Import of ICOM M802 form US to be used in EU waters a good idea?

[ka4wja]

Frix,
1) There is no difference between an Icom M-802 sold in the US and an M-802 sold in the UK or Europe.....except for maybe some "user channel" programming differences (which you yourself would tailor to your particular use, locale, planned voyage routes, etc...)
Please see this video describing exactly how you program and label the "user channels", as well as how to use/select both ITU channels, user channels, etc..

Icom M-802 Video #7, User Channels , ITU Channels, User Channel Programming - YouTube

And, please have a look at all the Icom M-802 videos (all 12 of them) here....spending an hour watching all the videos, together with a cursory understanding of HF radio comms/propagation, and the M-802 owners manual, and you'll know more than 99% of the cruisers "out there"...
captainjohn49 - YouTube


And, have a look at this thread here....
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ll-114734.html

Originally Posted by Frix

I am referring to the comparison of the M802 sold in the US and the M802 offered by somea European dealers

It really seems to be a dumb question (since the devices carry the same model number), but sometimes issues like EU-Channels etc. are mentioned by European dealers to be a special feature of European devices.

The fact that Icom had to submit the M-802 for CE cert, means it costs more.....but the radios are the same whether they're bought in US or EU....


As for the legalities of importation of the M-802 from the US to the EU....there is no problems at all, except for whatever customs duty and/or VAT that your country imposes....
But, since I don't know where you are, nor what those duties/VAT might be, I cannot comment further on that.....
But, if you can get to Gibraltar, you can have anything shipped into there with no issues....and no VAT, duty, etc...
(I had parts shipped there myself in 2007, and recently helped some friends have electronics shipped in there as well.....
And I'm not 100% sure, but I think Sheppard's will still order you whatever you ask 'em for, as long as you're willing to pay 'em up front....
Sheppard's chandlery
ground floor , Marina Court , between Marina Bay and Watergardens
Tel:+350 200 76895 Fax:+350 200 71780 )



And, WOTNAME brings up an important point about warranty repair.....

I'm not sure that a US version of an M-802 needs to be returned to the US for warranty repair, but it is very possible that an Aus version needs to go back to Aus, and an EU version needs to go back to icom Europe, for warranty repair.....
But...
But, for out-of-warranty repair (where YOU are paying the $$$), Icom Service will service any current production radios (and many that have been out-of-production for a few years, depending on parts availability, etc.)....
And, unless you take a direct lightning strike, the chances are that your radio is going to be going strong a decade or two from now...so while



2) As for the M-801E vs. the M-802....
Others here who have direct experience with the maritime authorities in the UK and EU (see Dave's posting) can certainly help you sort out whether there would be any legality issues with having an M-802 installed on your boat, as it is not CE, UK/EU certified.....although, from my own understanding for a "non-required" pleasure boat (non-GMDSS / non-SOLAS), there should be no problem at all...
And, since the M-802 is also marketed as a ham radio, I doubt there is any issue with "importation" (just need to pay whatever duty or VAT that your country assesses....)

And, again I'm not sure where you are at....but if you can get to Gibraltar, you can have anything shipped into there with no issues....and no VAT, duty, etc...
(I had parts shipped there myself in 2007, and recently helped some friends have electronics shipped in there as well.....
And I'm not 100% sure, but I think Sheppard's will still order you whatever you ask 'em for, as long as you're willing to pay 'em up front....
Sheppard's chandlery
ground floor , Marina Court , between Marina Bay and Watergardens
Tel:+350 200 76895 Fax:+350 200 71780 )

~~~~



3) Dave has addressed this very succinctly!

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

There will be no problem using any form of the M80X series in Europe on a lesiure yacht. just be sure to put down the type approved version if applying for a new shops radio license!!

No-one will bother their arse checking, once you have your operators cert.

Move on , nothing to see here.

dave

And, Greg and Chip have cleared up the confusion about the DSC receiver and DSC antennas.....So, the reason I am responding here in such detail, is that there is more MISINFORMATION posted here in this thread regarding the M-802 and M-801E, and AT-140 and AT-141, which I hope to clear up....


4) First off, the M-802 and M-801E are in fact almost identical radios (electrically)....
The circuit board layout/placement is different, the outer case and connections are different, the operating firmware is slightly different....(and yes, the 801E does have a "DC-DC converter" built-in, but in 40 years I've never seen any galv corrosion issues from any HF radio installation!)
But other than those specific things these radios are almost identical, with the exact same AF, IF, and RF circuits...
And, depending on the software version, the M-802 also meets all GMDSS Class E standards.....so both are GMDSS Class E radios...

5) Secondly, the AT-140 and AT-141 are identical tuners (except for the model number, which delineates one is CE/EU cert. and one is US/CA cert.)
They both have the "2182-special tune default section" (which is actually a misnomer)....and since virtually nobody is monitoring 2182khz anymore (and outside of Europe, nobody is even monitoring 2187.5 DSC), this "feature" is meaningless for potential buyers of either tuner...


6) I'm fully aware that the sellers of these radios in Europe, the UK, Australia, etc. (as well as distributors and the Icom Europe and Icom Australia marketing teams) have a significant financial interest in purporting the "vast" differences between these radios/tuners.....especially Icom itself, as they spent considerable $$$$ submitting redesigned radios (the M-801E and M-802GMDSS) for CE/EU/Australia approval/acceptance....

And, I fully understand those sailors and radio techs that believe the marketing hype as well as even the "tech support" guys at Icom Europe....

But, the facts are that while the radio's cases/cabinets are VERY different (yes, the M-801E's transceiver case is much better for a harsh/moist environment), and the circuit board layout and internal/external connections are different, and some differences in firmware, they are (except for the 801's "dc-dc converter") electrically the same radios....(and the tuners are identical..)


7) For vessels that need to meet SOLAS requirements, neither the M-802 nor the M-801E are approved for these vessels/applications.... and neither is designed/marketed for it...
But for "non-required" pleasure vessels, my usual advice is to equip the vessel with what equipment meets the standards/requirements of the vessel's flag nation....
Although, now in that the M-801E does NOT meet the NEW EU type-approval specs, it becomes difficult (expensive) for new pleasure boats in the EU to comply with arbitrary regulation changes (who is going to spend > 6000 euros on a Furuno FS-1575, or even more for a Thrane and Thrane....), so my advice is to simply go with the M-802!!!



9) This M-802 vs. M-801E issue has come up here before....
Here are 2 threads, one from this past summer and one from 2009, where this was discussed...
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...2-a-86337.html
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...1-a-29270.html




I hope I haven't rambled too much here, and that this posting helps clear up some confusion...

Fair winds..

John
s/v Annie Laurie

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by ka4wja

...............
But, for out-of-warranty repair (where YOU are paying the $$$), Icom Service will service any current production radios (and many that have been out-of-production for a few years, depending on parts availability, etc.)....

Presumably this is correct for Icom service USA (I have no experience with them) but it is incorrect for Icom Service Australia who will not service any radio that is not "approved" for use in Oz.

I would be curious to know EU Icom's POV on this issue.

[SimonV]

Originally Posted by Wotname

Presumably this is correct for Icom service USA (I have no experience with them) but it is incorrect for Icom Service Australia who will not service any radio that is not "approved" for use in Oz.

I would be curious to know EU Icom's POV on this issue.

I had a board replaced 8/12 had to send the unit from Whitesundays to icom Melbourne 3 week turnaround. My 802 was a us unit.

Sent from my GT-N7105T using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Wotname

Presumably this is correct for Icom service USA (I have no experience with them) but it is incorrect for Icom Service Australia who will not service any radio that is not "approved" for use in Oz.

I would be curious to know EU Icom's POV on this issue.

I had my US version M604 VHF repaired by Icom UK with no problems or questions asked.