Best All Around HT?

[ctsrj1]

Getting back into Ham Radio after a few years off. Had to sell off my station. Looking to get back in with an HT. Any recommendations for a high quality, all around HT? Looking for good receive and transmit (Superheterodyne) with high quality internal components. One that I can easily do the mars cap mod on also. Not sure about digital modes at the moment. There are DSTAR and DMR repeaters within 2 miles of my house and the closest C4FM is 15 miles away. I just want a good radio and can do a hot spot later if the best is Yaesu. I see that the Th-D75A is coming out soon but I have not seen wha the MSRP is. Any suggestions?
There are the ones I am considering:

Yaesu FT-5DR
Yaesu VX-6R - Tri-Band
Yaesu FT-70DR
Kenwood TH-D75A
ICOM ID-52A
ICOM ID-50A
Anytone 878UVII Plus

 

[AB4BF]

All of those radios are good, the Kenwood hasn't hit the consumer market yet. I think, if I were starting over, I'd get a DMR radio and what you can save over the D-STAR and Fusion radios you can buy, a very nice hotspot to connect to just about all the digital modes currently out there. There are many brands and iterations of hotspots on the market, ones that are programmable with a micro computer to ones that are completely plug and play.

Most DMR radios will transmit on analog, also. RT Systems has gotten into the Digital programming scene and has very good programming for most of the radios listed.

(Gone to look on RT systems website.)

DMR Radio Software | Radio Programming Software

Good Luck!

 

[MTS2000des]

Analog: Yaesu FT-60R. Fastest scan rate, bulletproof receiver, quality audio TX and RX.
YSF: FT-70DR. Best in class audio, Japanese made, built like an LMR radio.
D-Star: ID-52A. Well made, great display, superb receiver.
DMR: too many to choose, of the hamster toys, the AnyTone 878 is a go-to.

The TH-D75A isn't out yet, but IMO, the D-74A is a nice radio and has full power 220, but it's nowhere near the build quality of the other radios, and is overpriced.

 

[jazzboypro]

I have the D74, ID52 and the 878 they are very good radios but they are quite pricey. Never had a Yaesu I find their HT too small for my liking.

@AB4BF is making an excellent suggestion. I would buy the 878, that will give you DMR and VHF/UHF analog. A hot spot would allow you to use the other digital modes. If your HT will be your only radio and you plan on operating mobile I would suggest an openSPOT 4. They are expensive but very versatile and mostly easy to use and maintain. It supports all the digital modes including P25 and NXDN. From memory the battery is good for 10 hours. It will easily fit in your shirt pocket as it does not have an external antenna. I run 3 openSPOT 3 for the past 3 years and they never failed. If one of them dies I’m buying an openSPOT 4 for sure.

Good luck
73 de VA2FCS

 

[K4EET]

I have the AnyTone AT-D878UVII Plus, the Kenwood TH-D74A, and the Yaesu FT3DR listed in alphabetical order by manufacturers.

With respect to usage, the Yaesu goes with me everywhere when I am out and about rolling around. While we do have Fusion repeaters around here, it usually stays on two local FM repeaters. The Yaesu has very broad receive capabilities and therefore does double duty as I also use it to listen to the local FM broadcast radio station while rolling around.

At home, the AnyTone finds itself in use the most on various BrandMeister talkgroups via a SkyBridge hotspot. There is a local DMR repeater but the owner(s) of the repeater keeps one time slot for local voice repeating and the other time slot is fixed on a single worldwide BrandMeister talkgroup that cannot be changed. As for the AnyTone HT and SkyBridge hotspot, I got the pair on a killer deal. If I were to buy a hotspot outright, I would probably go with the openSPOT 4 as @jazzboypro stated above.

Last but not least is the Kenwood. This is my go to HT for our 220 MHz repeaters mainly because it is the only radio that I have that has the 1.25 Meter band. LOL 😂! I have yet to make a D-STAR contact.

In a way, I’m glad that I have all of the bases covered. Here in the Baltimore-Washington corridor, you never know where you might be asked to respond to. Different areas and different clubs seem to diversify the hodgepodge of protocols around here.

Maybe one day we will have some “standard” where we can all talk to each other or perhaps somebody will get the rights to put all protocols in a single HT. Of course, that brings complexities such as D-STAR and Fusion require two different CODECS. And that is just for starters. Then there is the cost of the HT. With licensing fees and complex hardware and perhaps even a new “chip” that can handle all of the protocols. I get a headache just thinking what all would be involved; not to mention an HT with a price tag 🏷️ north of $1500. 😳

Sooooooo… my recommendation? Get all of the above plus a CB radio that does AM/FM/LSB/USB and don’t forget GMRS. I’ve had to get all of the above because my friends are everywhere (radio-wise)! 🙄

73, Dave K4EET

 

[AI7PM]

The 878 also will not need any modification for MARS/CAP. It's my understanding CAP is going P25.

 

[ctsrj1]

Thanks, I will have to look deeper into the Anytone. Is the Anytone superheterodyne? Good RX/TX audio, receive sensitivity, etc?

 

[AK9R]

One that I can easily do the mars cap mod on also.

For what purpose? Do you volunteer with a MARS team that uses VHF/UHF? As for CAP, they have a list of accepted radios that meet their standards.

Kenwood TH-D75A: As others have said, it's not out yet. It will be expensive when it does hit the market, possibly over $600. I have a TH-D74 that I really like, but the battery life is poor. The Kenwood user interface is very easy to me. The TH-D75 will have APRS, D-STAR digital voice, and 222 MHz capability.

Yaesu FT5DR: I have one. It's a nice little handheld with lots of features. The user interface is frustrating to as you have to negotiate through layers of menus to get to the parameter you want to change. It has APRS and Yaesu System Fusion digital voice. Some of the hot spots will let you use a Fusion radio to access DMR or D-STAR groups through the hot spot.

 

[ctsrj1]

For what purpose? Do you volunteer with a MARS team that uses VHF/UHF? As for CAP, they have a list of accepted radios that meet their standards.

Going to volunteer for the military auxiliary radio system.

 

[AK9R]

Going to volunteer for the military auxiliary radio system.

Most MARS communications is on HF which a handheld won't do. I wouldn't count on being able to do much MARS volunteering with a VHF/UHF handheld.

 

[ctsrj1]

Most MARS communications is on HF which a handheld won't do. I wouldn't count on being able to do much MARS volunteering with a VHF/UHF handheld.

I dont plan on volunteering with just a UHF/VHF handheld. I plan on rebuilding my station and the MARS handbook references HF and mobile
communications as well as digital capability. They clearly have UHF/VHF frequencies in 17.2.6 of the handbook so why not be full prepared?

 

[N4KVE]

Thanks, I will have to look deeper into the Anytone. Is the Anytone superheterodyne? Good RX/TX audio, receive sensitivity, etc?

All the CCR’s are direct conversion. They are intermod sponges. The 878 has decent TX audio, & the receive is quite sensitive, but it’s wide open.

 

[ctsrj1]

All the CCR’s are direct conversion. They are intermod sponges. The 878 has decent TX audio, & the receive is quite sensitive, but it’s wide open.

I am really leaning toward superhederdyne. Had Baofeng and others in the past and overall they were great radios for the price but the intermod Issues and poor frequency scanning were a disappointment.

 

[dlwtrunked]

Getting back into Ham Radio after a few years off. Had to sell off my station. Looking to get back in with an HT. Any recommendations for a high quality, all around HT? Looking for good receive and transmit (Superheterodyne) with high quality internal components. One that I can easily do the mars cap mod on also. Not sure about digital modes at the moment. There are DSTAR and DMR repeaters within 2 miles of my house and the closest C4FM is 15 miles away. I just want a good radio and can do a hot spot later if the best is Yaesu. I see that the Th-D75A is coming out soon but I have not seen wha the MSRP is. Any suggestions?
There are the ones I am considering:

Yaesu FT-5DR
Yaesu VX-6R - Tri-Band
Yaesu FT-70DR
Kenwood TH-D75A
ICOM ID-52A
ICOM ID-50A
Anytone 878UVII Plus

You have to define *best all around* more in detail. But no matter how you do, no such thing exists or we would all own one. Although not sure about digital modes at the moment, those (like which( should more a factor than other things you listed.

 

[bearcatrp]

Have you checked out the vx-7r? There is software to do the mars/cap mod.

 

[sloop]

My votes for a HT goes to the Yaesu VX-6R for 144, 220, and 440 mHz work and the Retevis RT3S for digital. The Retevis is both conventional and digital 144 and 440 mHz. Even though it can be programmed by hand it is far easier to program with a computer. As far as MARS mod. , don't bother, its useless. I was a member of Army MARS for years and never used any frequencies other than HF. They also have stricter requirements on their radios now (NITA technical standards). If the mods. for "emergency use (just in case)" once again don't bother. If your local emergency units (fire, EMS, police) use digital systems then they should have a private code (not CTCSS or DCL) that activates their system for use. They will not hear you.

 

[GadgetGeek]

I have a TH-D74 that I really like, but the battery life is poor. The Kenwood user interface is very easy to me.

Same.

 

[K4EET]

I dont plan on volunteering with just a UHF/VHF handheld. I plan on rebuilding my station and the MARS handbook references HF and mobile
communications as well as digital capability. They clearly have UHF/VHF frequencies in 17.2.6 of the handbook so why not be full prepared?

Which MARS branch of service are you looking at? Air Force or Army? Since the Navy MARS units were brought into the Air Force’s MARS wings, I suspect it’s only a matter of time before Air Force MARS and Army MARS are consolidated. I am with Air Force MARS and we do have VHF repeater activities. But as was already mentioned, the majority of operations occur on HF frequencies.

 

[chief21]

The 878 also will not need any modification for MARS/CAP. It's my understanding CAP is going P25.

CAP has had VHF analog and P25 capability for many years now.

 

[ctsrj1]

My votes for a HT goes to the Yaesu VX-6R for 144, 220, and 440 mHz work and the Retevis RT3S for digital. The Retevis is both conventional and digital 144 and 440 mHz. Even though it can be programmed by hand it is far easier to program with a computer. As far as MARS mod. , don't bother, its useless. I was a member of Army MARS for years and never used any frequencies other than HF. They also have stricter requirements on their radios now (NITA technical standards). If the mods. for "emergency use (just in case)" once again don't bother. If your local emergency units (fire, EMS, police) use digital systems then they should have a private code (not CTCSS or DCL) that activates their system for use. They will not hear you.

Good to know, thanks. Looks like some radios really have reduced output on those frequencies anyway. Also I am reconsidering the MARS volunteering after looking into the activity.