now been resolved. Like most, it was essentially a problem of communication and once Thrane & Thrane were aware of the issue, a replacement handset was dispatched promptly through their UK distributors, SES (Ships Electronic Services), without charge. Thrane & Thrane acknowledge that there were a few 'rogue' handsets supplied before they changed the composition of the rubber covering about 5-6 years ago.

Suffice to say, they appear to value their reputation after all and I am happy to withdraw my earlier criticisms (although writing the poem was admittedly fun!).

[tbodine88]

Good for them, but thanks to the earlier poor design and your angst we got a good poem out of it.

[btrayfors]

Glad Sailor stood behind their product.

Be happy you don't have an Icom. Their premier SSB, the M-802, has similar problems with the mic cord disintegrating.

So far, they seem to ignore the problem.

Bill

[athene]

It seems the reply to my earlier question
Disappeared in the cloud without trace,
An unfortunate victim of web indigestion
Or gremlins in deep cyberspace.

So fairness and justice would seem to compel me
To temper my earlier blame,
For the company’s subsequent actions now tell me
That Sailor do value their name.

They’ve sent me a handset by overnight mail,
Which I’ll soon be installing aboard;
A satisfied customer, happy to sail
With my faith in the product restored.

I shrink from comparing my own humble scribbling
With a poet of far greater note,
But it’s good to acknowledge an end to the quibbling:
‘All’s well that ends well’, as he wrote.