[Yaesu] Re: HT dilemma-HELP!
Edwin W. Senior
[email protected]
Wed, 18 Jun 2003 11:26:55 -0700
Hi John -
I recently went through a similar process, and ended up
with a TH-F6A. I find it has major strengths and only
minor drawbacks, so I'm quite happy with it. BTW,
I had an IC-T90A in the house; but I returned it unopened
after I downloaded the manual and discovered its
horrific (for me) power supply limitations.
Some specific TH-F6A comments:
1. You say you're looking for a tribander; and all of
its 3 bands are on your acceptable list. But you ding
it for not being a QUAD bander with 6m transmit.
This seems inconsistent to me. But I guess the
feature rich VX7 has 3-1/2 bands, depending on
how you count the low-power 220.
2. You say the F6A has a "terrible stock antenna,"
which I assume is something you concluded from
reading eHam reviews. I can't speak for other
examples, but MY F6A has the BEST standard
duckie I have ever come across. It basically
matches the best aftermarket duckies, on its
design bands: 144, 220, and 440. In this location,
I can hit well over 100 repeaters with it on "H"
power, and almost that many on "L" power.
The only shortcoming that I see is that it's poor
as a wideband scanner antenna. My Diamond 77
is much better receiving TV audio, for example.
3. You say that some eHam reviewers have complained
of "low transmit audio." This has not been a problem
for me. All my reports have been good.
4. You say the F6A has only two power settings,
which is incorrect. It has three: "H," "L," and "EL."
"H" is rated at 5W from either the battery or external
power. "L" is rated at 0.5W with the battery, or
2W with external power. "EL" is rated at 50mW
with battery, or 500mW with external power.
I have had absolutely no complaints or problems
with these choices.
MY complaints are these:
A. You can't use either the standard belt clip or the
slip-fit carry case when using the AA battery pack.
B. I would like to see the F6A made enough bigger to allow
a SIX-AA pack (for emergencies), vs. the four-pack
that it has. This would also allow for bigger buttons
and a bigger speaker, which it could use.
C. The programming cable is terminated in the wrong
connector to hook up to your PC. Their explanation
for this is that the right connector wouldn't have
enough room for some circuitry that they put in the
connector shell, and that you can "easily" go out
and buy a connector adapter! Is that lame or what!?!
And it wasn't so "easy" coming up with the adapter,
although I eventually found one.
This post is already long, so I won't comment extensively
on what I LIKE about this rig; but here are a couple of things...
A. Good power supply setup (except for only 4 AAs).
B. Excellent receiver for its type, better than my 10X
bigger IC-2720H mobile rig! True dual receive,
wideband coverage, few birdies, excellent AM band
antenna.
C. Excellent programming, with alpha tags!
D. Built-in VOX!
E. There are more...
73, Ed W6LOL
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Tue, 17 Jun 2003 09:01:57 -0700 (PDT)
> From: John Geiger <[email protected]>
> To: [email protected], [email protected],
> [email protected]
> Subject: [Yaesu] HT dilemma-HELP!
>
> Thinking about getting myself a multiband HT as a
> Father's day present (now a late one-due to the
> dilemma) since it is my first father's day as an
> actual father, and with a new baby in the house it
> might be awhile before I get to buy any other
> equipment. I currently own an Icom T2H, which is a
> great performer, and has very long battery life. Like
> it, but would like something with a couple of other
> bands, and something a little smaller. I will be
> using this HT mainly for bicycle mobile work to and
> from work, and around town. I don't use a
> speaker/mic, or portable antenna or anything like
> that. Just hold the HT and talk on it.
>
> I am looking for an HT that does 2, 440, and at least
> 1 other band. I also want it to at least receive on 6
> so I can monitor for band openings from work. I want
> AM broadcast receive, FM broadcast, and TV receive.
> So far, I have narrowed down my choices to 3 HTs: The
> Kenwood F6A, The Yaesu VX7R, and the Yaesu VX5R. I
> ruled out all Alinco HTs due to lack of 6 or 222
> coverage, and broadcast AM receive. I ruled out the
> Radio Shack HTX420 due to narrow receive, although it
> is a pretty good HT. I had one for a few days. I am
> ruling out the Icom T90 because according to the QST
> review, it looks like it has very low speaker output.
> I need something loud enough to hear over traffic,
> barking dogs, etc. Maybe somebody with a T90 can
> convince me that this isn't the case. The Yaesu VX2R
> looks promising, but am waiting on that one to get a
> little more feedback. It would be nice to have 5 or 6
> watts as an option at times also, although the T2H
> does OK on 1 watt while mobile and sometimes in the
> house (have steel siding).
>
> So, between those three, here are the faults of each,
> as I see them:
>
> Kenwood F6A-no 6 meter transmit, terrible stock
> antenna, possible low transmit audio (according to
> eham), only 2 power settings-5 watts, which drains the
> battery, and 500mw, which can be useless
>
> Yaesu VX7R-AM broadcast receive not as good as F6A,
> due to lack of ferrite bar antenna, low power on
> 222-but doable during contesting from the Mountain top
> here, possible transmit audio problems (per eham), no
> SSB/CW receive
>
> VX5R-only single receive, AM broadcast receive not
> good, no 222, possible transmit and receive audio
> problems (per eham). I have thown this one in because
> there are some good deals on used ones now.
>
> So, I am sure others have faced this dilemma, how did
> you resolve it? Did you like your choice, or do you
> now wish you went with the other HT instead? Any
> comments good or bad about any of them. I kind of
> miss having 6 on the F6A,but at least it can be used
> for monitoring band openings. Wish some company would
> combine the VX7R and the F6A into one HT, and put a
> real antenna on it, I would get it.
>
> Also, I don't consider the 817 an HT for my purposes,
> and can't afford one right now anyway, so that is not
> an option. Thanks for reading through this long winded
> message
>
> 73s John NE0P
>