Which Chinese HT? Or...

[KK4TTR]

This HT will be used for family emergencies and is our first HAM purchase. We’ll be purchasing a dual band mobile, as well, and will be spending the $$ on a decent setup. The HT’s will be stored in protective cases and kept in the vehicle for emergencies. I'm not in any rush to buy, and reliability is more important than price. That being said, I'm leaning toward the Baofeng UV-B6, unless anyone can tell me absolutely Yaesu or other name brand is a no brainer, which I am. Which brand/model is the best value? Budget is +-$200/ht, +-$500/mobile. I'm not interested in brand only recommendations, please brand/model, and why. Let's hear about those HT's, what's currently available for purchase, and which is the best value at specific price points, used versus new, etc!!!

Baofeng UV-B6 ($42)
Quansheng TG-UV2 ($93)
Puxing PX-UV973 ($80)
Wouxun KG-UV6D ($125, waterproof)

or,

Yaesu FT-270R ($175, submersible)

any other name brand/model dual band. Any and all opinions are welcome. TIA

KK4TTR
Raleigh, NC

 

[AK9R]

At a price of around $150 new, I think the Yaesu FT-60R is the best value on the market among dual-band handhelds. This is a solid, reliable radio. It's been on the market for about 9 years, so any bugs or quirks have been fully documented. Yaesu has been selling amateur radio gear in the U.S. nearly 40 years and they support their products with U.S.-based sales and service departments.

 

[AgentCOPP1]

I agree with W9BU. The FT-60R is an excellent radio and you can't go wrong with it. However, if you really would like to not max out your budget, there's nothing wrong with the UV-B6. It will do what you need it to do in an emergency. The point of having emergency communications is not to have the best featured radio, but rather to just have a solid radio that will get the job done.

So if I were you, I would stick with the UV-B6 mainly because it has a bigger capacity battery (1800mAh) compared to the FT-60R (1400mAh). Baofengs are notorious for having extremely good battery life, and I can personally testify to that. My Yaesu VX-7R has one of the worst battery lives I've ever seen. I'm not sure if it's the same for the FT-60R, but all of the Baofengs I've ever owned have outperformed all my other HT's in terms of battery life.

 

[VE7WV]

I've zero experience with the latest Chinese products but lots of experience with a variety of HT's from longer term radio makers including Icom, Kenwood, Yaesu and Motorola. For emergency use there are a few things that are most important *to me* - your mileage may vary:

(1) Durability. This one first. If your rig can be damaged by tumbling off a desk, or falling over too many times while standing upright (I can name dozens that will fail these tests) then it has no business pretending to be an emergency use radio.

Example: My wife's old rig, a Kenwood TH-F6A (very versatile, too easily broken) has twice had to have the SMA connector on the body replaced. It has never been seriously abused but two failures? This radio doesn't get to be an emergency radio, we use the versatility for less demanding use. Another rig from another maker this time had very weak (plastic) slots that affixed the pack to the radio. Over time these would break and/or become loose far too easily - a rig without power isn't of any use, so out it went.

(2) Ease of use, especially by the less experienced: here I prefer a simpler rig over a more complex. Some complex rigs can be made simple via pre-programming them; some remain complex no matter how much pre-programming you do. One dual band HT (lots of reviews on eHam.net, 4.9/5 rating) was an abomination; touching various keys on the front pad would put it into different modes or make it inoperable; sure you could lock it but couldn't change channel while locked, opening up the real possibility of making the radio unusable once unlocked to merely change a channel. I've never owned a radio that was more fiddly yet this one was a crowd favourite. Go figure.

(3) Power agility (or lots of spare packs and ways to charge them): what happens when the built in pack runs out of juice? Spare battery packs are a must, whatever HT's you purchase. I find myself favouring radios that have built in or optional AA cell packs; we keep about 100 AA Eneloop cells going here at Casa Whiskey Victor. That said my primary workhorse HT doesn't take AA cells but it is built like a tank (which is why it is my workhorse portable rig, my wife has one too) and I have four spare packs for it and ways of recharging them if all power is out. When those die, we have AA powered radios to turn to.

Finally, do you need dual band? For my area I can see radios destined for emergency or public service volunteer use could be single band (VHF 2M) only. If for my budget I could get a more rugged easier to use radio that was single band only I'd be tempted.

You'll buy more gear down the road so don't be tempted to check every single wish-list box off today and instead focus on obtaining solid, hugely reliable, easy to use VHF (or UHF if your area leans that way) gear that will be useful for many years.

PS: That all said, at $46 per radio you can afford to have some spare units. The entire radio is cheaper than a service fee for most radios. Wow. Get everyone in the family licensed! ;-)

 

[VE7WV]

PS when it comes time to shop for your mobile rig you might also look at simplicity. I run a dual band 2M/440 20 year old Icom (at the time it was state of the art) in our station wagon and a single band only rig in our truck. I favour mobile radios known to perform well in RF noisy urban environments and don't sweat the little things. You can probably spend less than your budget amount and come out very happy.

 

[n5ims]

This HT will be used for family emergencies and is our first HAM purchase. We’ll be purchasing a dual band mobile, as well, and will be spending the $$ on a decent setup. The HT’s will be stored in protective cases and kept in the vehicle for emergencies.

One comment I have is that a radio that's not used except for emergencies and simply stored (without regular testing and maintenance) is nearly guaranteed to not work when you need it most. It will also provide maximum confusion at a very stressful time to folks that are trying to use it (without being very familiar and comfortable with it).

The best emergency radio is one that is regularly used by the folks that may need it during an emergency. One that's well maintained (e.g. batteries regularly charged and properly discharged to maximize their run life per charge) so it will work when needed and for as long as it's needed during that emergency.

Batteries will discharge with use as is easily understood. They'll also discharge when not in use due to many causes, heat, cold, internal battery resistance, etc. They also tend to "learn" how much charge to provide based on use. If they're not used, they "remember" this minimal power drain under use. If used regularly, they'll remember this fairly long power send cycle as well, so they'll work longer when needed.

I recommend that instead of simply packing them away, you train your folks to pack them on their belts and use them regularly. Keep them charged as recommended by the manufacturer (e.g. not use it for a short period and charge it back up, but instead use it for fairly long receive and transmit cycles and then charge them back to a full charge). There are some chargers that will help condition the batteries for maximum use, which can also be helpful.

Properly teach them the correct operation of the radios so they know how to turn it on, turn it off, change channels, change options (especially train what those options do and don't do!), and how to use the radio both normally and when things are not set quite right (you will want them to get things back to normal when that emergency is happening, right?). Also teach the users what they should do during an emergency. If one is on "channel A" and the other is on "channel B", chances are they won't be able to communicate. You'll need procedures for what channel they should use and when to use it. These should include options for when that channel isn't available for some reason or another.

 

[sparks40]

So if I were you, I would stick with the UV-B6 mainly because it has a bigger capacity battery (1800mAh) compared to the FT-60R (1400mAh).

You can get a 2400mAh battery for the FT-60 for about $5 more than the stock 1400mAh.

 

[VE7WV]

Agree with regular use being the best way to be assured your gear will work; that ties into my thoughts on buying rugged gear as well. Some would also argue that one radio is none, two are one i.e. you need backups if you really want to assure yourself of having a workable system when all else fails.

Speaking of temperature, I'd rather not store a HT and battery packs in a vehicle for the long term - a mobile radio is a better unit to leave in a vehicle for multiple reasons including no worries about temperature extremes affecting battery packs; in many parts of the globe vehicles are one place you count on finding extreme temperatures.

With respect to self-discharge, generally speaking NiMH cells/packs have higher self discharge rates than Lithium Ion cells/packs, unless they are built (by the OEM or by the ham) of the low self-discharge variants (Eneloops, for example). I'm not aware of any NiMH HT's which use low self-discharge cells in their pack construction but at least with units that support accessory AA cell "packs", an individual can construct their own. A good intelligent programmable charger, such as a MAHA C-9000, is a great investment for a ham with such equipment.

NiMH cells definitely prefer full discharge and recharge to lots of shallow discharge and recharges. NiMH cells that haven't been exercised as such can be brought back to or near to full operating capacity using a smart recycling charger but that isn't a convenient option for pre-built packs and it is doubtful that any wall wart chargers for low budget HT's include such capabilities.

I do like li-ion packs for their energy density/weight characteristics and they don't "learn" a reduced operating capacity like NiMH cells can. In fact if one wants to extract the maximum cycle life (number of charge discharge cycles) from li-ion based packs, avoiding a full recharge is one way to radically improve cycle life. An 80% charge max can almost double cycle life. This isn't very practical for the average user though - most chargers do not show anything but charging and done indicators. Commercial grade equipment *may* do a better job at extending pack life by avoiding bringing cells to full voltage.

Ooops, battery technology tangent, sorry.

My own preference for my primary use HT's is li-ion first, replaceable AA cell packs second (filled with eneloops/"Duraloops") second, and dead last manufacturer produced NiMH packs... and above all else a pack design and pack-radio physical interface that will stand up to abuse.

 

[KK4TTR]

Thanks for the input. I'll go back and read through each one more carefully.

After reading the first two replies from earlier today, and doing a little more research, I've decided to go with a Yaesu FT-60R for the quality and durability, and (2) Baofeng UV-B5's for the price. We may end up with another higher quality HT down the road, but this configuration meets our initial need.

I wasn't sure if the FT-60R comes with an antennae, since Gigaparts lists it as an option. I'm sure I'll be getting more accessories for it as I learn more.

The Baofeng's will most likely stay in the car kits, and we'll conduct regular contact drills, including a mobile unit using a base antennae, as well as battery management.

I'm excited about expanding our comms beyond scanning, world band radio, and FRS/GMRS.

 

[VE7WV]

I can't imagine an HT not coming with an antenna; spares and/or other configurations (like a low profile antenna for when range isn't an issue but compactness is, or the opposite) are reasons why they are also sold as accessories.

Here's to having some fun too!

 

[N8IAA]

As stated here, buying electronics and storing them in a vehicle, is not what you want to do. especially with any of the Chinese radios. They are not very easy to program by hand. Their battery shelf life is horrible.
Your best bet is to get one of the Icom HT Sport models that take AA batteries, preprogram it, and take out the batteries for storage. But, another post talks about using a radio on a regular basis. This way, when the SHTF, you can turn the radio on and be ready to go.
The new Yaesu single band radios are around $100 and offer a nice choice also.
Larry

 

[N4CA]

The first charge on my UV-B5 lasted about a month with monitoring/scanning for about 30 minutes a day. That seems to be pretty good to me.

Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk 4

 

[milkman21218]

The FT-60 comes with an antenna. But it is not the best. After market antennas are much better than stock.

 

[Nicholas440]

Whatever radio you use is going to need to be maintained regularly meaning you need to charge and discharge it regularly, and if you just put it in the car and leave it you will have a radio that isn't going to work when and if you ever need it. All the radios you listed would be fine if maintained regularly and tested the same as you would test any emergency device....

 

[KK4TTR]

Having stated I plan to keep it in the car, we don't keep any of our other electronics in the vehicles, so it may be that we keep a vehicle go bag which goes out with us whenever we leave the house, as in everyday carry, with spare batteries, etc.

Thanks for the replies. I hadn't considered single band, and that may be an option. The Baofeng's are on the way. We want to get one rugged HT, with the Yaesu FT-60R being the current contender.

 

[rapidcharger]

Define "emergency".

If you are talking about end of days, SHTF, no power, no water, no cell phone, zombies walking around, then how far do you need them to work? If just around the family compound then portables are fine for that. If you want to talk from inside your car at your office back to the house 20 miles away to another portable, that just isn't realistic and since there is no power and zombies are walking around everywhere, you can't count on a repeater to make that happen.

If you're talking about a roadside type of emergency in an area where you can't count on a cell phone, then a portable may work if you can access a repeater. You should look for something with an alkaline battery tray and keep alkaline batteries since you can't count on rechargeables holding their charge indefinitely.

 

[k3cfc]

For some reason people love Yaesu. I have an Icom t7h bought new in 2000 and it preforms like the day i took it out of the box. i bought a leather cover for it to keep it nice.

Now Yaesu FT-270R ($175, submersible hmmm talking under water would be a trick but everybody has their own thing.

K3CFC

 

[VE7WV]

I have it on good authority that zombies are too weak to climb hills of any substance [1] so hopefully the world's repeater infrastructure will be safe from attack.

[1] We live on top of a hill. The folks down the hill can deal with zombies and flooding. Unfortunately during zombie attacks (and flooding/liquifaction/dike breach) my wife will have to battle her way home through the at sea-level lowlands, but at least "home base" will be able to copy her plaintive cries for help.

 

[SCPD]

Define "emergency".

If you are talking about end of days, SHTF, no power, no water, no cell phone, zombies walking around, then how far do you need them to work? If just around the family compound then portables are fine for that. If you want to talk from inside your car at your office back to the house 20 miles away to another portable, that just isn't realistic and since there is no power and zombies are walking around everywhere, you can't count on a repeater to make that happen.

If you're talking about a roadside type of emergency in an area where you can't count on a cell phone, then a portable may work if you can access a repeater. You should look for something with an alkaline battery tray and keep alkaline batteries since you can't count on rechargeables holding their charge indefinitely.

Why does everybody have to dwell on doom and gloom all of the time,I get sick of hearing the "prepper" crap myself it really messes up my nerves,why can't anyone enjoy life anymore and stop worrying about things we have no control over,with that said I will say buy what you this is appropriate to your situation but I would not recommend any Baofeng radios because they are cheap and IMO opinion unreliable,go with a good name brand or find a heavy duty commercial radio that will cover 2 meter and yes it is legal to do so.I find a commercial radio to be more rugged with better quality.

 

[RadioGuy1951]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but, the Chinese radios are NOT FCC type certified are they...???