VHF type approval / Standard Horizon HX850

[MustRib]

I have the chance to purchase one of these in Halifax NS tomorrow, at a good price. Its the DSC / GPS equipped handheld VHF.
I have found some forum postings from the Kayaking site dated over a year ago about the confusion between OFCOM and the MCA on the use of MMSI / DSC capable handhelds, with the MCA line seeming to be that these units should be available. OFCOM was maintaining that they are awaiting European type approval, so they would be illegal.
Does anyone have any updates on the situation?

Does anyone have any experience of the Standard Horizon HX850?
Will it accept a UK MMSI ? I know the UK numbers start in a set range.

As I read the OFCOM regulations, it seems that any "station" using any means of alerting the Coast Guard in an emergency is acceptable, (and you wouldn't press the red button unless things were serious), while at the same time they seem to maintain that possesion and use of a non approved VHF would be against the law.

Again ...anyone want to wade oin with any new developments.

Many thanks

[jake 4589]

Hi there, I have just done my SRC course a few weeks ago and yes I'm afraid that it is still illegal to use DSC handhelds over here. It is basically because that a fixed radio is tied to the boat where as a handheld can one day be held by a 1 man rib/sib then the next be passed to a 40 ft cruiser with 20 people on board. The MCA would not know what emergency rescue vessels to send.
That's my understanding of it.

The other thing to watch out for is actually buying one overseas. I believe there are a couple of problems with this:-

1) some of the channels/ffrequencies are different

2) All marine radios over here have to be CE approved, not sure if that would apply to models for the north american market.

Finnally, various agencies have the power to confiscate equipment if they don't comply with the rules!!!!!!

Best wishes

Jake

[jwalker]

I don't know about that particular radio but the fixed sets I investigated do not support channel 16 in the same way as the UK sets. They normally only transmit at low power on 16 tho this can be overridden on some sets by pressing a button before transmission but it switches off at the release of the Tx button so would need to be pressed each time you speak. Best check it out before you buy.

[wavelength]

It is basically because that a fixed radio is tied to the boat where as a handheld can one day be held by a 1 man rib/sib then the next be passed to a 40 ft cruiser with 20 people on board. The MCA would not know what emergency rescue vessels to send.

novel idea .They would not know what to send to a red flare either if we go down that route.

when dsc first was available there was an approved dsc handheld vhf (and a set of mmsi numbers for handhelds was issued)which took its position from the charging cradle when plugged in and if the distress button was activated sent either no position or its last position from the charger and the time it was taken. Approval was withdrawn after a year(ish) as it didnt comply with directives in that it could only send distress but no other type dsc call. I did hear on the grapevine that a new h/h had been approved but not seen anything of it yet, if indeed that is the case.

[MustRib]

that your referring to Wavelength?

I have heard its the European version of the HX850.
Where is Jon Brooks when you need him ???

[Cookee]

Originally Posted by MustRib

that your referring to Wavelength?

I have heard its the European version of the HX850.
Where is Jon Brooks when you need him ???

AFAIK he is not with SH any more.

[MikeCC]

Standard Horizon models are suffixed 'E' for Euro models. HX851 will just be an update on HX850.

Jon Brooks is a couple of jobs along from Standard - last I heard he was mostly doing the RIB charter stuff in Kent.

Dave - you know what he meant! A flare won't tell you what you might find but an MMSI tied to a vessel would give some idea.

It might be easier if they simply had a separate MMSI number range for handhelds with DSC (maybe that;s what they did orignally?). After all, it's no different to distinguishing between a PLB and an EPIRB.

But no, they aren't approved in UK and I suspect SH here might not be too keen on warranty handling.

[wavelength]

Dave - you know what he meant

yep I know what he meant but I reckon his radio course provider didn't know the facts and was simply making the answer up!
To my mind the big advantage of dsc esp in my area is the ability to switch other sets to ch16 to listen to the voice mayday and outweighs any confusion a handheld might cause on different vessels. We have a large number of angling/fishing boats here that are permanently on ch8 and never see ch16. Distress calls have been missed by them in the past -several times.
Yes there was a dedicated set of mmsi numbers for the handhelds that immediately identified them as such.
The idea of taking its position from the charger was all very well for a vessel such as we use where the emergency h/h is always sat in its charger on the boat ready to be grabbed in an emergency, but not much use when you take it off charge as you leave the house.

[tim griffin]

Withdrawn in September 2004 for most of the reasons Dave Wavelength mentions
Not sure if any new models would get type approval for the same reasons
Ta Tim

[ChrisS]

Apparently the Standard Horizon HX-851 hand-held DSC set has got type approval and should start shipping to dealers this month.

[jake 4589]

Originally Posted by ChrisS

Apparently the Standard Horizon HX-851 hand-held DSC set has got type approval and should start shipping to dealers this month.

That sounds great. Can you give more details, ie where does the 'aparently' come from? Are there any definite statements?

Jake

[Cookee]

Originally Posted by jake 4589

That sounds great. Can you give more details, ie where does the 'aparently' come from? Are there any definite statements?

Jake

I have the Press Release:


THE NEW HX851E HANDHELD VHF DSC RADIO FROM STANDARD HORIZON, WITH BUILT-IN GPS AND UNIQUE COMPASS DISPLAY

On show with Standard Horizon, Stand G067 at The 2010 Southampton Boat Show

This remarkably compact floating radio offers all the outstanding features of other members of the handheld family from Standard Horizon, like 6W transmitter output power, face up floating, fully waterproof and ease of use. It also includes a built-in 12 channel GPS receiver and Class D encoder and decoder for sending and receiving DSC distress calls and other calls, such as Position Poll and Request Calls. The built-in GPS receiver, in conjunction with the 200 waypoint storage capacity, enables special functions like ‘navigate to a waypoint’ or ‘navigate to a position request or distress position’ to be easily implemented in a handheld device.


Specification:
Model: Standard Horizon HX851E
Power output: 1/2/5/6/W @ 7.4V
Frequency ranges: 156.025 MHz to 157.425 MHz
Battery: 1150mAh lithium-ion.
Size: 2.46” x 5.57” x 1.77” (62.5 x 141.5 x 45mm) w/o knob and antennae
Weight: 11.8oz (335gm) w/FNB-V99Li, belt clip and antenna)
RRP: £249.95 including VAT

Hope that helps.

[bingomike]

Looks good till you see the price !! LOL

Mike

[willk]

Originally Posted by bingomike

Looks good till you see the price !! LOL

Mike

£186 here

It's a very nice bit of kit. I want one

[Poly]

Thats 186+vat. Even at list price its not ridiculous.

A floating waterproof handheld will set you back around £120 anyway.
A waterproof GPS will also set you back at least £80 and that's for something very basic.

Their closest competitor is probably something like the Lowrance LHR80 which doesn't have the DSC integration activated (so its a GPS and a H/Held VHF but not DSC) which sells for around £200 (list 230)

As the only people on the market with a product that combines them effectively into a DSC I'd say they can charge a premium. People who want a DSC on their person rather than the boat will probably happily pay that. In this case the "competition" also moves into the PLB possibilities which cost a little less than this (list v's list) but whilst having some benefits also don't provide normal gps or vhf capabilities.

If I didn't already have a handheld vhf and gps I'd have written a cheque by now.

[PeterM]

Originally Posted by Polwart

Thats 186+vat. Even at list price its not ridiculous.

A floating waterproof handheld will set you back around £120 anyway.
A waterproof GPS will also set you back at least £80 and that's for something very basic.

Their closest competitor is probably something like the Lowrance LHR80 which doesn't have the DSC integration activated (so its a GPS and a H/Held VHF but not DSC) which sells for around £200 (list 230)

As the only people on the market with a product that combines them effectively into a DSC I'd say they can charge a premium. People who want a DSC on their person rather than the boat will probably happily pay that. In this case the "competition" also moves into the PLB possibilities which cost a little less than this (list v's list) but whilst having some benefits also don't provide normal gps or vhf capabilities.

If I didn't already have a handheld vhf and gps I'd have written a cheque by now.

Have to agree. I think this will soon outsell most radios due to its dual function. Time to drop the old one in the harbour again !

[jake 4589]

Hi all, Just spoke with Standard Horizon today (Tue 13th July) and they say they are still waiting for a few 'loose ends' to to be sorted out regarding licensing issues before they can start distribution. They also stated that a date was not set for release, its a case of wait and see.

A quick question here, do I have to wait till I get the radio before applying for an MMSI number or can I do that in advance.

Best wishes

Jake

[mark_j]

Just ordered one, days until release apparently.

[mark_j]

Its just arrived, licence obtained on ofcom website, looks to be a quality piece of kit.