Customer Reviews

Uniden UM525-W Fixed-mount Marine Radio with 3" LCD, White

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I still use this radio and one of the MAJOR reasons I bought it was for the S.A.M.E weather function. It is only supposed to alert you for weather issues in the user programmed county, instead of every county within the tower transmission range. SAME Weather in this radio does NOT work. I know that after seeing countless false alerts. I returned it numerous times to Uniden for repair and they finally admitted that it was properly setup and that they could/would not properly test it. They were never able to fix it. A replacement had the same problem. MANY emails and calls later and they simply stopped responding. I had the same problem with another Uniden VHF handheld radio that was supposed to be S.A.M.E. capable. They obviously don't know how to build a SAME capable radio and simply stop responding instead of fixing the problem. I will not buy another Uniden product. I wish my company could get away with that kind of bad support. It would significantly lower our support costs.

I've had a UM525 installed in my 23 ft Parker for three seasons and it's been a great and very versatile radio. The large screen, the DSC cell phone-like "address book" is very handy and the auto fog signal feature gets a workout here in Maine.

The radio lost a star for two reasons: 1) the channel selector knob is way too easy to bump and change channels inadvertantly, even a slight brush with the mike cord will do it and you may not realizie it until much later when you may have missed a scheduled or emergency radio call. The detents need to be much more positive or a pull and turn knob design would have been better. 2) Despite my best efforts any loudhailer usage with the volume beyond level 2 (out of 10 levels) results in feedback no matter how I hold the mike, cabin windows open or closed, so the high wattage of the loudhailer is mostly unusable. This may not be a radio related issue but friends with radio/loudhailers by other manufacturers don't seem to have this issue.

I added the WHAM X-4 cordless handset and it's great, the range is such that you can be well away from the boat (estimate 50 to 60 yards)and still have full use of the 25 watt fixed mount radio rather than take a 5 watt handheld, so if you're on the dock or a nearby boat you won't miss a call that needs an immediate response. It's a big plus to not be tied to a 3 foot mike cord when you need to move around the boat.

Flush install into Boston Whaler Dauntless Console. They only show the front but expect a lot of heat-sink when it arrives. Flush mounting with additional kit. Seems like a lot of features. I'd recommend this unit. large face. No nise or chatter to complain abut.