Handheld marine radio

[Drew13440]

Originally Posted by GTom

They don't seem to ship to this side of the pond. Sounds good though...

Rats. I'd look at Defender. It occurs shipping will cost the rebate but still good value.

[sergiol83]

I am looking to get the HX890. It looks like they made a few tweaks and improvements over the HX870, which makes it the best vhf radio currently on the market.

[sergiol83]

I haven't use the defender, but have been looking at the HX870 as well as the successor HX890. I read the best vhf radio blog and it helped me decide what I really need.
Is there a real competitor to the HX890 now? It seems to have everything.

[svmobert]

Since I have both the Standard Horizon HX870 and the Icom M93D on my boat and use them both regularly I'll add my $0.02.

The HX870 came out before the M93D so for a GPS/DSC capable handheld radio it was the only option for a while, which is why I bought it initially. I later acquired the M93D, in part because I am an Icom dealer and in part because I wanted to test it.

The HX870 is cheaper than the M93D, but Icom regularly has mail-in rebates that lower the cost.

While I admittedly may be a bit biased I personally prefer the M93D for a couple of reasons...

1.) Feature for feature the radios are pretty much the same
2.) The Interface on the M93D is easier to navigate and find things
3.) The M93D is physically smaller, smoother, and lighter than the HX870, it is easier to hold
4.) The M93D has Aquaquake which will vibrate the speaker clear of water if you find it necessary.
5.) Icom quality and customer support is excellent.

And Lastly, 6.) If you, like our boat and other cruising couple I know do, take shifts on night watch and the person on watch carries a handheld VHF on their person for safety purposes, the M93D could actually be cheaper... And here's why..

The HX870 battery is inside the radio with a cover over the battery space. The radio must be put in it's cradle to charge the battery. If the battery couldn't make it the full 12 hours of night watch, you would need TWO radios, one in use while the other is charging.

By contrast, the M93D, which also charges in a cradle has the battery and battery cover integrated. And the battery can be charged all by itself in the same charging cradle. So you could buy one M93D and an extra battery and just keep the spare battery charged, swapping between shifts or in the middle of the night.

Buying one radio and a battery is cheaper than buying two radios.

Again, while I do sell Icom products, I also use both of these products and this is my personal opinion and thought I would just point out a few things that set the Icom M93D apart for those looking for GPS/DSC capable Handheld radios.

Ultimately both radios are good of course, but the Icom just has a bit of an edge.