Yaesu FT60R

Has anyone got any info on the Yaesu FT60R HT. I am thinking of buying one for my first radio. Any ideas??
Thanks

KB1QNU
Bruced

 

Ft-60r

Hi - I picked one up at Dayton 2008. Limited use so far, but I'm VERY happy with it! Does all it's supposed to...
Ray

 

I've had one for a few weeks. I'm really happy with it. Holds a charge like a champ!

 

I have had one for a few years now and love it. It had tons of features and is rugged as heck. I have dropped mine a few times and it hardly has a scratch on it. Almost like new.

I think you will get a lot of comments about an HT not being the best investment for your first radio. Personally, I think you will be happier with a nice mobile unit (and if working from home, a power supply).

HTs are a lot of fun, but tend to be specialized for portable use on repeaters.

In any event, I do not believe you can go wrong with the FT-60R. My personal opinion is that it is a tremendous amount of radio for the money.

 

I've had mine about a year, great radio for the money, i have no complaints other than the factory antenna is OK at best, consensus from my research says go with either the Comet SMA24 (one i have) or the Diamond SRH77CA

i have directly compared the two antennas side by side on two identical FT-60's and the choice between the two is a tossup, either is a big improvement over the factoyr antenna

 

Ft-60r

I have 2 FT60R's I modded both of them to do GMRS also. It is a great radio. A tip though...get a good speaker mike. It makes operating easier and your audio is alot better. Great radio!! I agree with the other fellow ham that says to get a mobile. A mobile has much more power 50 watts instead of 5. It all depends on what you are looking for and how ya gonna use it. Every ham has an HT or 2. Welcome to the hobby and enjoy your new radio whatever one you choose.


SGT..................

 

I find that a good mobile is better than an HT as a first radio (I went with a VX-6 HT as a first radio, and I regret that). now, I hardly ever use my VX-6...I use my Icom 208H dual band mobile a lot more.

One of the things I do like is that the FT-60R has a knob for the squelch if I recall correctly.

A comparable radio that you might want to look at is the Icom IC-T7H sport. That's also a pretty good radio...and honestly, I'd rather wish that I had gone with the FT-60 or the Icom T7H instead of the VX-6.

If you are set on getting an HT, do get one with at least 5 watts of TX power. The mini HTs usually don't have that, and you might also want to download the manuals of HTs on your short list and take a gander at them...

KI4ZSZ

 

I've had mine for a couple of years and it is a great little radio. Has more features than I will ever use. I get good audio reports on the repeaters.
I use a mirage B 34 2meter amp to boost power to around 30 watts and a home brew J-Pole made from 300 ohm twin lead. The system is completely portable and can be packed in a suitcase for travel.
Good luck deciding on your first rig there are a lot of radios to choose from.
73
KI4NKA

 

Two buds of mine have the FT60R and are quite happy with it. I'm planning on getting one too or something similar. However.... I'm broke.

 

GMRS mod

Are you sure such modification is legal? I thought GMRS rigs had to be certified.

I have an FT-50R and a friend has the 60. The only thing I don't like about the 60 is that it doesn't have VFO duplex which is needed for working cross band repeaters. Other than that it seems to be a great radio.