I would have labeled this as "off topic", but thanks to Tardo the
distinction between what's on/off-topic is now meaningless.

I'm thinking about picking up a new handheld tranceiver, probably a
dual bander for 2 m. and 70 cm. Decent audio would be nice and build
quality is important to me. I'd appreciate any advice about what to
consider and/or avoid.

Thanks,

Steve

On Oct 11, 5:06 am, Steve wrote:
I would have labeled this as "off topic", but thanks to Tardo the
distinction between what's on/off-topic is now meaningless.

I'm thinking about picking up a new handheld tranceiver, probably a
dual bander for 2 m. and 70 cm. Decent audio would be nice and build
quality is important to me. I'd appreciate any advice about what to
consider and/or avoid.

Thanks,

Steve

* Is small, compact size important?

* Do you need "dual receive", with independent volume controls for
each band?

* Is an add-on alkaline battery case for emergency backup important?

* Is full 5 watt output important in your area?

The local ARES uses Yaesu FT-60Rs. They seem pretty sturdy, and you
can purchase an alkaline battery case for extended operations long
after the rechargeable pack runs out.

I highly recommend "eham" http://ww.eham.net :
http://www.eham.net/reviews/products/49

On Oct 12, 1:51 am, Ross Archer wrote:
On Oct 11, 5:06 am, Steve wrote:

I would have labeled this as "off topic", but thanks to Tardo the
distinction between what's on/off-topic is now meaningless.

I'm thinking about picking up a new handheld tranceiver, probably a
dual bander for 2 m. and 70 cm. Decent audio would be nice and build
quality is important to me. I'd appreciate any advice about what to
consider and/or avoid.

Thanks,

Steve

* Is small, compact size important?

* Do you need "dual receive", with independent volume controls for
each band?

* Is an add-on alkaline battery case for emergency backup important?

* Is full 5 watt output important in your area?

The local ARES uses Yaesu FT-60Rs. They seem pretty sturdy, and you
can purchase an alkaline battery case for extended operations long
after the rechargeable pack runs out.

I highly recommend "eham" http://ww.eham.net:http://www.eham.n...ws/products/49

You're the third person to recommend the FT-60R to me, so I'll
definitely look at it closely. Compact size isn't too important,
though it's a plus. I probably do want the full 5 watt output on both
bands, if only because lots of HT's offer that and, while I might not
need it in my home area, I move around enough for it to matter.

My wife and I each own Kenwood F6A handhelds. I really like it even
for FM satellite use. Lots of memories. More compact that my Kenwood
D7A (although the D7A offers full duplex for satellite work and the
F6A does not).

One warning about the F6A. You can run it on alkalines, but the
Kenwood alkaline battery pack only permits low power transmit. I love
this radio, though.

On Oct 13, 8:03 am, Bart Bailey wrote:
In ups.com
posted on Sat, 13 Oct 2007 04:40:43 -0700, Barry in Wyoming wrote: Begin

My wife and I each own Kenwood F6A handhelds. I really like it even
for FM satellite use. Lots of memories. More compact that my Kenwood
D7A (although the D7A offers full duplex for satellite work and the
F6A does not).

I was initially going to recommend an F6 as it's my favorite too,
but someone posted a list of reviews which would probably be better than
my single party comments.
I also have the D7 to use with SkyCommand on the TS-2000,
but the F6 is by far a better unit if you could have only one.

It's hard to go wrong with Kenwood (I have a V7A that's outlasted two
cars , and the F6A has 220 Mhz too. And if memory serves, it's a
smaller radio than the FT-60.

On Oct 12, 6:24 am, Steve wrote:
On Oct 12, 1:51 am, Ross Archer wrote:



On Oct 11, 5:06 am, Steve wrote:

I would have labeled this as "off topic", but thanks to Tardo the
distinction between what's on/off-topic is now meaningless.

I'm thinking about picking up a new handheld tranceiver, probably a
dual bander for 2 m. and 70 cm. Decent audio would be nice and build
quality is important to me. I'd appreciate any advice about what to
consider and/or avoid.

Thanks,

Steve

* Is small, compact size important?

* Do you need "dual receive", with independent volume controls for
each band?

* Is an add-on alkaline battery case for emergency backup important?

* Is full 5 watt output important in your area?

The local ARES uses Yaesu FT-60Rs. They seem pretty sturdy, and you
can purchase an alkaline battery case for extended operations long
after the rechargeable pack runs out.

I highly recommend "eham" http://ww.eham.net:http://www.eham.n...ws/products/49

You're the third person to recommend the FT-60R to me, so I'll
definitely look at it closely. Compact size isn't too important,
though it's a plus. I probably do want the full 5 watt output on both
bands, if only because lots of HT's offer that and, while I might not
need it in my home area, I move around enough for it to matter.

One warning about the FT-60. The speaker-mic plug is located on the
right-hand side of the radio (rather than the more usual top). What
can happen when wearing it with a speaker-mic is occasionally the
pulling motion will pull the plug out a tad and cause the radio to
start transmitting.

My understanding is that people who use speakermics with this rig take
a rubber band along and strap it around the radio to prevent this when
using the speaker mic.

Having never used a speaker mic with this radio, it's not an issue for
me.

-- ross