Here is a quick overview of 2016 to 2017 VHF Marine Band radios from selected manufacturers. Note that all of these radios, by FCC regulation, are Digital Selective Calling (DSC) radios qualified to Class-D DSC rating. They have to meet that criterion to be sold in the USA. I have added three additional considerations in choosing a radio that will differentiate the many models available:
--N2K: does the radio have a NMEA-2000 network interface? Historically a radio would provide a NMEA-0183 interface for connecting it to other vessel electronics, but in the past two years a number of radios have emerged with NMEA-2000 interface connections;
--AIS: does the radio have an integral Automatic Identification System receiver? An AIS receiver can be very useful when operating a boat in areas with large commercial vessel traffic. Large commercial vessels are required to transmit their position and course information via AIS, and awareness of these vessel from AIS can greatly benefit collision avoidance. AIS can also provide some entertainment value if you are a ship-watcher;
--GPS: does the radio have an integral GPS or GNSS receiver? Connecting a DSC radio to a GNSS receiver enables transmission of precise position reports to other vessels and is particularly important in any distress alert transmission; every DSC radio should be interfaced to a GPS or GNSS receiver. By having an internal GPS receiver, the need for any interface to other devices is eliminated.
A comparison table of radios from a number of manufacturers is given below. This survey does not include every possible radio, as there are a few other radio manufacturers and some house brands that are omitted. The prices listed are approximate retail prices, typically what is called the minimum advertised price or MAP, or in some cases the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP). With careful shopping a better price may be found. The MSRP is often very much different from actual retail offers from vendors using discounted prices. Some manufacturers fail to list an MSRP on their own websites, making the MSRP somewhat speculative, and one must rely on the advertised prices. Prices are always in flux and can also be modified by sales incentive offers such as rebate offers or bundling offers.
Current as of April 2017:
BRAND, MODEL N2K /AIS/ GPS PRICE
ICOM M330 No / No / No $200
ICOM M330G No / No / Yes $260
ICOM M324 No / No / No $200
ICOM M324G No / No / Yes $260
ICOM M424 No / No / No $270
ICOM M424G No / No / Yes $330
ICOM M506 No / No / No $450
ICOM M506 Yes/ No / No $550
ICOM M506 Yes/ Yes/ No $650
ICOM M605 Yes/ Yes/ Yes $800
LOWRANCE LINK-5 No / No / No $180 (Obsolete)
LOWRANCE LINK-6 No / No / No $190
LOWRANCE LINK-8 Yes/ Yes/ No $300
SIMRAD RS12 Yes/ No / No $200 (Obsolete)
SIMRAD RS20 Yes/ No / No $230
SIMRAD RS35 Yes/ Yes/ No $350
RAYMARINE RAY50 Yes/ No / No $290
RAYMARINE RAY60 Yes/ No / No $350
RAYMARINE RAY70 Yes/ Yes/ Yes $700
STD-HORIZ GX1300 No / No / No $150
STD-HORIZ GX1600 No / No / No $170
STD-HORIZ GX1700 No / No / Yes $250
STD-HORIZ GX2200 No / Yes/ Yes $400
STD-HORIZ GX6000 Yes/ Yes/ No $450
GARMIN VHF100 No / No / No $250* (Obsolete)
GARMIN VHF110 Yes/ No / No $280*
GARMIN VHF200 Yes/ No / No $400* (Obsolete)
GARMIN VHF210 Yes/ No / No $370
GARMIN VHF210AIS Yes/ Yes/ No $600*
GARMIN VHF300 Yes/ No / No $700*
GARMIN VHF300AIS Yes/ Yes/ No $1000*
* prices are MAP unless marked with asterisk and then are MSRP
** not yet available for sale in USA
I was anticipating that there might be some new products in this segment introduced at the Miami International Boat Show 2016. Although I was not able to attend the show in person, I had a correspondent or two there looking for new radios. So far no new marine band radio products have been reported.
Among these manufacturers, Standard-Horizon remains alone as the only maker not offering a radio with a NMEA-2000 interface. The value of NMEA-2000 interfacing in a radio is the much simpler means of interconnecting the radio to a chart plotter and GNSS receiver, assuming they also have an NMEA-2000 interface. In Standard-Horizon's defense, their radios do have NMEA-0183 interfaces, and those interfaces follow the NMEA recommended differential-pair signal approach. Interfacing with NMEA-0183 can be a bit tedious, but inasmuch as this only needs to be done once, it is really not an insurmountable task. Standard-Horizon radios are perhaps the easiest NMEA-0183 devices to interface with other NMEA-0183 devices because of their clear documentation, use of differential signals, an extensive knowledge base of interconnections, and good technical support. I also believe that Standard-Horizon is working on adding NMEA-2000 to their radios. UPDATE: Standard-Horizon has announced a new radio, model GX6000, which will have a NMEA-2000 interface, but this radio is still not available for sale (as of February 2017).
The most versatile radio remains the Raymarine RAY70, having all three add-on elements, that is, NMEA-2000, AIS, and GNSS, however its price reflects the triple-combination of features.
The best bargain is probably the Lowrance LINK-8, providing NMEA-2000 and AIS for under $300, and often well under $300 in competitive pricing. Initial versions of the LINK-8 had a reputation for some flakey behavior, but later revisions seem to have cured those problems.
If you don't need AIS (and many inland boaters do not need it as there are few commercial vessels on inland lakes), the best choice may be the $250 Standard-Horizon GX1700. It has in its own GPS receiver, which makes this radio a stand-alone digital selective calling distress alerting system. You won't need to interface the GX1700 to anything to transmit a DSC distress alert with your vessel position from GPS with the GX1700. The ICOM M324G is similarly priced ($260), if you are a fan of ICOM radios.
If you have a chart plotter with a GNSS receiver and the skill to interface via NMEA-0183, the Standard-Horizon GX1300 at $150 may be the radio for you.
To offer my own preferences, I tend to lean toward radios made by radio-only or radio-mostly manufacturers, and they are ICOM and Standard-Horizon. I also have noted that some of the newest chart plotters have begun to omit any NMEA-0183 interface, and must be connected only via NMEA-2000. If you have such a chart plotter, the choice of a radio to interconnect with it will be limited to only those radios with NMEA-2000.
If readers are aware of any significant new radios or big price changes, please comment in a reply to this thread.