what's a good ht

[w9dkl]

I'm looking for a good dual band ht but don't know what to buy?

[W0LPQ]

Good old Icom IC-2AT. No tones ... barebones HT (ok so it is over 25 years old .. it still works just fine!). If you want modern with tones and auto repeater offset and wide band receive, I like my Icom T-7H.

Bill, W0LPQ

[DK7RS]

Yaesu FT-60 here.
So cheap I shunned ebay and bought one new ( for once )
It's back to basics whilst still having some bells and whistles should you need them.

[k5brk]

I really like my Icom IC T90a. A great tri-band HT with 5/1 watts and plenty of bells and whistles. I can get about two 8 hr days on a charge with moderate use.

[w9mpc]

Kenwood TH-G71-- dual band, ( although not dual receive or cross-band) wide rx coverage, 5 watt, 200 memories, 6 character alpha tags... and one just sold on Ebay for $137. It is getting long in the tooth, however, and I hear that Kenwood is going to discontinue them.

[KI4MBK]

I would like to also add to the following reply's. I owened the Yaesu Vx-6 Handheld it was a pretty good handheld worked for what I needed it for! Also look at the eham reviews people did on the handheld radios to see whats best for you! Good Luck. 73's Harold (KI4MBK)

[w5cmp]

ic w32 http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[w5cmp]

o iam sorry do want qrp or qrp thats what you get with most hts. if you need guts the ic w32 has it and crossband.you get what you payfor.life is to short for QRP.

[KE5FRF]

Icom T7H, IMHO.

It is easy to program without a lot of submenus devoted to the "bells and whistles" of other HT's. It is one of the stronger HTs on the market, getting up to 6 watts, and it gets extra marks from me for having a BNC connection for the antenna, and being more substantially sized (Many of the other HTs are too tiny, this one fits comfortably in your hand)

But, it all depends on what you are looking for. The T7H fits my needs for portable use just fine.

[k0cmh]

I will throw in my pleasure with my FT-60. Although it is like most of the Yeasu radios with their menues and menues and menues, I feel it is a whole lot of HT for the money. And it is built like a tank. A friend dropped his from the top of his 30 foot tower onto moist soil. Luckily it did notl and on the anteena. He picked it up, wiped it off and it worked just fine. You would never know it took a tumble. And the FT-60 has a real belt clip that really holds onto things.

[n5tjd]

I have a Yaesu VX-7r. These things are small, but it fits in my large hands nicely. It's battery life is pretty good and it puts out 5 watts on 6m, 2m, and 70cm. Of course, I wouldn't expect to hear much on it's antenna on 6m, but... it is there. Very wideband rx. 0.5KHz - 999MHz, it works for me, but in an RF polluted area. If you turn off the sub reciever, it toughens it up considerably though.

[k9kjm]

First decide how much power you need. If a full 5 watts, Rule out the otherwise great little Yaesu VX2R.

The old Yaesu VX-5R was a great little radio, But had a kind of steep learning curve to program and operate.
The newer Icom T-90 is almost a clone of the old VX 5
(And a VERY nice radio) Much easier to program and operate than the VX 5............ # #(But watch out for Icom's prices on the accesories!!!)

If you can get by with 1.5 watts, The little shirt pocket Yaesu VX2R is a dandy!

[W6GQ]

Get the Kenwood TH-D7AG

[N1XHF]

I have an IC-T81A quadband that is a really nice handheld as long as you get the cell pack so you can add your own rechargeables. It's too bad Icom discontinued the T81A because it is a good built handheld with 2/6/440 and 1.2ghz.

[AK7V]

Kenwood TH-78A or TH-79A, used, are good deals.

[M3KCK]

I have a Yaesu FT-60 which is an Excellent Handheld.

It has 5 Watts as stated by others and also one of the Good things about it is that the Battery lasts a Good time! I had about an Hour and a Half on TX including about 2 days RX out of one Charge

The wide band RX on the Radio is also very good if you enjoy scanning ect,
It is a very Solid Radio and has some nice features and I would recommend it without hesitation.
Extended Mars/Cap TX mod can be found here http://www.ham.dmz.ro/yaesu/ft-60r.php
Read some reviews on eham.net http://www.eham.net/reviews....978aad9 (http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/4286?ehamsid=824e9dd31b707529dfc3595c6978aad9)
I would also recommend downloading the Manual from Yaesu as this will also give you a Good idea of the features of the Radio, The manual can be downloaded from here http://www.yaesu.com/downloa....n%2Fpdf (http://www.yaesu.com/downloadFile.cfm?FileID=1133&FileCatID=151&FileName=FT%2D60R%5FOperating%20Manual.pdf&FileContentType=application%2Fpdf)
Its always a Good idea to download a manual for any Radio you are considering to buy,
I Hope this Helps?
73
Regards,
Andrew M3KCK

[KC0IVY]

Hello, After having read all the posts, All the radios mentioned have good points, and are good radios.
But what you need to ask yourself is ,
What is my primary reason for buying an HT ?
What are you expecting it to do for you?
Will it be your primary radio?
Where do I expect to be using it?
How often?
What are my expectations for this radio?
Is it for EComm use?
Do you want dual band? ( You will for EComm use..)
What are the other battery choices for this radio?
Accessories available?
Those are just some of the questions you need to ask yourself before you go out and purchase a radio. I don't care if it's an HT or a Mobil rig, you need to define what it is your looking for, and why.
If you make your choices in radios, based on the philosophy that your life may depend on it, you will make the right choice.
Personally, the wife and I both have Icom W32A's.
We are also with ARES.
Make your choices carefully.
Gene

[n5gfx]

I got the Icom IC-T7H as my first rig and it's nice, durable and easy to use. The only dislike I have about it is it has fewer memory channels than I would have liked.

It comes with 100, and I live in the DFW area which has a huge number of published repeaters in the area, so it's a little cramped. Not that I'd use so many repeaters but being newish to this it'd be nice to have something I can scan them all on so I can delete the dormant ones as time goes on.

But for about $200 out the door I can't complain.