looking at these two HH and would like to know if anyone can give me some feed back on these..

We are looking for a good HH to take back packing and  to listen

thanks

Kenwood TH-d72


But if you are stuck on Yeasu checkout the FT-1dr. All the features as the two you are looking at plus digital voice.

Thanks  for the reply
I looked at the ken wood  looks like a  good unit
I will check it it out plus the FT-DR is worth looking at

thanks
Bill

Would you use the features of the 8 over the 6?

There is also the Kenwood TH-F6 which gives you a full 5w on 1.25m.

+1 on TH-F6a. I bought one primarily because of it's battery type and capacity and the price was reasonable. It can also receive shortwave AM and sideband. HRO will rpbably have specials on them in a few weeks.

I would want a water proof radio like a vx-7

The VX-6R is waterproof.

As is the 8dr in the proper configuration. "Submersible," though I wouldn't test it.

I have an 8GR, and I like it for APRS. That said, the 6 would have been my choice if APRS wasn't a requirement for me. If I had it to do over again, I'd do the 8DR. (Because the DR has the ability to mount the GPS antenna in the handmic, remote from the radio itself. Occasionally I have a hard time getting a GPS location on my GR.) Or, I'd do a 6, and add a whole separate radio for APRS.

I've never used a non-Yaesu radio, but thus far no one has really made much of a case for why I should, other than for the sub $100 Chinese options. Then again, there's nothing I can think of that makes Yaesu stand out either.

I just bought the FT1DR today.

For the price, I'd go with the Yaesu FT-1DR.

You get 5W out on 2m/70cm, you get full APRS, and you get a cool digital mode.  The only reason to go with any of the other radios in this thread is if you have a pressing need to be on 1.25m.  In that case you get the Kenwood TF-F6A

Wow yeah agreed about the FT-1DR. I didn't realize the price was so low. I don't know if I ever saw the price or not, but I thought I remembered MSRP being 500+. For 300ish, I'm very tempted right now.

The only real downside to System Fusion (Yaesu's digital mode) is that it doesn't have much infrastructure yet.

The only reason I recently bought the VX-8DR over Yaesu's other offerings was the fact that you can send very short email & text messages with it via the APRS network. If you're looking to save some money look for a used VX-8R, it does virtually everything the VX-8DR does with the exception of couple different APRS settings, that unless you're a hardcore APRS guy, you'll never miss.

I have a VX-8DR and it's got a lot of features in a small package. It's kind of my "sunday-go-to-meeting" HT. Honestly I don't use a lot of the features. The text via APRS feature is intriguing, though.

Things I like:

- true dual receive. The thing has 2 separate receivers, so it can monitor (for instance) the simplex call freq and a repeater. Using stereo ear buds, it plays each channel in a different ear. The downside is, it burns through batteries much faster since it's powering 2 receivers.

- small, waterproof package. I installed a high capacity battery and the package is still very compact

- Dedicated AM receive with bar antenna.

- Available AA Alkaline tray. Great for SHTF.

- Wide band receive (though it lacks SSB and CW modes; a colleague's Kenwood can do both of those)

Things I don't like:
- propietary speaker mic will run you about $60. I tried adapting a cheap baofeng unit but failed.

- no dedicated volume knob. (or squelch), it's difficult to adjust either one-handed

- Very small buttons

- Lengthy charge cycle. I got a drop-in fast charger, which works really well

- Complex menu structure. It took me a while to become proficient with this thing. I still have to refer to the manual for things I don't use very often

Things that are indifferent (for me anyway):
- 4 band operation.  I've never used the 6 m or 1.25 m bands in anger

- GPS operation. I think that would be very useful for a SAR team running APRS, and suspect it would burn through batteries pretty quickly.

I'm just read this post. I don't know a lot about this, but I thought it interesting that Yaesu came out with a digital mode shortly after their very brief partnership with Motorola. I could be completely wrong but it seems like System Fusion has some similarities to P25.

FT-60 and spend the rest of the money on HF  

I have a VX-8DR that I use as my primary HT. I like APRS... my family can see wherever I am at any time, and it's far more reliable in rural Washington state. Of course, my Spot II supersedes APRS for tracking purposes. I have also used the text messaging capabilities... you can send a short text message to an email address and receive a short text message... very handy when out in the boonies far away from cell coverage. I've set up power cables for all of my HTs with an SAE connector so I can plug them into the battery tender adapter on my motorcycles or ATVs (and can plug in other things, e.g., cell phones or GPS through 12v/USB adapters, etc). I also have a modified solar panel that puts out 2A at 13.8v, with an SAE connector, so I can charge things from the sun.

What's nice about the VX-8DR versus, say, a VX-7 or another HT is that you don't have to dedicate it to APRS... you can have vox conversations on it also. My previous APRS HT was my Icom T90A with a TNC and the appropriate cables... it worked but was cumbersome.

I like the VX-8 because my mobile is an FTM-350R and it's nice to get a distance and bearing on the other radio. I have three different HTs now because I acquired them organically (unplanned), and am thinking about standardizing on the VX8-GR for my wife and son, and selling the VX-7R and T90A. That way, we can find each other if we're within simplex range, or utilize the APRS network if we're not. I do wish Yaesu had given the opportunity to use the TNC in the VX-8s for packet radio... I can see how packet radio and the HF digital modes like PSK31 would most likely be the common modes after SHTF... and of course there's also the option of CW sending and receiving/decoding via sound card.

I think I am gong to go with a portable base unit and like a FT 897D and getting a HH
SO far I have been looking at the FT817, FT 857 and  FT 897d as a good base unit that I can take set up pretty much anywhere  and get a good HH to carry in my bag.
thanks for all the inputs  form everyone

I have the FT-897d for my base and an ft_60r and vx6r for my portables.  I love the combination.

The FT-1DR will also do this.  and not only over APRS but over their digital (I'd say DPRS but not sure if that's an Icom (TM) or not) signal as well.

+1 on Kenwood TH-D72A

Love the APRS setup, 1200 and 9600 baud tnc, the GPS extremely fast and accurate (better than my garmin etrex handheld, and even receives a signal inside), and the full duplex is nice for satellites.  Sky command is awesome if you have kenwood HF equip to go with it.

I picked up a wouxun HH thIs afternoon  I am going to replace the antanna with a SMA-24j.  I hope to go to Orlando in Feb and see what there hav there at ham fest