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First HT Purchase...

Se7en

Se7en

Well-Known Member
Jun 27, 2010
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Ok so I have owned a Yaesu VX170 and Yaesu VX1r, VX3r, Yaesu FT-50r.

As of now I am trying to choose between these two Handi Talkie:
Yaesu VX-6r OR Kenwood TH-F6A.

It looks like Yaesu Offers a ALT,baro chip to be installed in the radio which i would use daily. Both have SSB receive and CW and SW, I do understand the internal antenna isn't the best.:blush:

Next Q:Accessory's whats a good shirt mike for these HT's?

Just want WWDX ham op's opinion.

I am going to either purchase from Jung's, or Gigaparts.


note: I could purchase a chickity china ding dong HT but I will be needing all three bands + take advantage of SW,SSB,CW RX.
 

I am not a fan

of anything Icom,had to many bad ones that where new.And if you want parts after a few yrs,they dont have them like Alinco,hehe...You cant beat any of the Kenwoods or yeasu.I have a ft250r and its great.If you have a kenwood hf you can do skycomand,what i think would be cool...i just about got a new ts590 buty went with the ft450d ,its a great radio.realy like it...so if you want skycomand get a kenwood ht and the ts590 or ts480sx/or the 480at ...73 de JW
 
n0zna said:
of anything Icom,had to many bad ones that where new.And if you want parts after a few yrs,they dont have them like Alinco,hehe...You cant beat any of the Kenwoods or yeasu.I have a ft250r and its great.If you have a kenwood hf you can do skycomand,what i think would be cool...i just about got a new ts590 buty went with the ft450d ,its a great radio.realy like it...so if you want skycomand get a kenwood ht and the ts590 or ts480sx/or the 480at ...73 de JW
Click to expand...

Thanks john for your comment. i am still deciding it. i see gigaparts has the best deal. but the biggest issue is there Free shipping is slow. It sucks cause jungs and HRO is a 30min drive from me but the tax rate is a bummer.
 
I've had both of the radios you're trying to decide between. The Yaesu is more rugged and submersible, but it is single VFO only. The Kenwood is a little smaller and has dual VFOs. Personally I would take the dual VFO radio for my needs. It's been a while since I used either radio, but I seem to remember that the Kenwood's SSB and SWL receiver being a little more sensitive than the Yaesu. Remember, these are HT's though, so neither one makes a great HF receive radio. I had the Kenwood hand mic and headset, but never tried that with the Yaesu. If you decide to go with the TH-F6a, shop around online for the mic's...there can be quite a big price swing.
 
Moleculo said:
I've had both of the radios you're trying to decide between. The Yaesu is more rugged and submersible, but it is single VFO only. The Kenwood is a little smaller and has dual VFOs. Personally I would take the dual VFO radio for my needs. It's been a while since I used either radio, but I seem to remember that the Kenwood's SSB and SWL receiver being a little more sensitive than the Yaesu. Remember, these are HT's though, so neither one makes a great HF receive radio. I had the Kenwood hand mic and headset, but never tried that with the Yaesu. If you decide to go with the TH-F6a, shop around online for the mic's...there can be quite a big price swing.
Click to expand...

KENWOOD TH-F6A :)
Okay universal radio seems to be the best. Plus my wife cannot know I bought it or my bullocks will be in a sling. I am also ordering the diamond smh320. Since I use my diamond cr320a mobile might as well get the same for the HT.


Anything bad about universal radio purchasing new ? Do they ship fast ?..... what kind of warrenty with the radio ? Jungs wants 25$ in tax same with hro. Gigaparts only does paypal..

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2
 
I have been shopping at Universal since 1974, my dad, many years before that. They never hassle with you when you have a problem.

The store is only 30 minutes from my house. I have never had any issues with them. They have standard manufacturers warranty. They give a 60 day warranty on used items. They normally ship same day or next. It's best to call them for stock availability as they have no computerized inventory. They have flat rate shipping based on order total.
 
m42duster said:
I have been shopping at Universal since 1974, my dad, many years before that. They never hassle with you when you have a problem.

The store is only 30 minutes from my house. I have never had any issues with them. They have standard manufacturers warranty. They give a 60 day warranty on used items. They normally ship same day or next. It's best to call them for stock availability as they have no computerized inventory. They have flat rate shipping based on order total.
Click to expand...

$334.95 for the kenwood and the BT-13 (dont want to wait 6hour for the batt to charge). Ordering the Diamond SRH320A from "TheAntennaFarm" because its cheaper. Good thing i already have SMA,BNC,so239,pl59 adapter galore at my QTH. I didnt order used, at least i hope not?(y)
 
My 2 Cents worth!......

They're both nice radios, but the Yaesu has a front end like a barn door when compared to the Kenwood, so I moved it on!....I still use the Kenwood.

There are 2 Kenwood mics available that I know of, and I have both...The SMC 32 and the SMC 33.

The 33 is a nicer speaker mic to hold and use, but the audio output from the 32 is louder on TX....That's the one that I use.

Regards, Ken.
 
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Ken Wood said:
My 2 Cents worth!.......

....... but the Yaesu has a front end like a barn door when compared to the Kenwood, so I moved it on!............
Click to expand...



Please give me $.02 more.:D

A more thorough explanation, will help....
 
KF7RUQ said:
Please give me $.02 more.:D

A more thorough explanation, will help....
Click to expand...


O.K.....Here is the next 2 cents worth!

90% of the time I spend on radio is from the top of various mountains in the U.K.

I generally use H/T's...FT 270, Alinco DJ/G7 (for 23 cms), TH7e (th6 in U.S) a Wouxan and an Icom E90 for four meters and sometimes I haul an 817 and slab up as well.

Antennas are a Diamond X5000 for 2/70 and 23 and a slim jim for four.

The reason I'm explaining this, is because my usage of H/T's is pretty different from most folks usage but it does however, give me an interesting insight into the 'peculiarities' of their performance under the onslaught of high levels of amateur and non amateur R.F.

H/T's seem to have a fairly basic immunity to extraneous R.F. other than the desired frequency and the amount of 'noise' some let through from paging systems, data transmitters, microwave links etc etc is pretty horrendous, and at times, and on some summits, can make the radio worse than useless.

I took a VX7 up a summit at around 3000 ft asl and the incoming signals were desensed to a point that I couldn't make good copy with any other stations....I changed over to an old Alinco DJ/G5 and was able to work everyone that called in.......Interestingly, from the excellent vantage point that I had, I could see no signs of any commercial transmitting sites whatsoever.

Since then, I have tried many different H/T's, in various locations and heights
and the VX range come out badly, without exception.

My experiments with portable radios has been an interesting journey and many H/T's have been discarded along the way, with the Yaesu FT 530 being the biggest disappointment and the Yaesu FT 270 proving itself to be an absolute cracker.

However, this is based on my usage and most will find that in day to day radio play they don't have a problem with breakthrough....Well, perhaps not, untill they connect a high gain external antenna!

Regards, Ken.
 

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