kayak fishing vhf radio

my first impressions of the radio are as follows I have used the Icom euro v as a comparison radio the euro v has served me well .
The m71 has a much better ergonomic shape than the euro-v which makes the m71 a nicer fit in the hand which in turn makes it a lot harder to drop while using or adjusting it while out in the kayak .the physical size of the m71 is smaller than the euro-v so its easier to fit it in to a pocket the Ariel on the m71 is a lot smaller than we have become used to so if fitting this new radio to your pfd the Ariel wont poke your eyes out every time you look around .

The m71 shown on the left (photo above) is 6watts which makes this the most powerful handheld radio available which make quite a difference when using it the coastguard will hear you from a approximately 1 mile further away than any of the 5 watt radios we have all become used to from my house with the m71 I can hear very clearly Liverpool coastguard which is about 25miles away from me although he can not hear me which is expected on a handheld .
I had both radios on but could not hear the coastguard on my euro-v so the extra watt showed its worth .
The display is very easy to read and shows clear Settings with a much nicer amber backlight than the euro-v’s green one.
the buttons on the unit are larger which is a real plus if you are wearing paddle gloves the m71 has many features inc very easy to set squelch which was a bit fiddly on the euro-v and a great feature for vibrating any water ingress in the speaker grill and a great volume test button for when the squelch is set. i found the very easy to navigate around .
The belt clip is also a much improved feature with a much longer tong and a very positive spring grip which would make attaching the m71 to anything much safer less chance of it falling off.

m71 shown on the left (photo above)
the design of the battery locking mechanism is vastly superior to the euro-v and all the other handhelds I have seen and I have seen many .the battery connection to the radio is now housed at the top side of the unit the battery fits in to a grove and locks very positively then there is a small additional locking arm which makes the whole thing very secure and makes the seal around the connection pins watertight.

the charging unit has also been re-designed and is much better .when the radio is inserted there is almost a click when it is in position and the radio is held very positively you don’t have to juggle it around to get a good charging position .
So my first impressions on the m71 are it’s a very stylish easy to use powerful radio it’s a sure winner and so far it gets a big thumbs-up on my first impresions .