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Standard Horizon HX210

The Standard Horizon HX210 is submersible to 3.3’ (1 m) for up to 30 minutes.

Editor’s Report by Eric Colby

The Standard Horizon HX210 is a 6-watt compact floating marine handheld VHF radio that’s available at marine accessories dealer Defender Industries. It floats and has an IPX7 waterproof rating of 3.3’ (1 m) for up to 30 minutes.

It comes with all United States, Canadian and international channels and has selectable 6W, 2.5W and 1W output power. It receives WX and FM radio bands from 76MHz to 108MHz. Its display is a high-resolution dot matrix LCD the HX210 has the E20 Easy to Operate Menu system with programmable function keys. It also has a built-in speaker plus a jack for an external microphone.

Power is provided by an 1850 mAh Li-Ion battery and it only needs three hours to revive with the desktop rapid charger. A 12-volt DC and 110-Volt AC charger and cradle are in the box and the HX210 is covered by a three-year waterproof warranty.

Standard Horizon HX210

The HX210 has a clear, easy-to-read display and it can even play music from an FM station.

Noteworthy Features

Taking a look at individual features, the HX210 is a compact unit. Its new large capacity 1850mAh battery gives the radio a smaller case design. It has dimensions of 2.36” x 5.20” x 1.57” (5.99 cm x 13.21 cm x 3.99 cm) without the knob or antenna. At 2 lbs. (.91 kg), it’s light enough to float face-up if it's dropped into the water.

If the radio is submerged, an emergency strobe activates automatically even when the unit is turned off. The strobe can be configured to flash on and off, flash SOS or be set to stay on continuously.

Yaesu says the HX210 boasts one of the largest displays for a handheld VHF. The dot matrix resolution has been increased and bright backlighting so it can be seen in different conditions and during the day or night.

Standard Horizon HX210

Updated backlighting makes the screen easy to see even in the dark.

A new intuitive menu system makes it easier to set up the radio’s functions, so settings can be customized based on user preference. One example of this is that the user can tune the radio to his/her favorite FM radio station.

Fully Equipped

The HX210 comes with a full list of features including a rubber screw-on antenna, a DC cable that plugs into a cigarette-lighter-style outlet, an AC adapter, a belt clip and a charging cradle. A buyer can add a submersible noise-canceling speaker, a plug-in earphone, a commercial-grade speaker microphone with a belt clip, an earpiece microphone or a headset with a boom mic and VOX operation.

Available accessories include a waterproof clip-on microphone.

Standard Horizon Marine Products will replace the HX210 if it fails for any reason, including water damage during normal use in the first three years. If it fails after the first three years, it’s covered by Standard Horizon’s Flat Rate Service Program.