New Ham portable radio needed

[tsalmrsystemtech]

I am new to amateur radio and looking for a nice portable to use. I want to be-able to have all of the bells and whistles and was wondering if anybody has some good radios to get.

I am looking at the Kenwood TH-D72A

Thanks

 

[AK9R]

Well, what do you want to do?

If you are looking for a simple, 2m handheld, the Kenwood TH-K20 or Yaesu FT-250 would be good choices

If you are looking for a reliable, well-sorted dual-band handheld, the Yaesu FT-60 is hard to beat.

If you are looking a tri-band 2m/222/440 handheld, the Kenwood TH-F6 fits the bill, though the buttons are a little small. BTW, I own one.

If you are looking for an APRS-capable dual-band handheld, the Kenwood TH-D72 is the best choice, IMHO. I own one of these, too.

If you are looking for a D-Star dual-band handheld, the Icom IC-92 is a good choice, though the ID-51 has some nice features for a bit more money.

 

[LtDoc]

First define what features you have to have, then what you might like to have, and then what it might be nice to have. Once you do that you can get an idea of what your choices are, it'll help narrow the selection. Then you get to decide just how much each 'group' of options are worth to you. Until you've gotten some experience with things, that sort of 'balancing' is difficult to do. Your 'wants' are going to change over time so be prepared for that too. Ain't this fun??
- 'Doc

 

[Alligator24]

I just purchased a new TH-D72, and although I absolutely love the radio, I almost regret not getting something with D-Star. It is an excellent radio, and one that does almost everything (except digital).

I'll need to sell my old Yaesu VX-8DR now, since I'll probably pick up an ID-51A next. *sigh*

 

[N0IU]

I want to be-able to have all of the bells and whistles...

What's your budget?

 

[sloop]

I feel like I have owned them all...that being said I prefer Yaesu. I have a VX-170 (new model is VX-270) single band and a VX-6R 144/220/440 wide band receive. Love them both, very durable. I use them for travel (airline) exclusively. Stay away from the cheap ($50) Chinese radios...remember you get what you pay for. Sure they are all probably made in China but it the quality of the parts that makes the difference. If this is your first and only radio....DON'T get a HT and try to 'dress it up' with external antennas, power amps, etc. HT's are simply not made to serve as base stations (even though a lot of people use them for that). By the time you have bought all the extras you could have bought a good single band mobile, pwr supply, and built a ground plane or j-pole antenna cheaper. Google the following article "Getting the Most From Your Hand-held Transceiver" by Ed Harris and read it before you buy. You might try Getting the Most from Your Hand-Hand Transciever
Best of luck, 73's NC4WX

 

[vagrant]

I have a Kenwood TH-D72A and it does quite a bit. That dual band D-Star capable HT is nifty too, but as previously posted, it depends upon your budget and needs. Half of your battle is the need of a good antenna, or antennas for portable, mobile and home use.

I am like several others that have posted, and own several HT radios to fit my needs at the time.
- Yaesu VX-3R (This one I use every day)
- Kenwood TH-F6A (Second place on usage)
- Kenwood TH-D72A (Third place, but the F6A I may sell)
- Baofeng UV5R - or one of those models. (A fun radio that I don't worry about due to the cost.)

 

[PACNWDude]

You can look up the specs on these all easily enough.
I have used and still own: Icom IC-T7H, Yaesu VX-2R, VX-3R, VX-7R and VX-170 handhelds. I bought the Yaesu radios since the Icom was just not durable enough.
The VX-2R was actually used to call for help in a Third World hellhole on military operations once. It is durable, easy to free-band and durable, but lacks power output.
The VX-170 is great for a throw around single band radio that puts out enough power to hit repeater 5-6 miles away.
The VX-7R is a good radio, water resistant but very menu driven and I advise the cheat sheet to use it.

Older Icom equipment worked well. Newer Yaesu works well. Kenwood in my little experience works well, but I do not own any.

I use a lot of Yaesu since I need water resistance and metal cases that can take a drop.