UK Standard Horizon, a leading electronics manufacturer has launched its new affordable floating VHF handheld radio HX290E. Despite the budget price the HX290E has all the functions found on more expensive radios, such as programmable scan, dual watch and Channel 16 priority scan. It is pre-loaded with all the marine VHF channels, and a factory-set description for each one.
Standard Horizon VHF handheld radio HX290E
The 10 channels most frequently used can be selected quickly via a designated key and the default descriptions can be altered and customised for ease of recognition.
The rugged case supports a robust internal chassis, which has a glow in the dark strip so the radio can be found quickly at night, in or out of the water. As with all Standard Horizon radios, there is a large backlit dot-matrix display screen and the keys are deliberately oversized so they can be easily worked through gloves. There is also a key lock button to prevent accidental channel change and the display also features a battery life and squelch level indicator.
A speaker/microphone and headset can be attached and an optional AA-alkaline battery tray is available to supplement the Li-ion battery. The set has two power settings, 1-Watt and 5-Watts.
Not only does the HX290E float, it is also waterproofed to the IPX8 protocol. This means it can be immersed it to 1.5 metres (4ft 9in) for 30 minutes, and it will still work perfectly. So confident is the company of the waterproof integrity that it offers a no quibble 3-year warranty.
The HX290E is a superb, all-weather floating handheld VHF radio packed with functionality, but priced to sell to the entry-level market; on display on stand 04.541 at METS 2011.
Technical Features:
– 1170 mAh Lithium Ion battery
– Submersible to IPX8 – 1.5M (4.92ft) for 30 minutes
– Selectable 1 or 5 Watt transmit power output
– Programmable channel names
– Low battery indicator
– All International Marine Channels
– Optional speaker microphones and headsets available
– Programmable Scan, Priority Scan and Dual Watch
– Preset key used to recall up to 10 favorite channels
– Keypad key lock
