Not that I spend a lot of waking OR sleeping hours dreaming about handheld VHF radios, mind you. Still, this thing is pretty dang cool.

Behold the Standard Horizon HX850S VHF/GPS DSC Floating Submersible Radio. I’d link to the manufacturer’s site, but there isn’t any info about this model up there yet?!

Apparently, there’s actually a good reason for this. After berating Standard-Horizon for their lack of a press release about this new product, Panbo learned that Standard-Horizon is still awaiting final FCC certification for the product. Oh golly, not another cool product in limbo because of the FCC!!

Deep breath. Relax. I’m sure this is just routine. I’ll stop badgering the FCC. For the moment.

The point is that this new radio is exactly the sort of product I really appreciate: It packs a lot of functionality into a small, robust package. It has features that make it a valuable tool in an emergency (DSC + GPS), but unlike conventional distress radiobeacons (EPIRBS and PLBs), it doesn’t just sit there, unused, month after month after month, during all the times you’re not experiencing an emergency.

This is because it also offers great day-to-day functionality as a handheld marine VHF. And it’s waterproof. And it floats.

See, I like this sort of arrangement for a lot of reasons: If it’s a tool I use all the time, I’ll be familiar with its operation; that’s important during an emergency. It will also be located someplace handy, not tucked away I-can’t-quite-remember-where when Something Really Bad happens and I’m feeling overwhelmed and task-saturated.

Plus, money spent on a unit like this ends up serving two purposes: day-to-day VHF communication and emergency communication. This is a really significant selling point, because it makes it a lot easier to justify the purchase to the Powers-That-Be (SWMBO and the like). I think Standard-Horizon has a winner on their hands.