Amateur Radio |
Radios
This is where I will write mini-reviews of the various radios I have used, and why I prefer specific Radios to others.Yaesu FT-60
This is a Dual-Band 144/440 Walkie Talkie. It has a SMA antenna connector, and a fairly large battery.I bought two of these, one for my wife and one for myself. This is the 3rd HT I have owned, and by far my favorite. Battery life is very good as is the audio volume, both of which were complaints with my last HT. The belt clip on the FT-60 is very large and spring loaded, making it easy to get onto a large belt, yet still keeping it on the belt when you don't want it to come off.
Having previously owned a VX-5r and 1r, I was familiar with the Yaesu interface. Having the option for keyboard shortcuts as well as a full menu interface helps you to configure the radio even when you havn't looked at the manual for a while.
Purchased Summer of 2007. Mfg. Page
Yaesu FT-2800
This is a single band 2 Meter 144 Mobile Radio. It produces 65 Watts of RF and 3 Watts of AF. The radio is fanless, but has substancial heat-sync construction. Overall it is a very sturdy radio.I bought this to use in my 1972 Dodge, where it worked very well. The internal speaker is quite powerful and easy to understand. The display can be very bright (almost too bright at night). Everything on this radio except volume, squelch, and power can be controlled from the remote with the proper configuarion. All these qualities make it a great mobile single band radio.
The receive is a hair weak, but the simplicity of the radio with the combination of the Yaesu menu system make it a nice radio. I have three of these in total, one as my home base and two feeding the audio streams I have on this website. When I was looking at a scanner or transceiver to use for those feeds, I was able to get two of these for not much more than a decent cheap scanner.
I like this radio, and plan on using one for years to come.
Purchased Summer of 2004 and 2008. Mfg. Page
Yaesu FT-3000
This is a mobile 2 Meter 144 Radio with wide-band receive to 999MHz. The transmitter is capable of 70 Watts, and is cooled with dual 40MM fans on the rear. The internal speaker is quite weak, so plan on using an external.This was the first radio I had, and it served me well until the receive went out. Turns out it somehow got out of adjustment, possibly by a defective component. It would receive 0.055 MHz below the actual frequency, but the Transmit was not affected.
The wide band receive was nice as it doubled as a scanner, but seemed to have a somewhat deaf VFO.
This would make a pretty good data radio, or the transmitter for a repeater, but there are better radios for the money.
Purchased sometime around 1997.
Yaesu VX-5r
This was a Tri-Band 50-144-440 HT with wide band receive. It would do 5 watts on all three bands, and could receive a wide range of frequencies. It had a 7.2v 1100mA battery that wasn't much larger than two AA batteries.I was not pleased with this talkie as it had weak audio, and the battery never seemed to last very long. That was quite strange, as the FT-60 has a battery of the same ratings, but is NiMH and the VX-5r used Lithium Ion.
I never really used this for 6 Meters, but spent most of my time on 2 Meter and 70cm. I also did use the FM Broadcast reception capabilities. Since the audio was so weak, I used a Yaesu Speaker-Mic (MH34B4B) which has much superior volume.
I don't recomend this radio due to it's poor battery life, weak audio, and very small belt clip. The belt clip was very small and rigid, so it didn't seem to hold as well as I would like. On the plus side though, having a metal case did make the radio very durable, even if it did allow the finish to get scratched.
Purchased Summer of 2000.
Yaesu VX-1r
This is the first very small Dual-Band (144-440) HT that Yaesu put out as far as I know. It only put out about 1500mW, but would fit in the the tiniest pocket.This is a great radio for working the in-town repeater, as it's just enough power to work it. Also very handy for running errands and simplex work in place of a GMRS/FRS radio. Due to it's small size, everything was menu driven. It also has a very wide band receive, including FM and AM broadcast.
I sold this, and wish I hadn't as it would be very handy for 'small' work.
Purchased around Mid 2000.
Kenwood D700a
This is a Dual-Band 144-470 Mobile radio with built in TNC with APRS capability. All you need to do is connect an external GPS unit and you are ready to run APRS and voice at the same time.I bought this for my new car as I wanted to be able to run mobile APRS, and it has done that just fine. I have never connected a computer to the DB9 serial connection, so I can't speak to it's TNC capability. I bought a data/power cable for my Garmin eTrex that was made specifically for this radio so connecting the GPS was a snap.
One of the features I do like is the PM settings. It's like a preset for the entire radio. The best example I have for this is the following scenero. In the morning you are still tired and want your radio to be quiet. The display is dimmed, the function beeps are turned off, and it's on the repeater you like in the mornings. On your way home in the afternoon, you want to hear the beeps and you need the display at full brightness. You also listen to the traffic net on a different repeater. All of these functions can be programed into a PM, allowing you to recall them with one touch.
I have this mounted with dual speakers, so I can hear each VFO on it's own speaker from it's own side of the vehicle. This makes it very handy to hear what band is active. However, I have only used the radio with APRS off twice in the four years I have had it.
This radio does have wide receive capability (6 Meter - 1.2 GHz) however it is split between the two VFOs. The left side of the radio receives 50-500MHz, while the right receives 140-1200MHz (My numbers may be incorrect). This is a minor annoyance if you plan on receiving out of band. It also means you should only run APRS on the left side of the radio, meaning you can't receive low frequencies without turning off APRS. This never really bothered me as I very rarely listen to anything that isn't Amateur Radio related and/or in my memories.
I think this is a great radio if you want to run mobile APRS, but otherwise it's a better radio for the shack. If all you need is a remote head and dual vfo, there are cheaper options with better displays. I like the amber display, but it is somewhat hard to see in the daylight.
Purchased Summer 2003. Mfg. Page
