Hand held ham options

[Great-Kazoo]

Opinions on this Chi-com unit?

http://www.brickolore.com/2013/01/ba...pt-secret.html

[Shootersfab]

Just get the ham app for your phone Jim...........

[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...........

My $20 phone in a box


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-2...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.