Standard Horizon HX870 is it any good ?

[chris moody]

Not downloaded the software yet, but I will (thanks for the tip)


Chris Moody
"Tiny Tigga" a Honwave T32IE with transom wheels, a Tohatsu 9.8 2s & Honda 2hp 4s (air cooled)

[chris moody]

Where does the best price for the external hand microphone?


Chris Moody
"Tiny Tigga" a Honwave T32IE with transom wheels, a Tohatsu 9.8 2s & Honda 2hp 4s (air cooled)

[rogerblack]

Where does the best price for the external hand microphone?


Chris Moody
"Tiny Tigga" a Honwave T32IE with transom wheels, a Tohatsu 9.8 2s & Honda 2hp 4s (air cooled)

I got my MH-73A4bmic from www.radioworld.co.uk, have previously used them for my scanner and aerials and pleased with prices & service

£36.95 + £2.75 delivery (SignedFor 1st Class) - received the day after I ordered.
They also take Amazon payment as alternative to PayPal, who I won't deal with if I can avoid it.

Another source (whose details I've deleted) had the mic for a pound or two cheaper but after about ten days I gave up waiting for them to bother to reply to my email asking about delivery time!

[Martin]

Direct link below, I'll keep that in mind Roger, Thanks...
I presume you've tried and tested it with your VHF ?

http://www.radioworld.co.uk/search/prod ... y=MH-73A4b

MH-73A4b

[chris moody]

Interestingly out the box the HX370E does not have either of the UK only channels enabled (ch 37a/M1 and ch M2/P4). You have to set the region by pressing both menu and 16 whilst powering on the set, and then it will allow you to select the region as UK, after which these channels will be available. These instructions were on a separate piece on paper in the box.

Lucky I spotted that as I do sometimes have to use ch 37a

[mattswan2512]

Thanks for the heads up chris. Im looking at about £355 for unit and transducer and around 200 for fitting by the same company supplying.

Tried to ring around as think thats a tad steep to fit to be honest as its a simple thing to do essentialy drilling and filling and channeling wires but i dont wanna mess around with my boat engine electrics really as i dont know them anymore now rhe smart guard system has been removed for my evinrude 90.....

[rogerblack]

Interestingly out the box the HX370E does not have either of the UK only channels enabled (ch 37a/M1 and ch M2/P4). You have to set the region by pressing both menu and 16 whilst powering on the set, and then it will allow you to select the region as UK, after which these channels will be available. These instructions were on a separate piece on paper in the box.

Lucky I spotted that as I do sometimes have to use ch 37a

That's interesting, Chris, as mine didn't have the instruction sheet you mentioned. The menu allows you to select a channel group, the choices being USA, International or Canada; I have had mine set to International all the time I've had it and channels M & M2 have both been available. The only specific reference to them is on page 122 of the manual under the channel assignment table where there is a note the Channels M1 and M2 are assigned to only UK version. On my display, INTL was showing at the top, this changed to EXP when channels M or M2 were selected.

I have now carried out the region setting as per the instructions above and my display now shows as UK - except on M & M2 where it still changes to EXP!

As mine has been working normally all the time it's been set as International, I don't know what the practical differences are when set to UK region but in any case thanks for bringing this up.

[rogerblack]

Direct link below, I'll keep that in mind Roger, Thanks...
I presume you've tried and tested it with your VHF ?

http://www.radioworld.co.uk/search/prod ... y=MH-73A4b

Hi Martin

I've tested it for received transmissions; although being a slightly smaller speaker, hence the quality is very slightly less than the handset's speaker when listened to from the same position, in practice it gives much better results simply from being able to be located more conveniently. As I mentioned above, having the handset connected at waist level, facing front out, meant that it wasn't easy to hear, especially above the noise from the outboard etc., even when the volume was full up which itself tended to cause distortion. I had tried mounting the handset at lapel level but it wasn't ideal being heavier and got in the way, plus the aerial would try to poke my eye out! The fact that the mic can easily be attached at shoulder level, much closer to my ear, means that I can hear it clearly even at lower volume settings. It also means that I can speak into the mic by simply turning it towards my mouth as I press the PTT button, without even having to detach it from the conveniently placed loop on my lifejacket (I always wondered what that was for!).

I can't yet comment on how it compares on outgoing transmissions though as I haven't had a chance to do proper comparative radio checks. Our CG station up here is happy to do a quick standard radio check but asking them to do so with and without the mic connected etc. would probably strain their patience! So I need to wait until I am on the water with a friendly fellow VHF user within range, when I will also do the full set of tests using the external antenna, per my other thread.

[rogerblack]

There are some detailed user reviews of the HX870 on this page, if you scan down to the comments section from Jan 2015:

http://www.panbo.com/archives/2014/11/s ... house.html

Interesting that some of the (fairly few) shortcomings mentioned there, such as the programmable delay on the display light, have since been addressed by Yaseu/Standard Horizon in subsequent firmware updates - it's now possible through the menu to select more options for this including continuous if desired. So kudos to the manufacturer for taking on board customer feedback.

[Martin]

Thanks for the info guys, i'll look into this when I get chance.
I don't recall any leaflet advising me of such, but I believe I have already updated to the latest firmware. Something to investigate when I get the time.

Martin