They all put out about the same power and they all do the same thing, so you
might as well chose based on price. I have the Vertex, which works fine.
The Icom uses Lithium-Ion batteries instead of Nihm if that makes a
difference to you.

The nav function is not worth paying extra for. If you want a backup nav,
buy a portable GPS if you don't already have one.

"Michael Henry" wrote in message
node...
Hi all,

My local radio shop only sells Icom for about AU$550.

So, a few questions:

What of the other brands? Vertex Standard? Sportys SP-200?
I imagine they're all pretty decent brands for them to have been around as
long as they have. Is any one brand easier to use? Better made?

Does anyone actually use the vor/cdi function or is this just a gimmick?
The price doesn't seem to be too much different so I might go for a nav
model anyway, but just wondering...

That price doesn't seem to be very competitive given that these sell for
around half that amount in the US and, since the AU$ and US$ are almost at
parity, I would only expect them to be marginally more expensive due to
shipping costs.

Thanks,

Michael