STANDARD HORIZON HX890BK VHF-HH, 6 Watt, w/GPS&FM Rcvr

First of all, two words: Standard Horizon. I had one of their stationary models in the nav station of a boat I had for 15 years and it was just a great radio--clear and powerful. I was often able to connect over a distances of 50 miles or more. This hand held appears of the same caliber, albeit with the much lower power and range limits, as allowed in a portable. Among the features I think most impressive: It floats and if you drop it in the water, a strobe beacon is activated. It reads GPS and has a distress button which, if activated, transmits an emergency message with your GPS coordinates and the nature of your emergency which you select from a list--like, "sinking" or "fire" or "medical," etc. Above all, I'm depending on the same rugged reliability as the first one I owned for so many years.

Great Radio,, DSC and GPS.. Main menus easily accessed. Weather and 'FM' great additions. 73

Very nice solid radio! The screen is large and easy to read. The gps locks within seconds of powering the unit on. I did some testing with a friend today and got around 3 miles distant in an urban environment. I’m expecting much more out on the water. The radio is waterproof!! I’m very happy with it. !

Great radio, Exactly as advertise!I would like it to be more colorful or for it to have a silicone protective case.All in all a great radio, performs as advertise!Receive it quite quickly!!!

Although I initially received the wrong color, Amazon corrected the issue and is no reflection of the actual product. This handheld is used by many in the Great Lakes region and I thought it was finally time to get one for myself.The radio has more features than I will ever use but for the MMSI and GPS capabilities this unit has, it is a good purchase. I did a ton of research and found that this radio is the best bang for the buck. Don’t over complicate setting it up and the MMSI is free through the power squadron. Other than that, it functions as a normal handheld marine radio. For any handheld, you are limited on your range. It doesn’t matter which unit you have, they all have a max transmit rating and unless you extend the antenna, you’re best to keep this for near shore communications.

This product was a great buy, found it cheaper than I would have at major retailers. Reliable in an emergency and simple to use for the most part

20 years in the Coast Guard as a RADIOMAN - This radio ROCKS .. but .. don't tell anyone .. I'm not buying other radios when I have this one .. so .. I might have to use it on shore. I got one for my wife to call me on .. and .. one for me to listen for her call .. Range? It's VHF so - line of sight to the horizon then ? The signal just continues straight off the planet and out into space. But - simply put - line of sight range - but - it won't go thru mountains and stuff. This is the way.

Things I liked.Comes with a replaceable LiPo battery pack good for 10 hours and a second battery adapter that holds five AAA batteries and can be used when the LiPo battery goes dead.Easy to program my MMSI number with lots of Youtube video. By the way, Boat YS members can get a MMSI number free.Man overboard function.DSC scrambled call capability on Chanel 70.Tracks other DSC positions.GPS navigation.Waterproof and floats.Comes with AC and DC charging cables that plug into the charging cradle.Stainless steel charging pins.Charges in 3 hours.Secure belt clip.PDF manuals can be downloaded from the Standard Horizon website.I can't imagine why it has an FM entertainment broadcast receiver?Things I didn't likeThe lanyard is too big to fit into the lanyard hole on the radio case. It will fit into a hole on the belt clip.No software available at the website to support the digital data cable.Bottom LineThis is a quality handheld VHF as good as any you can buy and better than most.If your boat sinks or you fall overboard this radio is capable of broadcasting you GPS location to others. But its range is limited to a few miles on the surface because VHF is line of sight and you will be in the water. It has better range when communicating with rescue aircraft