Uniden Mystic VHF/GPS

[leong]

Have any of you tried this unit? It's expensive (about $700) but has DSC

and a full function GPS. If it's worthwhile maybe we could arrange a group buy.

http://www.uniden.com/products/productdeta...?product=MYSTIC

http://www.sailingworld.com/sailing-gear/e...adio-43720.html

http://reviews.cnet.com/gps/uniden-mystic-...7-30897408.html

http://www.boatingmag.com/article.asp?arti...5&section_id=10

[shewhorn]

When I did my research about 6 or 7 months ago I considered the Uniden as it was the only handheld VHF I could find with built in GPS and DSC capability. I quickly came to the conclusion that I'd MUCH rather have a reliable radio with excellent battery life than one with terrible battery life and some feature that might not work because the batteries are dead. Whether you're transmitting a voice signal or a DSC signal both operate on the principal that someone is within range to receive said signal. If you're battery is dead because it's underspeced for the application (running both a GPS AND a radio, especially if you're transmitting is a huge drain on the battery) it won't do you much good for either application. I opted for an Icom M72, a Garmin GPS MAP76 CSx and a few waterproof charts instead.

Cheers, Joe

[Brad Fournier]

I owned one of these last season for a few months, it was pretty handy, but was heavy, battery life was short and mine stopped working, at least the GPS part, it wouldn't acquire sattelites. (They gave me a full refund, maybe they've improved as mine only cost $400 and they look alot different now.) It was handy having both units in one I must admit, but now I own the Icom-72 and the Garmin 76 cx. Love having the GPS on board, they are extremely fun and a lifesaver in the fog! Plus, they list alot of services nearby, ie: restaurants, gas stations, marine services, boat launches, hospitals etc., very handy when you go to new places.

Good choice Shewhorn, noticed you have same.

Brad.