BMEA

Standard Horizon is adding a handheld with Bluetooth® capability to its remarkable floating handheld VHF range. The HX760E, an upgraded version of the HX750E, includes the new Standard Horizon BH-2 Bluetooth® hands-free headset.

The Bluetooth® capability and new BH-2 Bluetooth® headset gives true hands-free operation since it’s capable of VOX (voice operated transmit) operation where simply speaking will switch the set to transmit. Stop speaking and the set returns to receive mode. The microphone gain has three levels of sensitivity that can be easily adjusted to prevent background noise from triggering the transmitter. For those who prefer manual operation, the set can be manually switched by pressing the PTT (press to talk) button on the top of the earpiece or, indeed, the PTT button on the handheld itself.

Using Bluetooth® connectivity, the BH-2 headset has a range of up to 10 metres (30ft) from the handheld allowing the user freedom of movement around the boat. A LED indicator on the headset indicates when in or out of range and when battery power is low. Powered by its own rechargeable battery, the BH-2 is supplied with the CD-40 charger cradle and NC-85U AC charger.

The ergonomically-shaped HX760E handheld has four power outputs of 1/2/5 and 6W and is powered by 1150mAH rechargeable lithium-ion battery. Audio power is a loud 700mW.

Programmed with full International channels for the European market, the set has a dedicated preset button for fast channel selection of 10 user-selectable channels. A simple-to-use keypad lock prevents accidental changing of settings.

An additional safety feature to prevent prolonged accidental transmission, is the ‘Transmit Time – Out Timer’ (TOT) function that automatically limits transmissions to a maximum five minutes in length. So there’s no danger of blocking a channel for more than five minutes by accidentally leaning on the PTT button.

The HX760E’s backlit LCD includes on-screen volume, squelch and Bluetooth® connection indicators. Like its HX750E stable mate, the HX760E has advanced features such as a water temperature sensor, SOS strobe light, speaker/microphone jack, battery charge indicator, dual- and tri-watch facility, programmable and priority scan functions and single button access to Channel 16.