On Mon, 21 Nov 2005 20:12:11 +0200, Mika the Spamkiller
wrote:

I consider buying a waterproof handheld VHF to be used as some sort of
reserve radio in case mast and antenna are lost, fixed VHF fails or
need to abandon the boat...

What about radios that use AA cells instead of rechargable battery
pack? As far as I understand, rechargable batteries need to be charged
every now and then even if the radio is not used. And alkaline AA
cells, though have lower capacity, do not decay. I plan to leave the
radio in my grab pack, and would not like to worry about charging NiCd
pack every month...

Any suggestions for a good handheld? What about Icom M-31 ? Or some
similar reasonably priced set?

I used to be an ICOM partisan, but Standard has converted me. My
HX350s came with a built in rechargeable battery, an AC charger, a DC
charger, and a standard AA battery back as well. It's a good little
radio and I love the separate squelch knob. I think the HX370s is the
current version. It deletes the squelch knob but adds a strobe, I
think. It's probably not a great strobe, but it does sound as if it
would go well in a ditch bag. They go for about $150 on ebay, I
think.

For your specified use, stay away from rechargeables. If you want
rechargeables, you still want a standard aa battery pack so you can
toss in (relatively) inexpensive NiMH AAs instead of buying
proprietary battery packs. Rechargeables can't be beat for
price/performance in regularly used equipment, but the self-discharge
rate is unacceptable for emergency gear.
__________________________________________________ __________
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