Not publishing the manual is very strange. I certainly won’t buy “the cat in the bag” …
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Looks like another rebadged crapsheng/radsmel. Direct conversion receiver, chinglish menus, and buggy FW.
Why do people keep buying this trash?
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@G4TGJ - thank you for the links! At least, I know now that the GS-10B is not what I am looking for. Too many features in too small a package, and it appears to be just as cumbersome to use as many others. Better a few buttons and knobs more and fewer gimmicks …
What about Icom or Alinco radios?
73, Martin
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My vote for something pretty simple to use and not too bad is the Yaesu FT4x (might be 4E in the EU)
Dual band, one button flips between 2 vfos and memories. direct entry keypad and quick up/down buttons.
Its basically the usual chinese circuitry but with a little additional filtering. Not enough for summits with strong interference but at the price it does a job and if it falls into a lake its not the end of the world.
Downside - feels a little cheap, male sma connecter on the radio which should be female in my opinion.
Mine goes everywhere, even thown in the car when I goto work.
Its nothing fancy, it works, its cheap.
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I have a Yaesu VX-6, nice FM handheld radio, 144,432 and also 50Mhz (1Watt) !!! Never has issues with it. Rain resistent. Weatherproof!! I use small triband handheld antenna Diamond SRH-940 for 50/144/432, or a dualband telescopic 2m/70cm RH-770 with a SMA-BNC adaptor for higher range QSO´s.
Another option is Yaesu VX-7R FM handheld, 144,432, 50Mhz , 5Watts but with the bonus you can listen two bands at the same time. Its my radio for VHF SOTA normally. No issues with esternal antennas and/or dualband small linear amplifiers like Tokyo Hy-Power HL-722d (FM only) and THP HL-724D (all mode FM/SSB) + a 4 elem Yagi giving me more coverage. I also use the telescopic RH-770 and the flexible SRH-940 for lower range QSO´s with the Yaesu VX-7R without problems..
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An old Yaesu FT60 would do most of that and it’s robust with a good reputation to say the least. It came out after the Vertex VX150 mono-bander which I have been using for SOTA for donkeys years and has similarities such as the same battery. I have fitted a 2.2 Ah Li-on - works great. They seem to be kind of Mil Spec but wouldn’t swear to that in court. Also they have the SMA but I’ve not had any issues with that as a BNC adapter is screwed on permanently. 73, John.
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My FT-65 was a bit pernickety today. Either that or my Gary Line(k)ar has an issue. If it is the former I will be distraught.
Best medicine for a broken FT-65 is to buy another one! 
Could be tempted by an FT-4X though. Seriously cheeky little scamps they are. Basically a smaller FT-65 more or less.
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You know the answer - get both 
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Two absolutely STONKING Yaesu radios? At this time of year? At this time of day? In this part of the country? Located entirely in my Savotta backpack?
SOLD! 
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I must say I love my FT65, it’s a great little rig, hasn’t let me down. Yes, I know it’s a direct conversion receiver, but so what? It’s good enough for SOTA-ing around N Wales & N England & I’ve some great results on occassion eg Snowdon/Yr Wyddfa to Darlington using a RH770 twig.
It’s easy enough to operate & at the moment I don’t need a handie full of bells & whistles. Just my three ha’pence of thoughts.
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Seems to me that if it’s small, it doesn’t have signal frequency filters. So will hear, or be affected by everything from DC to daylight. A larger HT with some filters on board may not let you monitor the airband, but will work better on the band where you need it to work.
My old IC V85 2m only HT still works fine and does not get affected by local broadcasters as much as other more “modern” aka cheap HTs.
The FT60 does nearly as well. but using a short antenna is better, always a clue to overload issues.
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For a comparison of several handheld transceivers, you can find a few in-depth reviews in QST here:
Look for the “Key Measurements Summary,” which focuses in particular on RF performance—an aspect often neglected in inexpensive devices packed with flashy menu options.
The key takeaway: Adding clever features to a microcontroller’s firmware is always much easier than designing an RF front end with robust large-signal performance.
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Bizarrely the FT-65 and Gary (Microwave Modules linear) worked fine today. It didnt work at first, then I connected my FT-290R to it and it sprang back in to life.
Connected the FT-65 again a bit later and everything was fine again. No idea what happened yesterday.
Then again, bands were really odd (for me) today despite being QRO. Walked away with a Kilo award and a CW QSO to Dominican Republic with my FT-891 and ATAS on 20m. Yesterday I was like this with 5W, KH1 and just a telescopic whip 
Radio, like football, is a funny old game (unless you are Manchester City… 
).
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(post deleted by author)
Upstate New York? 
Down the road in GW during the great storm of 2024.
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I hope you bought one Jan @DL2LFH. This thread marches on, and it’s nearly 2027.
I was on Orkney at this time & saw sod all…
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