advice: good, inexpensive, reliable 2m or 2m/70cm HT?
 

My XYL passed her Tech exam last Saturday, and I passed the General.
We're looking for a pair of good, inexpensive, reliable 2m or 2m/70cm
HT. To us, "inexpensive" is in the under-$150 range. I would count it
a bonus if the HT had a good general-coverage (say 500 KHz-and-up)
receiver, and Melody would like to have one that gets NMEA-183 from
her (or my) GPS and does APRS reporting. But the cost is the major
driver for selection.

Thanks!

--
Mike Andrews, waiting for his callsign to show up in the FCC database

Tired old sysadmin

On Mon, 10 Jan 2005, Mike Andrews wrote:

My XYL passed her Tech exam last Saturday, and I passed the General.

Congratulations to you both!

We're looking for a pair of good, inexpensive, reliable 2m or 2m/70cm
HT. To us, "inexpensive" is in the under-$150 range.

Are you looking for something new?

Personally, what I would do is get a catalog from someplace like AES or
Ham Radio Outlet, and see what's available at your specified price. Then
go to eham.net and check reviews on each of these HTs to get an idea of
how other hams feel about them.

For the record, I use a Yaesu VX-5R. It's outside of your specified
budget, but it has served me well over the past few years and I've no
complaints about it.

73,

Josh, AE6IQ

--


Remove the reversed "nospam" in the address.

Joshua G Senecal wrote:
On Mon, 10 Jan 2005, Mike Andrews wrote:

My XYL passed her Tech exam last Saturday, and I passed the General.

Congratulations to you both!

We're looking for a pair of good, inexpensive, reliable 2m or 2m/70cm
HT. To us, "inexpensive" is in the under-$150 range.

Are you looking for something new?

Personally, what I would do is get a catalog from someplace like AES or
Ham Radio Outlet, and see what's available at your specified price. Then
go to eham.net and check reviews on each of these HTs to get an idea of
how other hams feel about them.

For the record, I use a Yaesu VX-5R. It's outside of your specified
budget, but it has served me well over the past few years and I've no
complaints about it.

That's pretty much what we've been doing, along with watching eBay
and talking with local hams about their gear.

New would be nice, but the budget is the major driver here.

The Yaesu VX-5R has been recommended -- and praised -- by a number of
the folks with whom I've talked or swapped mail.

I get Monday off; we may drive down to Texas Towers and see what they
have to offer, too.

Thanks for the help, and 73s.

--
Mike Andrews, KE5DMQ

Tired old sysadmin

On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 18:57:30 +0000 (UTC), (Mike
Andrews) wrote:

Joshua G Senecal wrote:
On Mon, 10 Jan 2005, Mike Andrews wrote:

My XYL passed her Tech exam last Saturday, and I passed the General.

Congratulations to you both!

We're looking for a pair of good, inexpensive, reliable 2m or 2m/70cm
HT. To us, "inexpensive" is in the under-$150 range.

For a 2M only rig, the Yaesu VX-150 is in the $110-120 range regular
retail. Occasional sales take it down to about $100, but I have not
been following the price in detail.

Well thought of, rugged, 5W output. Very easy on the power
requirements while standing by or receiving. Very clean sound and
crisp reception.

I would recommend upgrading the stock antenna, getting the AA cell
battery pack, and getting the RT Systems programming software and
cable for it. A few other accessories may be helpful, such as a
speaker mike and a carry case.

It is my primary HT for 2M for hiking and public service events, and I
know a number of others quite happy with it.

The biggest grip about it is that there is no dual band version. If
they made one, they would instantly sell a bunch of them.

If you want dual band in that price range, it is going to be used.

Happy trails,
Gary (net.yogi.bear)
------------------------------------------------
at the 51st percentile of ursine intelligence

Gary D. Schwartz, Needham, MA, USA
Please reply to: garyDOTschwartzATpoboxDOTcom

We're looking for a pair of good, inexpensive, reliable 2m or
2m/70cm HT. To us, "inexpensive" is in the under-$150 range.



I don't see what the problem is. Just looking in the latest AES catalog
I saw 5 or 6 HTs listed under $150, some as low as $79. Shopping around
would show even lower prices.


Ed K7AAT