possibly you are mounting in the wrong place?? never ever heard of dramas with gme?? whats the issue may i ask?

Heard of plenty of GMEs breaking. Are they waterproof yet, or do they still just come with a pseudo-waterproof flip cover.

im off the gme too 3 radios in 1.5 years sure they replaced under warrenty but ive lost confidence in there product

for uhf id go a northstar or a icom

Purchased an Icom M304 about 9 months ago,very happy with it, got a great deal from TransAir in Malaga.

I have a Raymarine radio, no problems as yet. I can say that I have had some issues with GME being watertight.

I have had GME radios in trucks that the face has fallen off, the handset's fail all the time i.e. the one in my new truck is only 3mths old and I am on my 4th handset and second radio, first handset didnt work out of the box! and the radio didnt last the first trip! nah no more GME for me.

Got a Cobra brand Vhf on ebay for $200 when I got the boat built 4 years back and it hasn't missed a beat and its had a fair hiding, living out in the weather and usually drenched each time we went out.

northstar

Brought my Icom off Ebay, got a really good deal, when our dollar was good with the US$, which is pretty good now I believe.

I brought the radio so I could use the DSC function. I have issues with this radio in this area, but if youre not going to use that function its pretty good.

Third GME unit failed - never again!

Just purchased an Icom, great reputation, not yet fitted though.

What are your DSC problems with the M422 iana?

i'm with carnarvonite.

i just bought a cobra (on special at all boat ATM $249) after my gme crapped itself. awesome unit, nice and clear, and completely submersible.

Just too compicated to use, sure its just push the button in an emergency, but you need a sience degree to use it otherwise.

I brought the 422 over the 304 as the DSC button was easier to access (bigger). If I had time over again, I would be looking at the 500 up range of Icoms, I think would be easier to use.

If buying a VHF, I would certainly be looking at ease of use as well as reputation.

Fair comment iana - after a read through the manual it may take a while to get used to the functions.

As with most of the hi-tech electronics these days I'll probably need to get my kids to show me how it works!

most pro boats have ICOM

I have had my Uniden 525 for 3years now no problems and nice and clear .

Not the cheepest but it does the Job cheers BB

I have switched to Icom , my last three VHF were GME and yes every one failed, you do have to watch your antennas because if they have bad joints etc and you try to transmit on Hi power you can damage the unit. i now have the Icom and changed aerial to a new unit just to ensure everything was correct.  iam also interested to find out how far they can transmit as i was originaly told around 50 miles but have now been informed by Transair radios that its more around 25 to 30 miles direct line of sight

Yep no more GME's for me either, know of a lot of failed ones and have had 2 myself.  Not good at all.

Raymarine for me.

Thanks for your comments guys, glad to see its not just me having issues with GME. I might wander down to Allboat and have a look at these Cobra radios they seem to be the goods and fit my budget perfectly with some leftover for more fishing gear.

You need to work out if you want the DSC function. No point in buying something you won't use. However it is another safety feature, coupled to your GPS will send a message with your co-ordinates in it. Uses the same MMSI number issued with your Epirb.

The boat I am putting it in is only a 14ft fibreglass runabout so I wont be venturing too far from shore, mostly around the 3 Mile, in the river and a bit of crabbing down at Mandurah. I am a member of Whitfords Sea Rescue so I thought a VHF to log on/off with them would be a good thing as I mostly fish alone during the week. I only have a handheld GPS and I dont really want to go to the expense of buying a fixed GPS/plotter so the DCS function isnt something I would use. But a waterproof unit is something important to me as everything seems to get wet on a regular basis.

Given any thought to a hand held http://www.icom-australia.com/products/marine/marine_ic-m72.html. Looks like you can connect to an external antenna if you want range, and if you decided to go for a swim, it would be with you to assist rescue.

Sounds great in theory, but its 5w only and it has a pissy battery. By comparison, the 505 and 604 are both 25w units.

I had one of these about 20 years ago and it's a pretty good unit, but it eats batteries for breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, late night snack and ............. you get the picture.

Mine was running AAs, this one is lipo cells, but it's still a heavy drinker.

we have installed Icom in the new rescue boat and also purchased handheld Icom

spend the xtra cash and go Icom, the best in australia by far, quality and very water resistant.
I'm on my third one, had one on the Trophy and old Ugly Betty as well.