Handheld Transceivers Today

  I do not own one of the handheld transceivers as of yet, but I have been looking into them quite often. I have checked them out in the various catalogs I have such as, Universal Radio and AES Electronics. I have also been to the various manufacturer websites checking out specifications and any information I could  find. I have seen some that I am quite impressed with. I remember seeing a video online at one website where the Ham Radio Operator had it connected to a 2 meter quad beam antenna. For the small amount of wattage it did a pretty darn good job and got my attention.

 

Photo by Adambro. 

  Here is a link to Adambro s webpage http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Adambro .

   For myself I think choosing one is going to come down to the price, reviews and features. As my first look into the handhelds I went through my universal radio catalog. I like the Kenwoods, Yaesu and Icom Handheld radios. There are some other brands that I have looked at such as the Wouxun, Alinco and the Baofeng. These three tend to be a little lower in price, but don't seem to have as many features as the first three handheld radios. I like the option with some of them that have the integrated GPS built in them. Most of them cover the 144mhz 2 meter band as well as the 440mhz band. The Yaesu VX8R and VX8DR cover 6 meter, 2 meter, 222mhz and 440 mhz. Here is a link to universal radio for this model http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/ht/0008.html . Most of the handhelds put out about 5 watts and some have various settings to lower that amount down to .5 Watts. I also like the Alinco DJ-G7T handheld, because it covers the 2 meter, 440mhz and 1.2 GHz bands. The 1.2 GHz band seems to be a nice added band. Here is a link to it at Universal Radio http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/ht/1007.html . Another feature I like is being able to connect a larger antenna to the radio.

  Current ratings at Eham.net indicate that the ratings for the various manufacturers vary quite a bit. The Kenwoods, Icom, Yaesu and the Baofeng UV-5RB are right up there at a 5.0 rating for 2013. I see that Baofeng has come out with a new GT-3 handheld that is somewhat more colorful with yellow and black. The ratings, only a few seem to be pretty good from 4.3 to 5.0.   As far as popularity goes the Yaesu models are the most popular for 2013 followed by Baofeng and Kenwood.

Photo by Jim Hammer

  My final decision maker is obviously the price of the radio. The Yaesu handhelds are not to bad in price. They tend to be somewhere between $139 to $400 for the higher end model with more frequencies. My next choice is going to be the Kenwood radios followed by the Icom radios. Coming in close are the Alinco Handheld radios. The prices range from $90 to $140, which is not that bad. Once I save my pennies up I may invest in one even though I like those Yaesu handheld radios. I would advise anyone to check out the various manufacture websites as well as the dealers such as, AES Electronics, DX Engineering, Ham Radio Outlet and Universal Radio. There is just way too much information to cover at this time.

Communications Receiver

  I would just Like to say Thank You for reading and MERRY CHRISTMAS from Dan KC2YTI 73s. All comments are welcome.