Recommeded Handheld HAM Radios?

[racin06]

OK, I'm not trying to get ahead of myself (I still have to study and pass the tests); however, can you all recommend some handheld radios for me assuming that I have my General License? I travel the U.S. often with my job; therefore, I believe I will start with a handheld. I'm willing to spend about $500.00 on my first radio. Thanks.

 

[waynesewell]

I like my little Yaesu VX-2R, one of the smallest made, if not the smallest (they claim it is). Two bands, 2 meters and 440. True, only 1.5 watts, but will do 3 if you connect to the car battery.

Don't know what the list price is, but I got mine for 420 (I think).

edit: I don't know what I was smoking when I wrote that, but the correct price is 179. I must have been thinking of my quad-band-mobile 8900. Duh!

I took it on a trip to Santa Clara and talked to local hams from my hotel room (didn't drive, flew). Admittedly, their repeaters have good coverage because they are on mountains, but hey, the repeater was like 27 miles away and they could hear me fine with 1.5 watts.

In any case, most of the HTs are made by yaesu, icom, kenwood, or alinco, so going to those sites will give you a good idea of what you can get.

 

[nmfire10]

FYI- You do not need to put HAM in all caps every time.

 

[pto]

I like the Yaesu-Vertex VX-150 for a "first radio", it's a nice vhf scanner as well. Check out the reviews on eham.net, they cover most everything ham radio related. K9NYX

 

[kd4jxz]

Very good! Things to consider.......

1. Are you in a city or a rural area?
2. Are there repeaters near you?
3. Mono band, dual or tri-bander?

In my opinion, Yaesu makes a very good HT. Icom does also for that matter.

I would look online at places like HRO, Giga Parts, AES, etc and see what's out there and go from there. There are lots of features you may want to look into. Definitely get a radio that does 5 watts though!

Good luck with the test and your purchase!

 

[KR4BD]

I have a Kenwood TH-F6 Handheld. It will tranmit/receive on 2 meters, 222 mHz, and 440 mHz. It has a maximum power output of about 4 to 5 watts FM. The thing I really like about this radio is the fact that it will receive virtually every frequency up to about 1.3 gHz or higher. It also does well with local AM and FM stations and, if you put an external antenna to it, it will receive shortwave and HF ham signals. It is all mode on receive (AM, FM, CW, SSB, etc.). It is quite a bundle in a small package and sells for well under your target price of $500. I just spent a week in Pittsburgh and was able to use it to listen to AM, FM, the Pittsburgh Police and Fire (453 mHz), weather, etc. Sure beats carrying a briefcase full of radios! Of course it is not a trunker, but still, for the money, it is quite a nice package.

 

[Voyager]

Very good! Things to consider.......

1. Are you in a city or a rural area?
2. Are there repeaters near you?
3. Mono band, dual or tri-bander?

In my opinion, Yaesu makes a very good HT. Icom does also for that matter.

I would look online at places like HRO, Giga Parts, AES, etc and see what's out there and go from there. There are lots of features you may want to look into. Definitely get a radio that does 5 watts though!

Good luck with the test and your purchase!

Yep - just like scanners, it all depends on what you want it to do. As for the 5W, well, not if you want to keep the size small and current drain to a minimum.

Some other considerations:

What size DO you want? micro? small? doesn't matter?
What features do you want?
How many memory channels?
Wideband RX?
PC programmability?

Joe M.

 

[kd4jxz]

And as soon as you buy an HT, you'll want a mobile and a base! LOL

Welcome to the dark side, brother! LOL

 

[racin06]

Very good! Things to consider.......

1. Are you in a city or a rural area?
2. Are there repeaters near you?
3. Mono band, dual or tri-bander?

In my opinion, Yaesu makes a very good HT. Icom does also for that matter.

I would look online at places like HRO, Giga Parts, AES, etc and see what's out there and go from there. There are lots of features you may want to look into. Definitely get a radio that does 5 watts though!

Good luck with the test and your purchase!

I live on the North side of the Indianapolis metro area. There are many repeaters near me (6M, 2M, 220, 440, 900, 1.2). As a matter of fact, I didn't realize how many repeaters are located in Indiana:

2 - 10M
27 - 6M
184 - 2M
44 - 220
168 - 440
3 - 900
4 - 1.2
9 - ATV (whatever ATV is?)

I also travel on my job throughout the U.S. I would like to purchase a quad or tri-band handheld.

 

[racin06]

And as soon as you buy an HT, you'll want a mobile and a base! LOL

Welcome to the dark side, brother! LOL

My wife thinks I'm nuts. I own two scanners (Pro-96, Pro-91) and I'm going to purchase the B296D also. Now, I want to get into amateur radio and purchase an HT. LOL! I also own 3 GPS receivers. I'll admit it, I love electronics, radio and computer technology. She calls me the Gadget Geek. She did say that though my gadgets are expensive, she would rather see me happy with my gadget hobbies then taking up the hobby of other women! ROFLMAO!

 

[loumaag]

(whatever ATV is?)

Amateur Television.

 

[W2SJW]

I highly recommend the new Yaesu FT-60R dual-band model coming out the beginning of Sept. It's basically the evolution of the VX-150, and it's got an airband-to-990 MHz receiver, commercial-grade speaker audio, and a starting price of $199.95 !!

The unit is mil-spec, and should be as indestructible as a 150.

I plan to order mine the day they hit HRO's shelves...

http://www.yaesu.com/indexVS.cfm?cm...tPQg4MnJI=&DivisionID=65&isArchived=0

 

[pto]

I concur with Scott, The FT-60 looks great. If it's anything like the VX-150, it will be a hit. K9NYX

 

[waynesewell]

got the price wrong on the VX-2R, see edited post

 

[waynesewell]

And as soon as you buy an HT, you'll want a mobile and a base! LOL

Yes, soon after the HT I got a 8900 quad-band mobile and today I am picking up an all-band 857D. :lol: :lol:

 

[racin06]

I concur with Scott, The FT-60 looks great. If it's anything like the VX-150, it will be a hit. K9NYX

Is there any reason that I should buy an HT that includes the 6M and 222 Mhz bands as in the VX-7R? I understand that the 2M and 70cm are the most popular bands; however, I'm just wondering if I will be missing out on anything by not having these bands. Thanks.

 

[pto]

That's a tough question. Everyone has different ideas about what is good or bad. Ham radio is like the scanning hobby, everyone wants and/or needs something different. I would start out slowly, 2-meter, maybe a dual band, see what You like and go from there. There are lot's of things to buy, and it seems like I always need some new 'toys'!

 

[N2QCE]

In my OPINION, forget the handheld and get an HF rig if you make General Operator. Some really small all band all mode rigs are out there. A dipole antenna from the hotel balconey works great. If you think you will enjoy QRP, try looking at the MFJ series of very small, very inexpensive radios. I have the 9015 QRP CW rig and love it to death. I use a small 15M dipole I made out of TV twinlead. It is a half wave long and both the rig and the antenna fit into a briefcase.

73 de John

Good luck on the exams.

 

[KC2LVC]

I have a TH-F6A, which is 2m, 220, 440. HF - 1300mhz receive. I love it, by the way. But I have never owned any other HT. So, I would say just do some research on exactly what you are looking for, and then compare what's available. Once you decide your needs, or wants, you can then read many, many reviews for that equipment on eham.net.

I definitely think you should get a dual or tri-band HT. Not just 2m. The reason being, I find myself wanting 6m available to me also. haha. As I mentioned, the F6A has 2m, 220, 440 transmit. And I bet if it had 6m also, I'd be wanting 900mhz or 1240! haha. I guess it's never enough. But, if you only get a cheaper 2m, chances are you will want something better in the not-to-distant future. Even though that 2m was cheap, you could've put that money towards a higher end HT.

 

[w5gm]

If you are dead set on the portable unit route, the VX-150 will kick ass. I am looking into the FT-60 as well... Personally I would stay away from those vx-5/7r or whatever. They are little rinky dink gumball machine radios. The last dual bander I bought new was the Yaesu FT-530. Man, you talk about a workhorse. I have had it for almost 9 years and it wont die. The only place you will be able to get one is ebay. They average about $220 or so.