Standard Horizon VHF Handheld Radio Reviews

Standard Horizon VHF handheld marine radios are available in a wide range of models from basic frill-free units to full-featured high end models with all the bells and whistles.

Recently Standard Horizon revamped their entire handheld marine VHF radio lineup. The biggest change in the revamped product line was the addition of a fleet of floating handhelds. Many of earlier generation radios are still on the market and are covered in our list of handheld marine VHF reviews.

Standard Horizon Basic Handheld Radios

An earlier generation of Standard Horizon handheld marine VHF radios has shown themselves to be reliable and reasonably priced. Last year’s basic handheld VHF model, the Standard Horizon HX270S is still readily available and sells for less than a hundred bucks.

The follow-on to this unit is the Standard Horizon HX280S which was released in early 2009.

Another one of the previous generation of marine handhelds still on the market today is the Standard Horizon HX370S. This unit shares the control layout and big screen of more expensive radios on the Standard Horizon lineup.

Full-Featured Handheld VHF Workhorses

One radio in the Standard Horizon line differed slightly in appearance from the majority of the other handheld radios. This oddball, the Standard Horizon HX471S has multi-band capabilities packed into compact aluminum housing.

Previous top-of-the-line handhelds included the Standard Horizon HX500S and the Standard Horizon HX600S. The latter has multi-band and DSC capabilities.

These two units have been upgraded with newer batteries and are now designated the Standard Horizon HX500S-LI and Standard Horizon HX600S-LI.

Floating Handheld VHF Radios

The newest addition to the Standard Horizon handheld product line is a trifecta of floating VHF radios. The basic model, the Standard Horizon HX750S has a 6-watt transmitter and SOS strobe light.

Standard Horizon added Bluetooth capabilities to this radio and changed the designation to Standard Horizon HX760S.

At the pinnacle of their handheld line is the Standard Horizon HX850S. This last radio features a built-in GPS sensor.

Next Gen Floating Handheld VHFs

Standard Horizon continues the evolution of the floating marine handheld VHF with a pair of recent lineup additions. The Standard Horizon HX851 is an upgraded version of the popular HX850S. It adds navigation capabilities to the already powerful mix of features. The entry level floating marine handheld VHF has also been renovated into the Standard Horizon HX751.