Standard Horizon HX460S

[Dee Hall]

I was involved in the buy of over 20 radios two years ago that turned out to be not entirely submersible. Ok, some were and some weren't. My first one wasn't. My second one was, until last weekend when I hit it with a pressurized hose.

There was a lot of discussion on the message board about how water gets into these radios through the two ports. After taking this radio apart, I can say that this radio, at least, is properly designed to not leak water through the ports. The jacks are sealed and they each have their own gaskets.

However, the screws that hold the radio together are not sealed. Depending on how flat the two aluminum halves of the case were when they came out of their molds will depend on how waterproof the radio is. There should be some sort of seal or gasket on the screws.

Fortunately, after drying it out, my radio still works. I have sealed the case at each of the screws with a very small amount of silicone. I have tried not to let the silicone get into the threads in case I need to get the radio apart again.

Getting salt water into the ports is still an issue. At the very least, it will corrode them. In the case of the mic jack, you may start transmitting whether or not you know it. As others have recommended, rinsing off the radio after each use is a good idea. If you find salt water in either of the ports, immediately rinse them well with fresh water and leave them open and upside down to drain and dry. Also, remove the battery pack while the battery dries out.

-Dee

[djlewis]

I can't comment on the screws' waterproofness or lack thereof. But as suggested originally by Brian, and discussed frequently since then, I have found that sealing the two ports -- mic and charger -- with silicon caulk seems to do the job. Since I did that, I've had mine under water a fair amount, and once again today it functioned quite well.

Of course, the trail from there to here has been a bit choppy. First I got water in the mic port, and that made it stick transmitting static. Not realizing I had only to shake it out and dry it, I took it back to West Marine and they replaced it. (Well, you do get something for shopping at an overpriced place.) I sealed the mic port on the new one with silicon caulk a la Brian, and that seemed to be that.

I still worried about the charger port, but was assiduous in keeping it well closed. Well, maybe not. A few months later, the entire unit failed, and I was pretty sure that it was water in the charger port (though I guess it could have been due to the engineering of the screws, as Dee suggests.) I sent that back to the factory and got a new (or refurb) unit. Meantime, I also located on the web (not easy to find) a drop-in charger for this unit and, again as Brian suggested, sealed the charger port as well with silicon caulk.

Since then, it's been fine, through several months of paddling and occasional immersion. I guess I'm crossing fingers.

Probable moral of the tale of three radios -- seal both ports; get a drop-in charger.

--David.