Hi all,
KB8HVF here. I am a grandfathered novice, but very new to the ham
radio world. My father decided to bring me along to all of the ham
classes for the novice level when I was thirteen. I took the test, and
passed the exam, but have since dealt with anything remotely related to
ham radio. I recently took an interest in listening to aircraft
communications at KRDU, and decided this would be a good reason to go
ahead and pursue the tech license. Last night I took the exam and
passed. As Christmas is upon us, everyone is hounding me about what I
would like as a gift. I thought a small handheld would be nice to keep
with me to listen and talk to the other hams in my area. I have been
looking at kenwood's equipment, specifically their TH-D7AG and TH-F6A
models. I also like ICOMs products specfically their battery life (if
they have a radio with tri-band let me know). What strikes me as
intersting is the APRS function the kenwood TH-D7AG has, but the TH-F6A
has the tri band capability. As I have said, one of my interests is
listening to air traffic ( know i don't need a license to do this . I
also enjoy hiking and camping (sounds like a date ad in the paper), and
thought the APRS feature would be nice to have in a radio. If anyone
can help me narrow down my choices that would be great.
Thanks,
Kevin

Hi Kevin

Congrats!

What to get is always a hard choice.

My personal view (probably very different from many others) is that
newer radios are actually worse off than older models in many cases. The
move towards a single RF broadband design with CPU/software selected
frequencies tends to make them more prone to interference (selectivity
issues). The manufacturers answer to these issues is then to often
reduce sensitivity or make a big thing about DCS! If I was looking at a
new device I would carefully sort through the RF performance specs
first. My rule of thumb is that if it hasn't got a few RF front end
(helical) cavities it isn't worth buying!

I'd suggest that if you are looking for something new, rank what
features are important to you and look up user reviews when you get a
shorter lost. You may end up having to make a choice based on features
rather than RF performance.

Personally I'd take an old IC202 (SSB txcv) on a camping trip if there
were no nearby rptrs. If I wanted FM I'd go for the old IC2A with a home
made PA. Both these radios are really low on DC power consumption.

Is APRS really that important to you whilst portable? A cheap laptop and
a sound card interface will also work well if you don't mind the extra
weight!

Apologies for not being specific.

Cheers Bob W5/VK2YQA


Kevin wrote:

Hi all,
KB8HVF here.

Hi Bob,
Well the APRS really isn't that important. I feel it would be more of
a toy that I would tire of really fast. As for what is important to
me, I am too new to really have any idea of what I might consider
important. This is also something I am trying to figure out Sorry
for the ignorance.
Thanks a lot
Bob Bob wrote:
Hi Kevin

Congrats!

What to get is always a hard choice.

My personal view (probably very different from many others) is that
newer radios are actually worse off than older models in many cases. The
move towards a single RF broadband design with CPU/software selected
frequencies tends to make them more prone to interference (selectivity
issues). The manufacturers answer to these issues is then to often
reduce sensitivity or make a big thing about DCS! If I was looking at a
new device I would carefully sort through the RF performance specs
first. My rule of thumb is that if it hasn't got a few RF front end
(helical) cavities it isn't worth buying!

I'd suggest that if you are looking for something new, rank what
features are important to you and look up user reviews when you get a
shorter lost. You may end up having to make a choice based on features
rather than RF performance.

Personally I'd take an old IC202 (SSB txcv) on a camping trip if there
were no nearby rptrs. If I wanted FM I'd go for the old IC2A with a home
made PA. Both these radios are really low on DC power consumption.

Is APRS really that important to you whilst portable? A cheap laptop and
a sound card interface will also work well if you don't mind the extra
weight!

Apologies for not being specific.

Cheers Bob W5/VK2YQA


Kevin wrote:

Hi all,
KB8HVF here.

Kevin wrote:

Hi all,
snip
thought the APRS feature would be nice to have in a radio. If anyone
can help me narrow down my choices that would be great.
Thanks,
Kevin


There are several good reasons that the Yaesu VX7R is the most popular
handheld ever (I think that's correct). The VX6R is also a solidly
built, well designed rig and a bit cheaper. I am buying a VX6R for my
daughter for Christmas. She likes the slightly smaller size.

Either one is a good choice from a feature perspective. That they both
handle multiple reps of the 6 foot drop to concrete floor test is also a
great reason to go with them.

tom
K0TAR

On Wed, 08 Nov 2006 22:12:56 -0600, Tom Ring
wrote:

There are several good reasons that the Yaesu VX7R is the most popular
handheld ever (I think that's correct). The VX6R is also a solidly
built, well designed rig and a bit cheaper. I am buying a VX6R for my
daughter for Christmas. She likes the slightly smaller size.

Either one is a good choice from a feature perspective. That they both
handle multiple reps of the 6 foot drop to concrete floor test is also a
great reason to go with them.

I'm exceedingly happy with my VX5R.

Tony