Simrad RS100 VHF black box radio

[wkearney99]

Anyone actually used one of the RS100 VHF radios from Simrad?

https://www.simrad-yachting.com/sim...dular-vhf-radios/vhf-radiors100-systemsimrad/

I'd like to replace my Icom M602. It's had yet another Command MIC failure. That and I completely hate the UI on the system, especially for intercom use. The M602 is coming out. I'd love to find something to take it's place in the existing helm location, that or a black box.

I'm not really psyched about the 'alpha-test in the field' aspect of the Vesper Cortex. There's other threads discussing it. This is not one of them. Maybe someday they'll work out all the kinks.

I've read through the owners manual PDF and it seems to cover a lot of what I'd like to have.

I'm headed toward upgrading my NN3D-based MFD12 Furuno plotters with TZT3 units (as I want Furuno radar). I've already got AIS onboard via an FA-50 transceiver, and a satellite compass. So I don't really "need" these features in a VHF.

What I'd like is something reasonably friendly to use, with loud hailer and intercom support that doesn't involve jumping through a bunch of tedious menus. As in, make it easy for us to call to/from the flybridge to the salon below.

The recording feature of the RS100 is interesting, it'd certainly have been useful in a few situations where I only caught part of a broadcast. Though how useful it'd be would depend on how tedious it is to access it.

 

[Nordlund Xpress]

Simrad RS100

I had both an ICOM M604 and SIMRAD RS90 (older version of RS100) on my Queenship. I like having two VHF radios available. I liked both, but used the ICOM as the primary as its user interface was the easiest to use, especially for guests or infrequent users. We had a second Command Mic on the flybridge for the ICOM. I liked the wireless handsets for the SIMRAD and had 2 wireless and 2 wired stations. They worked well but batteries need replacing after about 3 years. Perhaps it says a lot that we installed a ICOM M605 radio on our 'new-to-us' Nordlund 57 as our primary radio. It is really nice, and the color screen is great. We are debating installing the SIMRAD RS100 or the Cortex VHF by Vesper as our second, as we again want multiple wireless stations. The Cortex offers many more features (but currently does not offer Intercom nor PA functions, though these are coming via OTA software upgrades (like a Tesla). The Cortex is about 2X the cost of a similar SIMRAD install but includes AIS and a ton of monitoring features, color screens, etc. Bottom line though, the ICOM M605 is our goto radio and easily the most reliable.