Where to buy marine electronics ?

[Sven]

It's about time to start looking for an Icom802 SSB and Pactor modem.

Since I'm not a ham I have no idea where the best place is to shop for one. I assume there are one or more trusted places with really good prices where the "pros" shop ?

Any suggestions ?

Thanks,


-Sven

 

[Loren Beach]

I have noticed this fellow's articles over the decades in many boating magazines...
http://www.gordonwestradioschool.com/
I wonder if equipment purchase advice is available, as well?

Best,
Loren

 

[Sven]

I have noticed this fellow's articles over the decades in many boating magazines...
http://www.gordonwestradioschool.com/
I wonder if equipment purchase advice is available, as well?

Thanks Loren.

I'll see if he's interested in answering that question ...



-Sven

 

[mherrcat]

These days it's all about price. In terms of having a relationship with a local distributor, maybe that's unfortunate, maybe it's not. Any repair work is going to be done by the manufacturer anyway. When I bought my new VHF and remote mic I ended up getting them from different online sources because I couldn't get the best price on both from the same place. This was the case even considering shipping charges. Unless you want to have it installed by someone other than yourself I would just search the Internet for the best pricing, being careful if sites that look sketchy...

 

[Sven]

I would just search the Internet for the best pricing, being careful if sites that look sketchy...

That is part of the equation. In the case of camera equipment as recently as 7-8 years ago you'd be a fool to buy on line from NY or NJ unless you had friends tell you the place was not scammy (some of the best and honest retailers were there too). They would sell gray market that was not covered under warranty, they wouldn't deliver what you bought, they would overcharge, they would sell refurbished as new, they'd have multiple on line store fronts all with the same physical address. I suspect that the picture has improved greatly but with high end ($/lb) optics and electronics it's still a good idea to shop via recommendation.

I also don't mind paying another few percent to shop a place that has a personal interest in the product and might tell me "you really don't want that with that, you want this instead because ...".

With all that said, I agrtee with you and be scouring the web too, but be on the lookout for sketchy and his brother.



-Sven