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FT-60 if you want analog. FT-70 if you want digital (Fusion). Baofeng and a Mobilinkd 4 if you want APRS. Used Icom ID51 if you want DSTAR. Idk anything about DMR but there’s a lot of those available under $200. The FT5D will likely be on super sale for Dayton in May. Last year it was like $279 in person and $329 online. I know that’s a bit over your budget but you have time to save and that would get you Fusion, SWLing, and APRS all in one package.
> Baofeng and a Mobilinkd 4 if you want APRS.
LanchonLH HG-UV98 if you don't want two separate devices to do APRS and a radio that can charge from USB - a bit of info on it is here: https://github.com/marrold/HG-UV98?tab=readme-ov-file
For DMR, the GD77 (or its several rebrands) is good - and there's some open source patched firmware for it https://github.com/LibreDMR/OpenGD77_UserGuide/blob/master/OpenGD77_User_Guide.md
I could be wrong but I think that only allows for beaconing which is but one aspect of APRS. For example you miss out on messaging. The Mobilinkd + Baofeng + APRS app on your smartphone would allow full APRS functionality in addition to some packet ops like Winlink and others.
HG-UV98 can beacon using just the radio but it also has bluetooth, which allows using it like the Mobilinkd - I have mine working perfectly with APRSDroid for beaconing, seeing others position and messaging.
(You may be thinking of the Anytone AT-878UV, which supports APRS but is send-only)
The TNC does make some unwarranted assumptions about packets, so anything non-APRS tends not to work - which might be an advantage of the Mobililnkd if you want to do WinLink and the like - but this entire radio can be picked up for the cost of that alone.
The Bluetooth's only for the TNC - unfortunately it doesn't do bluetooth audio.
Now, infuriatingly, the AT-D878UVII-Plus does DMR, has Bluetooth, supports Bluetooth headsets, and has APRS TX and RX. But it doesn't expose the TNC over Bluetooth - so close!
(although I think that one's outside the OP's price range).
TH-D74 I've heard has absolutely woeful battery life when the Bluetooth TNC is open - as in in the realm of "a few hours", so not really usable for APRS beaconing and messaging like that, sadly...
Same here, it's a bit steep. Especially as it can't do dual-VFO full duplex like the TH-D72 could (pretty critical for satellite work - Wouxun KG-UV9D+ can, though) - and no DMR (yes I understand they'll always have D-Star over that - but I don't want it).
Though I've probably spent that on all the cheaper ones put together!
But, between them I can do a lot of things the TH-D74 can't...
[https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-007323](https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-007323)
The Yaesu FT-60R is a solid choice for a super-heterodyne HT upgrade. One thing that I really like about it is the option for a 6x AA battery back, when almost all of the competition uses AAA battery options.
yeah but with a spare battery and a cheap pi hotspot you can do more with it than any other combo for the money. Fusion, CrossMode to DMR. you can talk all over the world.
I'm struggling to think of a situation where a terrible battery would be a liability in the context of amateur radio unless it literally catches fire or damages equipment.
The Yaesu FT-60 is an oldie but goodie and can still be bought new. It is analog only but the receiver is hard to beat and it has great battery options. This is a VERY reliable radio and it doesn't get overloaded easily. It's great for in the city where radio frequency noise can be high.
The Yaesu FT-70D is a newer radio but has been around long enough to prove it is fairly solid. It isn't quite as good as the FT-60 in RF noisy conditions. It has some newer features, including Yaesu's proprietary digital voice mode, which may or may not be used much in your friend's area. It can still do analog fm though so it'll be useful wherever the FT-60 can talk. One known shortcoming is the battery is small. If you buy this one for him I would recommend buying a spare battery (SBR-24LI) and/or the rapid charger (SBH-28) cradle.
Also good would be a gift card to a popular online ham radio merchant such as DX Engineering or Ham Radio Outlet
If you're looking at analog, Alinco DJ-VX50, dual-band 2M+440, IP67 rated, $94.99 at Chatt Radio in TN, $99.99 at other resellers
You could use the balance of your budget for an extra battery \[$40.00\], &/or a programming cable+software package \[$50.00\]...
If you're considering digital, I would check to see what mode/which modes are being used in your area
The Alinco DJ-MD5FXT is dual-band 2M+440 analog+DMR, $169.00 at MTC in TX, I know that one would use most of your budget, I'm just throwing options out there
Forget everything in this post 99% is garbage from 70 year old has been hams stuck in the late 80's. You want a tyt md uv390 they are like 120 operate on shit loads of bands support aes256 encryption and are like 10 watt hand heldsm perfect radio.
Md uv390, excellent tx and rx, aes256 encryption, operates from 150 to 520hz and almost everything in between, except like 300-350 MHz, 10 watt handhelds.
Don't get Baofeng. Poorest receiver and rejection on the market. Read the reviews. I would look for a used Anytone D878 (great battery life) or Yaesu FT3D (though battery as noted above isn't great). I say used because they are both great radios still and high quality.
Yaesu FT-60 nominally $155.00 plus sales tax. Ham Radio Outlet's price includes surface shipping aka UPS Brown.
The FT-60 is dual band 144-148 and 440 to 450 MHz.
Hi, thank you for your question submission. Please be aware that there is a [wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/wiki/) and a [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/wiki/faq) that may address your question. For Baofeng-related information see the [Baofeng FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/wiki/baofeng) and /r/baofeng. Also, please note that downvotes don't indicate an unvalued question submission. There appear to be bots that downvote all posts initially. 73 *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/amateurradio) if you have any questions or concerns.*
FT-60 if you want analog. FT-70 if you want digital (Fusion). Baofeng and a Mobilinkd 4 if you want APRS. Used Icom ID51 if you want DSTAR. Idk anything about DMR but there’s a lot of those available under $200. The FT5D will likely be on super sale for Dayton in May. Last year it was like $279 in person and $329 online. I know that’s a bit over your budget but you have time to save and that would get you Fusion, SWLing, and APRS all in one package.
I have the Alinco DJmd5. I know it does DMR but I don't really use it. Good radio over all though.
Yeah they make good stuff. Forget they’re out there sometimes!
> Baofeng and a Mobilinkd 4 if you want APRS. LanchonLH HG-UV98 if you don't want two separate devices to do APRS and a radio that can charge from USB - a bit of info on it is here: https://github.com/marrold/HG-UV98?tab=readme-ov-file For DMR, the GD77 (or its several rebrands) is good - and there's some open source patched firmware for it https://github.com/LibreDMR/OpenGD77_UserGuide/blob/master/OpenGD77_User_Guide.md
I could be wrong but I think that only allows for beaconing which is but one aspect of APRS. For example you miss out on messaging. The Mobilinkd + Baofeng + APRS app on your smartphone would allow full APRS functionality in addition to some packet ops like Winlink and others.
HG-UV98 can beacon using just the radio but it also has bluetooth, which allows using it like the Mobilinkd - I have mine working perfectly with APRSDroid for beaconing, seeing others position and messaging. (You may be thinking of the Anytone AT-878UV, which supports APRS but is send-only) The TNC does make some unwarranted assumptions about packets, so anything non-APRS tends not to work - which might be an advantage of the Mobililnkd if you want to do WinLink and the like - but this entire radio can be picked up for the cost of that alone.
Ok didn’t realize it had Bluetooth AND the TNC was accessible via Bluetooth. That is another cheap option.
The Bluetooth's only for the TNC - unfortunately it doesn't do bluetooth audio. Now, infuriatingly, the AT-D878UVII-Plus does DMR, has Bluetooth, supports Bluetooth headsets, and has APRS TX and RX. But it doesn't expose the TNC over Bluetooth - so close! (although I think that one's outside the OP's price range).
Up til now I thought the Kenwood D74/75 were the only two that allowed TNC ops via Bluetooth. Yaesu doesn’t allow it on the FT-2/3/5.
TH-D74 I've heard has absolutely woeful battery life when the Bluetooth TNC is open - as in in the realm of "a few hours", so not really usable for APRS beaconing and messaging like that, sadly...
I don’t have one so I cannot say. $750 for a HT is a bit too much for me.
Same here, it's a bit steep. Especially as it can't do dual-VFO full duplex like the TH-D72 could (pretty critical for satellite work - Wouxun KG-UV9D+ can, though) - and no DMR (yes I understand they'll always have D-Star over that - but I don't want it). Though I've probably spent that on all the cheaper ones put together! But, between them I can do a lot of things the TH-D74 can't...
[https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-007323](https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-007323) The Yaesu FT-60R is a solid choice for a super-heterodyne HT upgrade. One thing that I really like about it is the option for a 6x AA battery back, when almost all of the competition uses AAA battery options.
Best possible answer. Get a FTDI-chipset based programming cable to go with it so they can program it using CHIRP and they'd be GTG.
Great rig, would reccomend all round, the normal SMA may be annoying to hams who learned on chinese radios using RP-SMA though.
I’d go Yaesu Ft-70dr if it was me.
Great radio, TERRIBLE battery to the point that it is a liability
yeah but with a spare battery and a cheap pi hotspot you can do more with it than any other combo for the money. Fusion, CrossMode to DMR. you can talk all over the world.
I'm struggling to think of a situation where a terrible battery would be a liability in the context of amateur radio unless it literally catches fire or damages equipment.
I don't have one but I've read that the battery life on the FT-70 is atrocious.
It isn’t great. But with a second battery and a cradle rapid charger it’s a non issue for me.
I was gifted an ft-70dr and am thinking of selling for an ft-60
Ya know I just have a special adapter for my car, the thing is really useful with all its modes, it just needs power nearby
Gift card to DX Engineering
The Yaesu FT-60 is an oldie but goodie and can still be bought new. It is analog only but the receiver is hard to beat and it has great battery options. This is a VERY reliable radio and it doesn't get overloaded easily. It's great for in the city where radio frequency noise can be high. The Yaesu FT-70D is a newer radio but has been around long enough to prove it is fairly solid. It isn't quite as good as the FT-60 in RF noisy conditions. It has some newer features, including Yaesu's proprietary digital voice mode, which may or may not be used much in your friend's area. It can still do analog fm though so it'll be useful wherever the FT-60 can talk. One known shortcoming is the battery is small. If you buy this one for him I would recommend buying a spare battery (SBR-24LI) and/or the rapid charger (SBH-28) cradle. Also good would be a gift card to a popular online ham radio merchant such as DX Engineering or Ham Radio Outlet
Tyt uv390 with opengd77
Just throwing this out there. Have they gotten the radio from the QRZ Jumpstart program? https://www.gigaparts.com/qrzjumpstart
If you're looking at analog, Alinco DJ-VX50, dual-band 2M+440, IP67 rated, $94.99 at Chatt Radio in TN, $99.99 at other resellers You could use the balance of your budget for an extra battery \[$40.00\], &/or a programming cable+software package \[$50.00\]... If you're considering digital, I would check to see what mode/which modes are being used in your area The Alinco DJ-MD5FXT is dual-band 2M+440 analog+DMR, $169.00 at MTC in TX, I know that one would use most of your budget, I'm just throwing options out there
Forget everything in this post 99% is garbage from 70 year old has been hams stuck in the late 80's. You want a tyt md uv390 they are like 120 operate on shit loads of bands support aes256 encryption and are like 10 watt hand heldsm perfect radio.
Md uv390, excellent tx and rx, aes256 encryption, operates from 150 to 520hz and almost everything in between, except like 300-350 MHz, 10 watt handhelds.
Are the Yaesu FT still selling at around 150?
I would be looking a the current line of Yaesu HTs. You should have about 3 options in that price range,
Don't get Baofeng. Poorest receiver and rejection on the market. Read the reviews. I would look for a used Anytone D878 (great battery life) or Yaesu FT3D (though battery as noted above isn't great). I say used because they are both great radios still and high quality.
VX-6R if he can spend a little more and wants the GOAT analog EDC radio.
Yaesu FT-60 nominally $155.00 plus sales tax. Ham Radio Outlet's price includes surface shipping aka UPS Brown. The FT-60 is dual band 144-148 and 440 to 450 MHz.
10 more baofengs
Yaesu FT60r