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

Good, solid and basic Marine VHF radio. This radio is from a top rated radio builder from Japan. Its solid and floats. It has all the features needed in a basic Marine radio at a very reasonable price. The antenna is very flexible and it has an internal Lithium Ion battery. Comes with a drop in charger. For a simple reliable radio, this is it

I have two, super easy to use, holds a charge for days. And the bonus FM radio is nice when doing boat projects.

The good news is I have not had a lot of need to use the radio when on the water. Voice clarity has been good for the few boat to boat calls it has been used for. All calls have been 1/2 mile or less.

The radio worked great in shore Powerful TX, I have not tried off shore since you must have a 25Watt unit to get out there without getting in trouble. Once I try it, I will follow up with an update. The sound quality is great, easy squelch adjustment, loud and crystal clear weather channels reception, it is fantastic plus perfect to keep you advised and out of trouble with weather. Highly recommended!

Part 1. SIZE and Portability Wow..... 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.

Great small VHF radio, easy to use, fits in a pocket

Works great

Radio arrived on time and charged. I went ahead and charged it to full before heading out in the kayak. The radio is awesome and the battery has kept a good charge as I have used it about 4 times in a month after I received it and doesn’t need a charg yet! I am out on the water for 4 to 5 hours each time.