Hand held ham options

[Great-Kazoo]

Opinions on this Chi-com unit?

http://www.brickolore.com/2013/01/baofeng-uv-b5-best-kept-secret.html

[Shootersfab]

Just get the ham app for your phone Jim...........
[Flower][gohome]

[RedDogFabrication]

I am a big fan of the uv5r I have two and love them.

[Great-Kazoo]

Just get the ham app for your phone Jim...........
[Flower][gohome]

My $20 phone in a box [ROFL3]


Here are a few more, including price jump.

http://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-007323

Of course this one needs an antenna and 12V power source

http://www.mtcradio.com/kenwood-tm-281a-144-mhz-mobile-with-free-shipping/

[zteknik]

Personaly never have used one,but have heard from quite a few active hams it's an awesome unit for the price.
The best thing is it is a dulal bander.I don't know if it is cross band repeater capable like some of the high end units.
If I have any extra coin I would like to get one to keep in my pack with some spare batteries.

Eta- in response to jim's first post.

[zteknik]

Yasue's are decent units.
As far as Kenwoods I hear from some old timers that they burn out finals quickly.
But I have seen them run fairly well in LEO use and ambulances,so it could be the difference with civvy models as opposed to the.gov ones.

[cmailliard]

Baofeng UV5R, cheap, easy to use, tons of refernce material online. Can't go wrong with these Jim.

[RedDogFabrication]

UV5R batteries are cheap too and lots of antenna options. Get a programming cable, and just be aware the software is finicky but works. You also do not have to unlock it to hit the upper 400 range like the GMRS/FRS range "technically illegal to transmit on those channels but it will hit them."

[losttrail]

Trying to get to the point of taking the Technician exam.

But one of my brothers sent me a Yaesu VX-5R with accessories. Seems to be a feature rich unit with good reviews even though it's a discontinued model. Can be had for <$200.

[Singlestack]

The UV-5R is what I have. Used it all day yesterday for situational awareness coms with BCARES at the Bolder Boulder yesterday. A steal for the price, and great for a first HT especially if you don't want to commit a lot of $$ (as I did) initially.
The accessories are pretty cheap, too. I recommend and upgraded antenna (Nagoya NA-771 is what I have) as the stock rubber duck is not good, the extended battery, and a waterproof speaker mic.Other accessories like the case are available. The UV-5R is a commercial radio and is very well supported with tons of users - join the Yahoo UV-5R user group. Although the stock manual is crap, there are revised manuals available that will work fine.

[Great-Kazoo]

Appreciate the info and tips given out. Looks like it's electronics today instead of components on the CC ;)

[asmo]

For the money I really like my wouxun kg-uv6d. It has some odd quirks but it sounds great.

[streetglideok]

Alot of guys are using the different chinese radios now. There are some issues with user friendliness on some models, and durability on others, but as long as you get them for a good price, why not? I wouldn't pay $145 for any of the hand held models. For that price, you can get into a yaesu ft60, which is built pretty solid. For $50-$80, maybe $100 if it is a kit, you cant get hurt.

[rondog]

"Hand held ham?" Oh no, I ain't goin' there.....