TYT 9800 or Kenwood TM-281A for first mobile HAM?

[KE4EVL]

I have A TYT-7800 and a TYT-9800 and the are both very good radios. I use the 7800 for base at home and 9800 in my truck. No issues. My main reason for them is 2M and 70CM and the crossband capability. In the truck, I have a real good antenna and with 50W output, I can hit the truck with the HT in very rometoe locations where the HT cannot hit the repeaters but the truck can. It extends the range of my HT.

I never use tbe 6M or 10M for transmit on the TYT-9800. I only ha e a dual band antenna, but, I can listen to CB band on the road which is nice and tons of other bands can be monitored. I live near the water so I can get Marine VHF and etc..

Alot of capabilities for $197. I was worried about reliability, but have had the 7800 for 2 years as base with no issues and the 9800 in the truck for over a year and it performs well.

I cannot speak to the Kenwood.. but they make good stuff. All about what you need/want for capabilities and what you are willing to pay.

So far, I am happy with the TYT. Quality and build seems very good. Alot of cheap junk out there so buyer beware, but TYT seems to be much better than most of what you see coming from China.

Good programming software and etc. available and works with CHIRP which was very nice for putting in all tje channels I like to scan and a few repeaters nearby.

Good luck.

Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk

 

[KC3ECJ]

The filtering on the TH-9800 is good but what I don't like about the radio is by default it has busy channel lockout enabled.

The only way to disable it is a 3rd party patch which I have not attempted yet.

Does anybody know if the Wouxun quad band has the same issue?

Another thing I don't like is the lack of a VOX for doing data modes. I mean you can sort of get around that by using cross band repeat with another radio, but VOX is a great feature that is missing.

 

[I_am_Alpha1]

Just buy a cheap Chinese dual band and a half decent antenna to get started. You don't know if you'll like ham radio or not, so no need to spend a fortune today. It won't be wasted money, you can transfer it to another vehicle, second radio in the shack, or build a bug out box. Make sure you can program it via Chirp--it'll save you lots of frustration.

Want to know how to start a knock down, drag out fight among hams? Just ask what's the best antenna/radio and run. Everyone has their own personal preference whether it be Kenwood, Icom, or Yaesu--and hams are very opinionated. Most hate the Chinese stuff, but they are cheap, great for starter radios, and make good backups. Would you rather drop and break a $25 Baofeng or a $300 name brand?

I started with a TYT-9800 in the shack and a Baofeng UV5R handheld until I got comfortable. Today I prefer Yaesu but do own a wide variety of brands and modes (and still have the original two in a bug out box).