Thanks for all the help on radios. I've narrowed the choices down to two or three radios I could afford: the Standard Communications 255S and 350S, and the Apelco 520. All have nice ergonomics, and the 350 and 520 are advertised as submersible, JIS-7 standard, 3 yr water damage warranty, and appear quite rugged. There are some pluses and minuses to each, but I discovered that Standard says their 350 doesn't meet its waterproof standard when using the alkaline battery pack, only the NiCad. A salesclerk at West Marine informed me the 520 had the same problem. Can anyone verify that the Apelco 520 is less waterproof with the alkaline pack as with its NiCad pack? It's selling for $207US at Defender; quite a deal. But touring boaters need the alkaline use. thanks, Rob ___________________ Rob Gendreau Oakland, California gendreau_at_ccnet.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Rob Gendreau wrote: > > Thanks for all the help on radios. I've narrowed the choices down to two or > three radios I could afford: the Standard Communications 255S and 350S, and > the Apelco 520. All have nice ergonomics, and the 350 and 520 are advertised > as submersible, JIS-7 standard, 3 yr water damage warranty, and appear quite > rugged. I wholeheartedly think that these are wise picks, especially since I picked those two too for the submersible reasons. :-) > There are some pluses and minuses to each, but I discovered that > Standard says their 350 doesn't meet its waterproof standard when using the > alkaline battery pack, only the NiCad. A salesclerk at West Marine informed > me the 520 had the same problem. > > Can anyone verify that the Apelco 520 is less waterproof with the alkaline > pack as with its NiCad pack? It's selling for $207US at Defender; quite a > deal. But touring boaters need the alkaline use. Yes the Apelco is not waterproof with the alkaline according to tech support at Raytheon, which makes the Apelco. But that means it cannot be submerged with the alkaline. It will certainly take splash, etc. If if fails you are out only about $25 for the battery pack and maybe not even that if you wash it off quickly. The alkaline pack is heavier and makes the unit almost an inch taller. That $207 is a terrific price...I paid $205 at Defender, I think $205.68 exactly. Nutty price. Some observations about the Apelco. It is actually smaller than its stated size. I think manufacturers differ in how they measure. Its claimed size is that of the Standard 350 but the Apelco is definitely more tiny, almost as small as the smallest Icom M-1. It also weighs less than the stated figure. The instruction book says a bit over a pound but it weighs just 11 ounces on my postal mailing scales. The last time I saw a manufacturer misstate weight in the wrong direction it was Nautiraid in one of its models I was testing. Downsides to consider regarding it, although I think it is a terrific radio. Its light (the one you turn on at night or low light) is red LED. There have been arguments here on PaddleWise on whether red light really helps maintain your night vision or not. Whatever. It is not a bright as the white LED on the Standard 350. My eyesight in my old age is poor and I don't wear bifocals. I can see by the red LED but not as well as the Standard 350. Also, I believe, as I stated here before that the default on the Standard is 1 watt which you then switch to 5 if you wish. The Apelco comes in at 5 but will go down to 3 and to 1. It takes getting used to that button as it is a mutifunction one. I would prefer an easier switch like on the Standard. Lastly, the Apelco's optional rapid charger doesn't seem to work. Someone else had such an experience and returned their's too. Its rapid discharge feature will not work on that radio and in the case of several of us, the rapid charger doesn't even work. Maybe it was a bad batch (I did get my money back). The Standard however is bigger by a bit and it definitely weighs over a pound. But its display is terrific in size. It not only states the channel number but also what it is used for in plain English. I didn't check whether it will say marine operator for the marine operator channels or not but I suspect it does that too. Oh, if you are concerned about the 600 amp life on the Apelco vs. the Standard 350s 800 amp, the Apelco will accept its large sister's Nicad, the 1200 amp one used in the Raytheon 106. You can use the regular charger to charge the nicad pack alone without the radio. It may be wise to have a second nicad pack possibly the bigger 1200 to give you several options. It will weigh somewhat more. For my money, I am happy with spending just $200ish for my Apelco rather than $270 or so for the STandard and getting the size I did. But I sure like the Standard. EVerything in life is a trade off. BTW, another outfit to check for prices is the place I bought the rapid charger from. Raytheon considers it an official discounter (I found out when I called Raytheon). The rapid charger was cheaper than anywhere else. It would be a good place to check for accessories. I don't know if they sell the radio too. It is called Land and Sea Electronics in Somers Point NJ. 1-800-292-2227; 609-653-6500. FAX 609-653-4911. They shipped really inexpensively with quick delivery. They also credited my credit card within just 36 hours or so. I was impressed. Raytheon is making some change in 1999 in the model. I think it is dropping the Apelco name as it is doing so with some of its fixed console VHFs. I guess there will be other changes too. But at that Defender price it would be hard to go wrong. ralph diaz -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
>Some observations about the Apelco. It is actually smaller than its >stated size. I think manufacturers differ in how they measure. Its >claimed size is that of the Standard 350 but the Apelco is definitely >more tiny, almost as small as the smallest Icom M-1. It also weighs >less than the stated figure. Interesting since the Apelco 520 does not fit the Rapid charger/decharger which bears its name. Robert *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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