Unless the memories can really replace the VFO, I doubt that I would find that practical. However, I guess I have now got an Idea why the modern HTs need so many memories …
You may be happy with the FT-65, I don’t think it fits my bill.
Perhaps if I could borrow one of the newish HTs (might ask around among the local hams), I might see if I could get along with that sort of thing. I would not want to buy one only to find I don’t like it after all, and have to find someone who might want it instead. Even in Germany there aren’t that many potential buyers.
Regarding the AA batteries - don’t read too much into that. The main thing is that I’d like to be able to run the radio from a second DC power source. Operational flexibility and all that.
Optional second sources: Battery eliminator, run from any 12V DC source
If you program all your simplex channels, all the repeater splits, and any extra stuff you might like into memories, you will never have to use VFO mode ever again.
My friend told me about modification of AA cells in battery box for FT60
Strip a little bit of lowest cell insulation and you can charge AA cells with battery box on the handheld. On the low part of body of ft60 there is contact
As stated above, the use of an external power source, whatever it may be, is more important to me than any extra battery box.
I’ve never stored much more than the calling frequencies and the band edges in the radio memory, as I much prefer to scan the band for any activity, and (see above) I hardly ever use repeaters. Hence I’ve never seen the need for many memory places.
Only a few radios have band edge scanning. Almost every radio has channel scanning. Store all simplex channels as memories and there you go. Far simpler than setting up edges, step size, make sure ctcss is off etc.
If external power is important, a Yaesu FT5D or an Icom IC D50 have it…And with walkies that have batteries between 2.5 and 3 amps, external power is usually not needed. This is just my personal opinion.
It is impossible to find new, simple dualband handheld. I never use wouxuns so I can’t comment. Only radio that meets your conditions is 20 or 30 years old
Maybe, standard c528. Check funkboerse.de. Did you try kleinazeige?
Yesterday, I turn on my yaesu ft-7. On/off switch, main tuning knob, band switch, mode switch, AF gain. Everything I need
My dauther is living in Lindau and she sometimes buy something for me
I don’t have one (perhaps someone else on this list has?) but based on what I believe your requirements to be - this option seems quite close and comes at a good bundle price at the moment. With the radio bundle shipped from Berlin, I believe:
It really depends on which country you are operating in on 2 m FM.
In HB9, scattered pager transmitters (even around 147 MHz, making filters useless) mean that using anything better than a stock rubber duck antenna will cause severe overload on modern direct-conversion radios like the Yaesu FT-5D.
I got so fed up with this that I now exclusively use an old-fashioned superheterodyne HT like the FT-60 in HB9, and I’ve never looked back.
I also swapped the original NiMH battery for a long-lasting LiPo pack.
putting your whole query into chatgpt purely for entertainment purposes to see what it said. It boiled it down to these options.
Given your list, I’d rank them:
VX-6R
Best match for the philosophy of the request.
Small, exceptionally rugged, straightforward, proper amateur radio, AA option, direct operation and no dependence on a computer.
FT-60E
Best replacement for the TH-75E.
It’s almost comically appropriate.
If someone handed you an FT-60 and your old TH-75E side-by-side, I suspect you’d immediately understand why I picked it.
Wouxun KG-UV9D Plus
Best if cross-band repeat and battery capacity matter.
Much more sophisticated and heavier, but it actually gives you some of the unusual things you asked for.
Alinco DJ-VX50HE
Best alternative if ruggedness/IP67 is the priority.
@G5CJA - that’s also a way of looking at the problem. Not that I necessarily agree with all the statements, and besides, some of the rigs mentioned above aren’t produced any more, but it has given me a few things to think about. Thanks to all for your input so far!
There’s an FT60 on ebay.co.uk with a new battery for £90. (not me selling)
The top rigs on the list appear regularly on eBay. Due to the unbelievable stupidity a tiny majority of my fellow countrymen exhibited by voting to leave the EU, you would probably be best buying from a vendor in the EU rather than the UK.
It is curious and at the same time surprising that equipment such as the FT-60 and the VX-6 are still sold in the USA but cannot be sold in Europe, I suppose due to some restriction.
Unfortunately, equipment wears out, in particular if you carry it outdoors, and stocks of spares tend to run out. Hence my original question.
Anyway, I’ve put some more thought in it, and I’ve had the occasion to inspect a few of the modern handhelds. Granted they were in the lower price range, but on the whole, I was not impressed. If you look for a “club telephone”, they may be all right, but I found them too awkward to operate in general, in particular if I wanted to use them to activate some interesting place.
Thus, considering what I found useful while being out and about, I have reworked my list of requirements. Here’s the new one I really do not wish to depart from:
Dual band handheld transceiver
must be available to buy in the EU
able to monitor a second frequency (and to mute it quickly) while working on one, and to display both (good for skeds)
quick switching between bands
Scanning in “frequency mode”
direct input of frequencies
analog squelch or at least access to squelch without diving in a menu (good for working weak stations)
easy adjustment of speaker volume
easy access to calling frequency and band edge memories, preferably without a menu
ditto for repeater offsets and input/output reversal
socket for an external power source
any programming software must run on Linux
I guess I have to live with SMA antenna connectors, and I suppose connectors for external speakers and microphones are pretty much standard these days?
I’ll keep looking, but perhaps I need to submit my list to the manufacturers .
VX-6R
FT-60E
Wouxun KG-UV9D Plus
.