I've always bought ICON marine radios but the transmit button on my last one quit working. I looked into getting it repaired - the ICON shop is a few miles away, but it's like a $100 min charge just to have them look at it. Also thought about buying the part and trying to replace it, but there was no guarantee that was the only problem, and it was an older unit and the battery needed replacing - another $100. For a little over $100 I could get a new radio. The comparable ICON radio is more than twice the cost and has less wattage. I wasn't sure if I'd like the "step" digital function - no twisty knobs on this radio - but it works great. First season using it (not exactly used on water) was really impressed with battery life and range was as good or better than my old ICON compact. Great and very compact radio. Read more
Love it Read more
ive had this radio for a few years now and its worked great. great for clipping to a belt or your bibs while out on deck. battery lasts all day. Read more
This is a great size to fit into your pocket as a backup radio or one that is not used constantly. The functionality and transmission are great and the controls are easy to use. The only downside is that it does not use USB-C to charge and requires the old style cradle, which is a lot of extra to carry around if you plan to use the radio during travel. Read more
Received mine without a hassle despite COVID-19. All in good order. Officially made in China (maybe I had to UV it for safety?). All looks fine but as an owner of VX-3R I subconsciously expected something that is similar to 3R in size. Although I knew this one is bulkier - probably more like a VX-5 or 6R, it is still the smallest on the market. Smallest to a degree that it does not float: one cannot fool the laws of nature and when one cramms the guts of HX210 into a smaller body (read - smaller water displacement) .... Well, Archimedes explained it all a thousand years ago. In fact I do blv it was all the other way around - Yaesu Musen engineers had to build HX210 (and many other floating handhelds) having water displacement in mind which is why ALL marine handhelds with positive buoyancy are bulkier than non-floating ones. So in the end it was really a bright idea to build a smaller size marine handheld with the option to gain positive buoyancy by adding missing volume using accessory case (SHC-29) because that puts the owner in control - the owner decides when he needs buoyancy and when he needs compactness. That is a flexible solution. Other that that do confirm that the navigation menu might be a bit more intuitive. Miss the feature of a user-controlled screen lighting up during reception of a signal. Several battery saving mode settings are not explained so the owner does not know what he trades off for a longer battery life. Noticed that when soaked in water the speaker loses ca. 1/5 - 1/4 of it's dry state loudness. I also wish Yaesu had one version for the Americas, Asia and Europe instead of 3 different versions. In the end industry achieved that for the 4G (LTE) gadgets, GSM, TV and other stuff. The Owner Manual is a single edition for both HX40/HX40E, by the way.... Summary: got what I expected, already like it despite noted shortcomings and do blv I will love using it for the purpose it was bought for. Read more
Tiny. Waterproof. Long battery life. Doesn't float, but the lanyard works. Small enough to keep tucked in a life vest pocket comfortably. Great safety item for solo sailing. The VHF on the boat will not help you if you end up in the water. I use a safety tether when sailing solo...but the unexpected can happen. Great product. Highly recommended! Read more
It's interesting that SH's smallest radio has the largest battery capacity but that's the case here. It'll last at least 24 hours, sometimes as much as 36, on standby (on and squelched), none of my other radios will make it nearly that long. The user interface is a bit clunky - not as intuitive as my SH 870, but with some practice it works fine. It doesn't float, but if you care about that you can add the external life jacket - but that makes it as bulky as any other radio so sort of defeats the purpose. Has all the features you're likely to care about (triple watch, etc.) and it's a really sweet package. If you're looking for something you can tuck into a relatively small PFD pocket this is it. Just be sure to attach with a lanyard because if it goes over the side it's going to sink. Read more
Have had the unit for 1.5 years now. When it was working (taking a charge) it worked as intended. Scrolling through various menus can be a bit confusing, but with practice, you get used to it. My biggest complaint is how quickly the contacts on the radio as well as the 12v charger (lighter adapter) corrode. I tried my best to keep up with it, cleaning them with alcohol after every use, but I am on salt water, and when I didn't use the radio for a month, came back and it will no longer take a charge. Unfortunately, there is no other way to charge this unit than by the stand. Tried cleaning contacts but still won't charge. As an important piece of safety equipment on my boat, I find this unacceptable. Read more
