The Standard Horizon GX3000S Matrix is a burly radio with a large front panel footprint and an outsized display screen.
This Standard Horizon marine VHF stands at the upper end of mid-priced radios but has features usually only found on top of the line units.
 Standard Horizon GX3000S |
The GX3000S can connect with up to two optional remote microphones or handsets. When connected to one or more of these remotes the radio provides intercom service.
Several scanning options, screen backlight adjustment of brightness and contrast, weather alert on or off, time location and offset, foghorn frequency, and speaker tone controls are operated through the radio setup menu.
A low battery warning message appears onscreen when input power drops below 11.8 volts. Increasing the voltage back above 12.5 turned the warning off.
Performance
The GX3000S did very well in our transmitter testing by earning an excellent rating for transmitter power output stability and a good rating frequency stability.
Receiver sensitivity was rated excellent while the specification for selectivity was an outstanding 80 dB. Audio output was very good at 90 dBA in our audio output testing.
This radio is waterproof to IPX7 standards meaning it would survive submersion to a meter for 30 minutes. The GX3000S will not transmit if input voltage falls below 11.8 volts.
The Standard Horizon GX3000S has a large display screen that shows large block-style numbers on the right side of the display four rows of data information on the left side using dot matrix technology.
Channel comments and scan status are shown for every channel. When the radio is connected to a GPS unit time, speed, course, and latitude and longitude are shown without any scrolling. You toggle navigation data on or off with the H/L key.
The upper portion of the display is reserved for icons showing frequency group, transmitter power, transmit or receive, and satellite GPS reception. We rated the display screen excellent.
Operation
A rotary knob serves as an on/off pushbutton and sets the volume level. A second knob controls the squelch level while a third larger knob serves as the channel and menu selector.
Dedicated pushbuttons on the radio front panel allow you to toggle between the last selected channel and 16 or 9, switch between the last voice and weather channel, and change transmitter power from low to high.
A single button push will also handle dual watch, turn navigation data on or off, and initiate a DSC call. Channel selection and quick 16 or 9 selection can also be made using microphone pushbuttons.
Dual Watch scans channel 16 and another selected channel. It can be turned on or off with a single press of the DW key. Following the placement of desired channels memory both Memory and Priority scanning will be available.
Memory scan looks at channels in numerical order from lowest to highest. Priority scan inserts a look at channel 16 between each memory channel.
Digital Selective Calling
The GX3000S has two separate receivers, one for voice communications and the second continuously monitoring channel 70 for any DSC calls. This makes the radio a class D. It will transmit and receive distress, individual, all ships, group calls and send and receive position data. A DSC directory will store names and their associated MMSI numbers.
Final Thoughts
This Standard Horizon marine VHF offers highly rated performance, a large display screen, and easy operation. It carries a 3-year warranty.