New releases at Hamvention 2025

[AK9R]

After digging through social media and YouTube videos over the weekend, here's a rundown of the new radios shown at the Dayton Hamvention. No, I didn't attend. This is what I've gleaned through the Internet.

Elecraft -- I don't think they had much new stuff to show. They did have the AX3 6-band, POTA-ready whip antenna/tripod designed so you can set it up on a picnic table and bathe yourself in RF. I saw the K4/0 and other means of remote operation being promoted.

Flex -- The big news is the Aurora series of radios. These incorporate a 500 watt HF/200 watt 6m transmitter using what is called Polar Modulation to achieve a claimed 80% efficiency even when powered from 120 VAC. The booth display showed an Aurora transmitting key down at 495 watts for about 8 hours. PM can be used for traditional CW, SSB, RTTY, FT8, etc. The radios are basically a Flex 8000 combined with this new transmitter in a desktop package that weighs about 18 pounds. Prices start at $6200.

Icom -- nothing new which is surprising. Maybe they'll have something at Tokyo Ham Fair in August.

Kenwood -- more information dribbling out about their new TM-D750 144/222/440 mobile radio. Maybe will start shipping this fall. Other products remain the same.

Yaesu -- the FTX-1 dropped just before Hamvention. The FTX-1 Field is a QRP radio that covers HF/6m/2m/70cm at 5 watts on the attached battery or 10 watts using an external power supply. The FTX-1 Optima is the Field version with an attached amplifier rated for 100 watts on HF/6m and 50 watts on 2m/70cm. The concept that Yaesu is promoting is that you can take your FTX-1 Field out for a POTA activation then clip it onto the amplifier when you get home.

DX Engineering, GigaParts, Ham Radio Outlet, and MTC Radio all had booths at Hamvention. DXE appears to have taken over the space formerly used by R&L Electronics and MFJ. The stores were running various sales over the weekend. Many of them were available to online purchasers.

 

[tweiss3]

Yep, Kenwood still had the "demo" D750 under glass, booth was underwhelming.

The Yaesu FTX-1 was out to play with. It didn't seem as difficult to operate as other Yaesu radios I have used. The reps claimed they only had the 30 minutes before the gates opened on Friday to get familiar with them, so they weren't able to answer as many questions as I had liked. The concerning thing they noted is Yaesu is suggesting the FTX-1 should be within 6" of the amplifier, suggesting remote head with trunk mounted amplifier may not be possible. It would be a real shame if they neutered it that way, but with the battery and ATU attached, it wasn't overly bulky, and they have a "cage" factory accessory that everyone seems to like to add to the Icom's 705.

 

[AK9R]

I overlooked Ten-Tec. They claim to be developing a new HF transceiver. Claim it will be all US made. Claim it will be available by end of year.

 

[kb2idx]

After digging through social media and YouTube videos over the weekend, here's a rundown of the new radios shown at the Dayton Hamvention. No, I didn't attend. This is what I've gleaned through the Internet.

Elecraft -- I don't think they had much new stuff to show. They did have the AX3 6-band, POTA-ready whip antenna/tripod designed so you can set it up on a picnic table and bathe yourself in RF. I saw the K4/0 and other means of remote operation being promoted.

Flex -- The big news is the Aurora series of radios. These incorporate a 500 watt HF/200 watt 6m transmitter using what is called Polar Modulation to achieve a claimed 80% efficiency even when powered from 120 VAC. The booth display showed an Aurora transmitting key down at 495 watts for about 8 hours. PM can be used for traditional CW, SSB, RTTY, FT8, etc. The radios are basically a Flex 8000 combined with this new transmitter in a desktop package that weighs about 18 pounds. Prices start at $6200.

Icom -- nothing new which is surprising. Maybe they'll have something at Tokyo Ham Fair in August.

Kenwood -- more information dribbling out about their new TM-D750 144/222/440 mobile radio. Maybe will start shipping this fall. Other products remain the same.

Yaesu -- the FTX-1 dropped just before Hamvention. The FTX-1 Field is a QRP radio that covers HF/6m/2m/70cm at 5 watts on the attached battery or 10 watts using an external power supply. The FTX-1 Optima is the Field version with an attached amplifier rated for 100 watts on HF/6m and 50 watts on 2m/70cm. The concept that Yaesu is promoting is that you can take your FTX-1 Field out for a POTA activation then clip it onto the amplifier when you get home.

DX Engineering, GigaParts, Ham Radio Outlet, and MTC Radio all had booths at Hamvention. DXE appears to have taken over the space formerly used by R&L Electronics and MFJ. The stores were running various sales over the weekend. Many of them were available to online purchasers.

I spoke briefly with a Kenwood rep. They're hoping for November (I smell black friday) but the price will be high.

 

[prcguy]

I overlooked Ten-Tec. They claim to be developing a new HF transceiver. Claim it will be all US made. Claim it will be available by end of year.

They mentioned something like this last year. They were still offering their updated Omni 7 and the updates were a few new replacement parts due to some being unavailable from Gina and a thicker front panel. The price was ludicrous and I asked how they expect to compete with a much better radio like the Icom 7610 which is close to the Omni 7 price with all options. They just stared at me and couldn't answer my question.

I had an Omni 7 when they first came out and while it performed well it is now light years behind any other mfr in the same price category. The Omni 7 still has a band scope that does one sweep then stops until you press the sweep button again, unlike every other radio that sweeps continuously. How do they expect to stay in business?

 

[hamstang]

 

[prcguy]

Interesting stuff. In their day TenTec did produce some very good performing radios that were kind of competitively priced. Then other companies ran right past them in performance vs price and they shut down and a new owner stepped in. Since then anyone needing repairs on TenTec equipment has to wait for a very long time to get their radio fixed if it can even be done and there is zero communication during the whole process. You can't get them on the phone and good luck getting an email reply. This is coming from people who have sent radios in for repair.

My worry, besides the prices is if the new company runs into trouble who is gonna support or fix your radio? TenTec has been out of the spotlight for several years now and their online store has been virtually empty. They have nothing to sell most of the time. I dumped my TenTec Omni VII and Eagle several years ago as it had no support and the resale prices had dropped more than any other radio I've owned. I practically had to give the radios away. That is not good value.