In article .com,
DoctorUSA wrote:

Hello to All of YOU!
I'm looking for an advice on two questions:

1. What radio should I buy between the two: Yaesu VX-7R or Kenwood
TH-F6A

They're both popular radios with lots of features.

The VX-7R has 6-meter capability (which few people seem to use -
there's not much 6-meter FM traffic in Northern California) and its
220 transmission power is fairly low. It's water-gasketed and can
survive splashing and some immersion - but I've heard some people
complain that the microphone's waterproofing membrane muffles the mic
and makes the transmitted audio quality poorer than previous Yaesu
radios.

The TH-F6A doesn't have 6 meters, and isn't waterproofed as far as I
know, but has full-power 220 transmit capability.

These radios are likely to be fairly competitive in terms of their
basic output power, sensitivity, and capabilities. Which you would
prefer may be as much a matter of personal taste and operating style
than anything else. I'd encourage you to try 'em out - at least for
reception - before making a decision.

For all HTs of this level, programming the memories (potentially,
hundreds of them!) becomes a significant challenge. Both of these
radios can be programmed using a personal computer (running Windows or
an emulator thereof), using suitable software and a special
PC-to-radio cable.

Officially-supported software is available for the VX-7, but it's a
commercial aftermarket product which is not cheap. There's also some
reverse-engineered freeware (VX-7 Commander) to do the same thing.

Kenwood makes programming software for their radios available for
free... it can be downloaded from www.kenwood.net

You'll need a suitable cable/adapter, to convert the RS-232 signals
from your PC's serial port to the 5-volt open-collector signalling
which these radios use for programming. You can buy adapters from RT
Systems (they're sold with their Yaesu programming software) or from
Kenwood. It's often possible to use one vendor's adapter with another
vendor's radio, if you build the right sort of cable to go between 'em.

2. Where should I buy it from (price) or maybe someone sells one used ?

The prices for new radios of this sort don't seem to vary much from
one dealer to the next. I've heard that the dealer profit margins on
such radios are very slim... there's not a lot of room for dealers to
cut their prices.

You _might_ save a few dollars by buying by mail from an out-of-state
dealer. However, the savings are likely to be small if the deal is
honest. Since you've got a good well-stocked dealer in your area (Ham
Radio Outlet over in Oakland) you could do lots worse than to just hop
BART over to the East Bay and buy one locally. That way, you'll have
the advantage of local-dealer support if anything turns out to be
wrong with your radio, and might avoid having to send it back to the
manufacturer for repair or exchange.

[The first VX-5 I bought, from HRO's Sunnyvale outlet, had a
microphone which went bad after a few weeks. They swapped out the
radio for a new one even though it was past the normal 7-day
over-the-counter exchange.]

the first question: I want this radio in order to be able to
monitor (listen) to all possible things: weather, radio, police chat,
trackers, taxi dispatchers an so on.

All well and good. Both of these radios should be able to receive any
AM or narrow-band FM signal in those bands. Neither will be able to
handle the newer trunked-digital UHF systems.

Also I would like to be able to talk back to some of them (definitely
not a police )

*Not* a good idea. Not legal. These radios are not certificated for
transmission outside of the ham bands. Using them in that way can get
you into quite a bit of trouble, for transmitting without a proper
license and for transmitting using noncertificated equipment. Loss of
amateur-radio license, big fines, etc. can result (and do so result
from time to time).

If it's matter, I'm in San Francisco, CA and love to hike in Lake Tahoe
area of the Sierra Mountains.

I'd recommend that you buy a better antenna for whatever radio you
get. The "rubber duck" antennas sold with such HTs are fine for most
in-city uses (especially when using a local repeater) but they're not
a great choice when you're out in the woods, far from your nearest
repeater, and *need* to get a signal through. A "spaghetti-noodle"
quarter-wave whip, plus a 19" counterpoise wire, will add a lot to the
2-meter range of a radio of this sort.

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Hosting the Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
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