Jetstream Radio

[Triplenickle]

I am not sure how good these radios are, I have never heard of them. I have seen them advertise on eBay and even on the ARRL website. I see one that is 2/70cm for about $150.00. I am aware of the old expression, you get what you pay for. I will be very honest, I'm out on workers compensation because, at work, I tore my medial and lateral cartridges in my right knee. So, money is a great deal shorter than normal. I NO that, if I were to spend a lot of money on a good radio at this time, I would probably get a kick in the A _ _! Any help would be great.
Glenn
KC3DWC

 

[jk77]

Their 2m/70cm puts out only 10 watts max. That's just a little more than an HT.

 

[prcguy]

I have their 50w 220 mobile and its a great little radio.
prcguy

 

[KB0VWG]

If you spend that amount I would buy a good used radio if possible.
kb0vwg
wqoi992

 

[jk77]

The Kenwood TM-281A is a good radio. It only does 2 meters, but it puts out 25 and 65 watts. It's only $150 new.

 

[mmckenna]

These low buck Chinese radios have a pretty good history. Either a history of working great and being good little radios, or being total crap-bombs. The quality control seems to be lacking.

While you might get a nice little dual band rig for $150 bucks, you might also be buying a headache. There are a lot of reports of users buying these low end radios and having them fail. Getting them repaired can be a real headache. Often people will give up, toss them and purchase a new one.

If you are out on workers comp, you might be better off buying a known good radio. It might save you money in the long run. I agree, the basic Icom, Kenwood and Yaseu's might be a better choice. You'd only get a single band, but you'd gain reliability, more power, more support, and a much better chance of getting it repaired if something goes wrong.

 

[N4KVE]

It's a crap shoot with these low cost radios. I'd suggest you purchase a used Yaesu 7800, or 7900 from someone you know locally. They are great radios, with a known history of quality, & put out a lot more power.

 

[wbswetnam]

I assume you're referring to the Jetstream JT270M. I have one, it's in my bedroom "shack" connected to a vertical dipole outside on a 10' mast. For power, I use a 5 amp regulated power supply. It's a tiny thing! I have it mounted on the underside of a desk shelf. It does a decent job of hitting the local repeaters on the 10W setting, up to 20 miles away. the only complaint I have about it is that in channel scan mode, it FREQUENTLY stops on static crashes, and there's no way to adjust the scan delay. It is so bad that I don't use the channel scan at all. I wanted something that was dual band (2m/70cm) and very compact to use as part of my station. Overall, it's ok. I am a teacher, so I give it a grade of C+.

 

[Triplenickle]

Thanks for the replying to this forum. I have decided to, go ahead and just get a 2 meter at this time. I will have to wait and, when I have the extra money, I will purchase a duel band radio.
Thanks,
Glenn
KC3DWC