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

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.
Also I would like to be able to talk back to some of them (definitely
not a police )
If it's matter, I'm in San Francisco, CA and love to hike in Lake Tahoe
area of the Sierra Mountains.

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

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.
Also I would like to be able to talk back to some of them (definitely
not a police )
If it's matter, I'm in San Francisco, CA and love to hike in Lake Tahoe
area of the Sierra Mountains.

Most frequencies REQUIRE some sort of license to "talk back".
It's unlikely that either radio can be used legally transmit outside the
ham bands.
Get a trunk-tracking scanner. Use your cellphone for talking.
mike

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
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!

1. What radio should I buy between the two: Yaesu VX-7R or Kenwood
TH-F6A
2. Where should I buy it from (price) or maybe someone sells one used ?


Without making a judgement call on your questionable comment regarding
talking back on possible non-ham frequencies, I'll make two comments on
those two radios. I have owned both in the past.

I preferred the Kenwood for two primary reasons:

The Kenwood was capable of receiving SSB in the HF frequency range,
albeit the sensitivy was EXTREMELY POOR in that regard.

I highly prefer the Kenwood Menu system.... it was much more intuitive
to use compared to the Yaesu radios.

Both are well built solid transceivers, though.

Ed K7AAT

"DoctorUSA" wrote ...
1. What radio should I buy between the two: Yaesu
VX-7R or Kenwood TH-F6A
2. Where should I buy it from (price) or maybe someone
sells one used ?

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

While you may be able to receive most/all of those
sources (because both models have a wide-band
receive function) , it is very unlikely that any of those
services are using ham bands, which would preclude
you from "talking back" to any of them. Also neither
radio will transmit in the bands they are likely to use.
Fortunate for you since is is almost certainly very illegal.

A "scanner" type receiver seems more suitable for
listening to the various services you mention. Particulary
in a large city where they use "trunking" and other
systems for sharing (and jumping around) between
different frequencies. Many scanners are progrmmable
to handle this. But neither of the radios you mentioned
can follow these kinds of conversations.

"Ed" wrote ...
I highly prefer the Kenwood Menu system.... it was
much more intuitive to use compared to the Yaesu radios.

I was just looking at those very two models after getting
my callsign (KE7GKP) just yesterday.

I just bought the Yaesu this afternoon and am still reading
the book. The Yaesu was recommended very much in
preference to the Kenwood by the guy at HRO in Portland.
He claimed the opposite, that the menu system of the Yaesu
was simple enough that he needed the book only once every
vew months, but the Kenwood he never could manage.
Go figure? :-)

On Thu, 9 Feb 2006 19:50:47 -0800, "Richard Crowley"
wrote:

"Ed" wrote ...
I highly prefer the Kenwood Menu system.... it was
much more intuitive to use compared to the Yaesu radios.

I was just looking at those very two models after getting
my callsign (KE7GKP) just yesterday.

I just bought the Yaesu this afternoon and am still reading
the book. The Yaesu was recommended very much in
preference to the Kenwood by the guy at HRO in Portland.
He claimed the opposite, that the menu system of the Yaesu
was simple enough that he needed the book only once every
vew months, but the Kenwood he never could manage.
Go figure? :-)

It would be hard for me to figure out why an HRO sales person couldn't
program a Kenwood. It's too much trouble on any radio without a
computer when you have hundreds of frequencies to input, along with
various option settings. With the free Kenwood software and a cable
it is a simple chore. I would much rather operate my computer than
the tiny buttons on an HT for programming. BTW, the TH-F6A is the
finest HT I have ever owned, and I have owned a LOT of them. I also
own the TH-D7A, but it is the F6A that goes with me on public service
events, etc. I love that little radio.

Dick - W6CCD

I spent nearly 2 hours at the HRO in Oakland trying out both - After some
serious thinking I ended up with the Kenwood.
At that time it was because I felt it wiser for me to opt for 220 over 6M in
a HT. After well over a year of using the Kenwood, I have to say that it is
by far the best HT I have ever had.

Drawbacks?
No drop in charger.
Speaker Mic and pwr jacks are on the side instead of the top.

I often wonder why anyone would want 6M in such a small qrp format unless
they lived within eyesight of a 6M repeater.

Jim..
kb6zop

"DoctorUSA" wrote in message
oups.com...
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
2. Where should I buy it from (price) or maybe someone sells one used ?

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.
Also I would like to be able to talk back to some of them (definitely
not a police )
If it's matter, I'm in San Francisco, CA and love to hike in Lake Tahoe
area of the Sierra Mountains.

I considered both the VX-7R and the TH-F6A, but opted for the latter
because of the full power output on 220 (although now in this new
location 220 is not used much). My son and I now both have TH-F6As (for
uniformity), along with two higher-capacity batteries from W&W
Manufacturing (http://www.ww-manufacturing.com) and their drop-in
charger that works with those batteries either detached or in place on
the rig.

"Perce"
(aka Alan NV8A)


On 02/10/06 01:58 am Jimmy Mac wrote:

I spent nearly 2 hours at the HRO in Oakland trying out both - After some
serious thinking I ended up with the Kenwood.
At that time it was because I felt it wiser for me to opt for 220 over 6M in
a HT. After well over a year of using the Kenwood, I have to say that it is
by far the best HT I have ever had.

Drawbacks?
No drop in charger.
Speaker Mic and pwr jacks are on the side instead of the top.

I often wonder why anyone would want 6M in such a small qrp format unless
they lived within eyesight of a 6M repeater.

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

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.
Also I would like to be able to talk back to some of them (definitely
not a police )
If it's matter, I'm in San Francisco, CA and love to hike in Lake Tahoe
area of the Sierra Mountains.

"Dick" wrote ...
It would be hard for me to figure out why an HRO sales person couldn't
program a Kenwood. It's too much trouble on any radio without a
computer when you have hundreds of frequencies to input, along with
various option settings. With the free Kenwood software and a cable
it is a simple chore.

I got the impression it wasn't the computer-connected programming
issue, but remembering the "menu-structure" of all the features
when using it in the field. He said that (at least for him) the Yaesu
was easier to remember the button sequences than the Kenwood.