Ive read with interest about getting a hand held unit.  I guess the days of BBC World News are gone forever.  My dad had an old jag and we would pick up BBC On the SW band.  Oh, well.

Anyway, ive got a bit set aside for a hand held. My office is line of sight to a busy airport, i live on Soucal.

So for eavedropping on airplane traffic, etc. what would a better radio be?  

I understand the Baofengs are stupid cheap, and some love them, some hate them, while the Yaesu ft60r is an aluminum, well made unit, easy to program, with a crappy antenna.  

I get that one costs under $40, the other is about $170.   Thats only one factor, though.  

Hand held guys, what do you use them for and which of these two would you pick, and why?

Yes, i plan to study up and get licensed before ever pressing to talk.

Thanks.

EDITEDIT

I swung by a local Ham Radio Outlet today, intending to buy a Yaesu ft 60r for $155.  The guys showed me an array of Yaesu, all the way up to iirc 399 or so.   He showed me a Kenwood for about $600, and said it was basically the pinnacle of capabilities in a hand held, for guys really into radio who don't want a separate base unit.  

The main difference I picked up on was dual listening capacity on the higher end units, and they are both analog and digital capable?

Here's my question.  I want to buy once cry once, not be jonesing for something better in six months.  I asked him if I bought the 60, what would I wish I had from the other ones first, and he said the ability to listen and talk on one channel while listening to another.  

Is that something I will want?  Frankly, it sounds confusing.  

I signed up for the test July 8, and bought a book to study.  

Help me choose?

The Yaesu is a better choice, but neither will receive commercial "air band" as it is AM not FM.

The UV-5R (most common Baofeng) is FM only, so it's not going to pick up air traffic. It doesn't advertise airband frequency coverage.
Other Baofengs might do AM but I'm unaware which ones that would be -- certainly not the most popular one.

The FT-60R has air receive out of the box. It's the buy once/cry once radio and will last a long, long time.

My FT-60R does AM on the airband,

The FT-60r is kind of like a glock of ham radio.  They just work.  
Baofeng on the other hand is like the bic pen of ham radio.  
Both have their place but what would you rather have? Something that just works or something that works but is disposable.  

My bic pen goes into situations where the potential loss of radio is expected.

Would you pick up a $5 pair of shoes from Walmart or a $50 Nike from a shoe store?

As far as I know, Baofeng won't receive Air Band AM but FT-60 will. FT-60 is built to a far better quality standards.

I use a Kenwood TH-F6A to listen to Air Band and often use it to talk to my cross-band repeater. The radio has multiple power out levels with the lowest setting of 0.05 Watts. This makes the battery last for a very long time. It can also receive on all HF bands as well, ssb included. The radio costs twice as much as the FT-60.
I also have two ID-51A radios that my wife and I use a lot. The radios have GPS installed and tell me exactly where the other radio is (distance, heading, elevation etc) When used in D-Star digital mode, an average Joe with a fancy scanner cant listen to our traffic. Obviously it has Air Band as well as FM radio and will RX on many other bands.  Each radio costs almost 3 times as much as FT-60.

Brand name radios are not cheap but they are built well, have lots of functions and most are water proof. You get what you pay for.

As many have said, the baofengs are cheap and for a reason.  I have several and consider them all disposable (after I strip them of battery, antenna, belt clip).

I like to ask "what are you going to use it for" before answering "what should I buy" questions.  It seems like you're wanting to listen to air-band at your local airport and eventually do some ham operating.  So look at the capabilities of the equipment.

The things you want to look at are modes, bands, and wattage.  For air band, you need AM mode, for ham on handhelds, you need FM.  The bands you want to be concerned with are Air band receive(air band is 108-137Mhz), 2m and 70cm (most commonly) sometimes 1.25m, but not as often (it's location dependent).  Wattage out of a handheld is generally only 5W.  Some of the baofengs claim 8W, but test out below that).  Some handhelds have less power.  For listening, power doesn't matter.  For repeater use 5W is generally plenty (especially with an antenna upgrade which is a whole other thread).  

I carry a Yaesu VX3r when I travel mainly because of the air band receive.  It's also small.


In your position, given the air band receive requirement, I'd lean towards the FT-60r.  You can find them online for $155ish.

Thanks. There's a ham radio outlet store on my commute that has them for $155 ish.  

I think I will do that, but understand I will need a better antenna.  What am I looking for in a replacement antenna?

Thanks again.

I have 2 of the FT-60's.
You cannot go wrong getting that radio.
My older FT-60 will charge with DC plugged in the side, newer one does not .

I would recommend the Comet NGC-24 antenna.
Very flexible, and good range.
I have the one with the BNC connector, you can get one with an SMA connector, but I like to change antennas.
I hook to my roof top vertical at times, makes it easy with the SMA to BNC adapter on the radio.

antenna:   http://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-001419

adapter:   http://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-009346

Another +1 on the Yaesu. It's a much much better radio and bullet proof.

Can't offer an opinion on aftermarket antennas.

get the FT-60, it's a fine rig

the baefengs are junk

.

I paired a Diamond SRH77CA with my FT-60.  I've been pleased with its performance.

https://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Original-SRH77CA-Dual-Band-Handheld/dp/B00K1JJWFO?tag=vglnk-c102-20

This is my exact setup as well. It compares surprisingly well with my rooftop dual-band for monitoring the
local sheriff, and of course blows the rubber duck that comes with the FT-60R out of the water.

Update in first post after "edit".


Seems like the 60 is the way to go?  I had some questions after looking at several.

multiple radios is always better than one bit package.

No dual receive on the $155 radio so he's selling you a $400 radio?  Just buy 2 $155 radios.

Digital is cool and all, but consider your requirements.  The sales guy is doing his job upselling you.  And if, after doing research on digital modes in common use from HTs in your area, that's something you want, go for it.  But also look at the cost of a separate digital radio instead of an all-in-one.  

And you asked "is that something I want".  if at some point you're doing emergency communications, it might be nice to have a radio that you an listen to while using another radio.  But in that case, I'd want them to be separate radios.  

The Baofengs have dual receive and it's good for monitoring 2 channels at once.  But you know what else is good for doing that?  Programming 2 frequencies into a scan group on your yaesu and scanning it.

Or hell.... buy an FT-60r and a baofeng (buy a pair in case one craps out)

You called
Attached File

Don't get sucker'ed into buying a $600 HT

I've been a ham since 1993, and use an HT . . . . well,  . . almost never.

get the FT-60

save that hard earned money for a 50 watt mobile, or better yet, an HF rig.

I wanted to use a 1911 as a reference to the 60, but I thought it would go over too many heads.
Oh, and BTW, I dont own a Glock, but I do own a 60 and a couple 1911's.

Actually, the sales guy showed me the 60r and told me he sells more than any other model.  He said it was everything i could want starting out.

I asked about the incremental price increases, and what the difference is.  Magnesium body and totally waterproof is nice, but i dont envision much rough terrain with mine.

So i asked what i would "miss" on the 60r, and he said listening to one band and listening to another i can transmit on. I get the ability, i just dont see my self using it.  

Thanks for the input.  Im studying for my exam now.   Test is in about a month.

I also agree on a Ht from the big 3.  Yaesu, icom,or kenwood.  Look at how much the replacement batteries are for the ht.  I have 3 yaesu ht's now, vx3r,vx5, and a vx7.  I use the vx3r 95% of the time..    1.5w output is enough if i need it.  but i listen 99.5 % of the time.  the replacement batteries are like 6 dollars each..  Battery and Charger  

Elmer taught me a good tip for yaesu HT's.  If you leave the battery in a yaesu ht it will drain it.  if you are going to storebit for a while pull the batteries..    

HT's are usefull but after a while will collect dust..   Get a good one that will last you..

Forgot to add..  Keep an eye on craigslist in your area..  Might pick up a good deal.  Picked up my vx7 with prog software.  The prog cable will work on most yaesu radios but will need different software.  

I am very happy with Bob Freeth prog software.  Good price..  Bob Freeth Software  

Prosise

This.

I'm an old geezer. I don't find HT's really all that useful outside of local FM repeaters and maybe satellites. YMMV. I've looked at the Kenwood TH-D74A at HRO. $600!!!!!  Yikes! That'll buy you a very nice VHF\UHF mobile and antenna or a fair way to a nice HF rig. Granted neither will fit in your pocket. I have an old Kenwood TH-G71 that I paid way too much for some years ago. It's primary role is now as a really expensive NOAA weather radio. 

The Yaesu will be plenty. A better (more power) VHF\UHF radio and better antenna will lead to more VHF\UHF fun. Even better if it's all mode (SSB and CW.) Don't forget that a Technicians license doesn't restrict you to 2m FM. There's a whole world of VHF\UHF to explore with all modes, arguably much more fun than FM. Find an old Kenwood TR-9000\9130 or better yet a TR-751A or an ICOM IC-275 and have fun with 2m SSB. Plus you've got all of 6m and some of 10m so think about HF gear.

Don't get sucked into the dead end of 2m\FM\HT.

 Good luck on the test. There's way more to Amateur Radio than 2m\440 FM and HTs. Way more.

You'll kill it.  If you're asking this many questions now, you'll destroy that test.

Going for General as well?  (do it... you know you want to)

I DO want to.   Think it's feasible to study for both at one time in a month?  

I'm pretty good at test taking.

The tests are VERY easy. There are no more Morse code tests many of us had to pass.  My wife had very little clue about radios and electronics in general.  She read the Technician Study Book for several nights and passed the Technician test with flying colors.
Just get the Gordon West's General study manual and pass both. It does not cost any extra to pass both tests as long as you do this during the same session.

I studied for about a month and passed both tech and general. I took practice tests daily and watched the Dave Casler KE0OG Technician and General guide videos on YouTube. The videos helped me a lot in retaining the material.

You can buy an older scanner on ebay for $15-20 that will cover airband.  That way you won't be tying up your HT to listen to airplanes.   Then you can listen to the air and ham stuff at the same time.

2m\440 seems dead in the DFW area. Not sure how it is in your area.  Most of the time there isn't much on these bands.

For air band, consider a short wave radio like one from CountyComm. You can get the ham bands as well. So for $60 or so you can listen and see if interested.  You may have some good DX into Japan from the west coast.

I have the West book for Tech and am blasting through it. A lot of it is pretty intuitive, and the format is really logical.

I'll pick up the General book tomorrow and work my way through that one, too.  I understand there is some overlap.

Alot of guys go straight to general. You can take all 3 tests in one session if you want, pass tech, then you can take general. FWIW I missed extra by like 2 weird regulatory questions when I did it. And there was another guy who went straight to extra, and two other newly minted generals in my class along with 3-4 new Techs.

I blasted through all the test questions for tech in the Gordon West book.  

Now I have to hit it again and start concentrating on weak areas.    Mostly the component diagrams and the ohm/ VCR calculations.

I will pick up the general book this week and start alternating between the two.

This appears pretty do able, especially if I can get away from wanting to ace it versus comfortably pass it.

I took six practice tests last night and would have passed them all.  

Amazon just shipped the general book.  Should have it tomorrow night.

Good. Also ask away if you have questions. General is harder than tech but not by much. Extra otoh....

Yes, Baofeng's are inexpensive and Chinese-made, but my buddy dropped one from 50ft onto rock and only broke the antenna (dropped it climbing).  Those things are surprisingly compact, tough, and have a lot of out of the box capability.  They also run a long time on a battery charge.   No they aren't a Yaesu, but to be fair there is a reason Baofeng's are popular.

Yes, cheap and and not too shitty has an appeal all its own...

I've found the NA-771 antennas from Nagoya seem pretty good, if you get a real one, and not a counterfeit.  Usually around $10'ish.

If you get the UV-B5 model it has a good antenna that comes with the radio vs having to buy one.

I started with a Baofeng.
Had it all programed for the local repeaters.
Then studied about 6 weeks and took all three exams at one sitting.
Dedicate the time to study and it can be done.

I got into ham radio for local practical communications.
Because of that I tend to collect HT's.

As I learned more and more I picked up a Icom IC-T70A sport because I can run it on AA batteries.
Then got interested in APRS so picked up a Kenwood th-d72a.
Thought I needed a higher power mobile so got a Kenwood TM-D710 with APRS.
OK, what is this digital stuff?  I collected yet another radio that does D-Star, Icom ID-51A+.
Oh, now there is a radio that does 3 bands, APRS, D-Star.  

It seems to be a sickness.

Suggest starting with the Baofeng and see what others in the area are using and decide on what may interest you.
The  Yaesu ft60r I hear would be a good starter radio that you can possibly get air frequencies on.

From there see what others are using and decide if that is important to you.

I still use all of my radios depending on what I'm doing at the time.

You can get AA (or sometimes AAA) battery cases for most HT's... I have them for my Kenwood TH-K2AT, Yaesu FT60 & VX170, Baofengs, Wouxun KGUV2D.  Need to put 1 dummy battery in the Baofeng case, but the upside, is that you can run with 6 partially dead AA's if you need to.

HRO has deep dished pricing on the FT1XD.  If there are still any left this is not a terrible choice for $239.  You get dual band receive, APRS with builtin GPS, and C4FMA if that's your thing.  It's not waterproof, but it is advertised as meeting some water resistant standard.  Oh and it comes with the programming cabe and it works with Chirp.

Sudboy