So, even though I'm out of college and gainfully employed, I have maintained the stringent spending habits of college. When I got my license, I invested in a Wouxun KG-UV3D and a Diamond antenna for $150. This give me great range and great sound quality. Recently, I got a mobile antenna from my uncle for free and mounted it to my vehicle. When I did this, I wanted to get a radio that I could leave in my vehicle, but also one that didn't break the bank. For this purpose I got a Baofeng UV5R. I've only had it for a few days, but I'm very happy with it. Now, someone mentioned that VERO VGC is the manufacturer of the Baofeng radios, so I looked into them a little more. I found a 2m mobile rig on their site that had some pretty good stats (which are shown below). So, being the cheap bastard that I am, I sent off for a price quote. Came back at $140 + shipping. That's cheaper (by not so much) then the Yaesu FT-1900R, Icom 2200H, and Kenwood TM-281A. I'm all for giving a new product a try, but I usually like to get some research first. Not much is known about this radio. So, based on the specs of this radio, how does it seem to stack up to the others I listed (single band, entry level mobile radios).

Picture:


Specs:

Looks pretty cool.  Does VGC stand for Very Good Chinese?  

My first question would be, why does it have "Single Band" written on the pictures but the specs show dual band?

If you want a great little radio at a low price keep an eye out for a Kenwood TM-733a. It is dual band, has cross band repeat, and they work great, usually about 180 bucks on the used market.. Or if you can hold off just a bit the Wuxoun should be out soon.

If it is single band than the price is not all that great, if it is dual band then the price is pretty good. Baofeng had a lot of little problems when they first came out, the yahoo group really solved some of the problems. Unlike the other manufacturers the Chinese actually listen to what people want, and the problems they have and they seem to fix them very fast.

SOoooo that is who makes the 220 rig that Ed at Wouxun.us offers for $220+

interesting.  

Bro I am the Cheapest of CHEAP (gotta be, I have 5 kids)...anyways, if I were planning to spend $140-150 for a 2m rig, I'd try the Kenwood TM 281

YMMV!  Picollo just bought another-that's gotta say something?

remember QTHSwap

its giving the specs of all the radios. seems they use the same model number for all the freq's. when you order it probably has a drop down menu to pick the band you want.

Are you looking for a 2M only radio? If so, I think there are other choices in the price range, certainly if you're willing to look at used equipment there are more options.

Heck I've got a used 1802 that would fit the bill if you're interested. (I found after initially buying a 2M only rig, that I really wanted a dual band rig.)

I was offering this as another low cost, single-band mobile radio that might be perfect for a go-box with a 10A Lipo battery... I understand that new comers to the market are always viewed with a grain of salt, but with the popularity of the UV3R and other Baofeng radios, I think that this might be a good buy...

Serious question as I'm new to mobile radios (and radios in general): Why would you buy the Kenwood over the VCG? Is it because of brand loyalty/establishment? Or does the Kenwood offer better specs?

And as much as I'm cheap, I do like to buy new. As much as I like to trust what people say, I've been burned quite a few times by "Items are like new in box" that are beat to hell. And because of where I live, it's very hard to go and inspect things.

The thread title says "The Cheap Ham"....      errr...   I don't know any other kind....      

Well, those "specs" arent really specs, thats a "features" chart. I would like to see the reciever "specs" as in reciever sensitivity and selectivity etc.. Reviews would help alot too. I'd hate to order one only to find out it's an intermod monster!

I have the TM-281, and after getting it working today, I really really like it!  I had great tx quality, and great rx at about 20 miles from the repeater no problem.

Well, I got the email back with shipping quote, and it was $52 to ship, so it's now out of the running until a US dealer gets it. I'm still interest in it, but not for $200.

The choice of band is typical of the Chinese hand held units.

dont think id call it brand loyalty, more like redundancy for me. most of my gear is KW, it just happened that way. i have 8pin and RJ45 mics that will interchange. my 2m mobiles are all older 231 & 261 bought for less than 60 each. they work great. so why the 281 in addition to the above? because the 271 was a beloved radio and the 281 has made some great impressions as well-so far. itd prolly be hard to go wrong with anything from the big 3 when it comes to the 2m mobile

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if you watch the sales you can get an ft-1900 for under $150 shipped.
I have two and love them, one is in my pickup and one is in my "shack."
I still have a wouxun/ speaker mic/ 12v power adapter/ mag mount as my car mobile

Blackbox is selling the VHF and UHF versions under their brand name and they're Part 90 approved, so shouldn't be terrible.

For the OP, if you can wait 2 months the mid-May Dayton Hamvention sales are the time to buy radios.  Many of the sale prices and manufacturer rebates and coupons are available via online sales also.  As an example, last year the Yaesu 2m mobile was selling for like 119 I think, something like 50 or 60 dollars off the usual price.

The Vero dual band mobile and waterproof dual band handheld both looked pretty interesting to me, as well as the dual band no-display radio.  The single band no-display radio similar to the UV-3r would be ideal for cheap MURS radios, if they'd make a VHF version but it appears they only make that one in UHF.

Go to a hamfest and get namebrand Chinese radios.  I bought a used Yaesu FT2600m for $40.

I have the same hesitancy for used.  That said, I took a leap with a guaranteed working purchase of an amplifier via ebay.  This way I was able to use the HT for a base and reach out further.  $40 shipped for 80w was just too good to pass up.  I figured if it worked when I got it, that it was likely to keep working and that has paid off.

I like being able to use mid power on the HT to preserve the internal battery and still have a lot of power at the antenna using a small SLA for the amp.  Many amp power curves have higher efficiency with lower power, so half the HT power is only a slight drop off the amp output.

I always have the HT handy, but in town with a good 5/8 wave antenna I don't need mobile power.  When we travel away from town, I like the amp in our primary vehicle, and I like that it can be hidden and not a big loss if stolen.  It's fairly easy to move between vehicles with power cables in place.

I bought a Yasue 2900 for a base.  It had the most power (75w) and a similar menu to my HT.   I'm briefcase mounting the mobile so it will be base, Emcomm capable, and we can also take it mobile when needed.

I'd keep an eye out for used gear on QTH.  I've done a bunch of transactions with sellers there, and in many cases I was able to find gear locally that I could go check out before buying.  If you check frequently you can find some pretty good deals.
 

That thing looks like my Alinco