Posted: 5/3/2017 1:59:25 AM EDT
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I've had two FT-60's over the last few years and liked them. I still have my last FT-60.
Today I received an FT-65. Does anyone else have an FT-65 and if so, does it seem "different" to you? Maybe I'm looking at it wrong, but it seems cheap and I DON'T like programmable squelch levels. This is made in china whereas my FT-60's were made in Japan. Just seems the bridge between Yaesu and Baofeng might be getting shorter. I will most likely return this radio and exchange it for another FT-60 or put it toward a mobile radio. Are the new FT-60's also made in China now? i had hoped this would be an updated FT-60 with a different battery system because of the lithium battery but it isn't. Thanks |
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All the single band HT's and Mobiles are made in china now. I think the brand new FT60's are made in china, too. I noticed the FT60's used to be about $180, now they've come down to $150 or so. I have two FT60's, One from 2008, one from... well, not sure when, but they're both made in Japan. 8M921xxx is the serial of the one I have on me.
You can get LiIon batteries for the FT60's. $30'ish or so on fleabay, and there are drop in chargers too. |
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I got one a few weeks ago. I think it's great! There are a deluge of negative comments about it on the zed from old curmudgeons who reflexively hate anything new.
It's a good radio. Programming it was easy. It's a nice size, and has a modest feature set geared towards utilitarian entry level usage. I like the ability to add a second line to the display to show the channel alphanumeric name and the frequency. The one button access to NOAA weather channels is nice too. And the receiver is broad enough to pick up the county dispatch. Most of the objections to this radio seem to be from people that don't own one or don't plan to own one. I wish Yaesu would have used a speaker/mic connection in common with one of their existing radios, but that isn't really a fault of the radio by itself. It's only a problem when you want to be thrifty and use one programming cable or mic for different models. |
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That was the consensus on QRZ that it was a little closer to a baofeng construction than a traditional yaesu/kenwood HT.
IMO, it's pretty tough to beat the FT60 for a basic radio, but i'd be willing to bet that most people buying new basic HTs will be looking in the $50-70 range for chinese radios. |
 Universal Radio presents the Yaesu FT-65R Amateur hand held transceiver Interesting My FT-60 is made in Japan I don't use an HT much, but I really like the FT-60 Is that a flashlight LED on the front ?----EDIT yep Hope they dropped the stupid W.I.R.E.S. feature 
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