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write your own review of the Radio Shack HTX-245.
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KC7NOA
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 25, 2009 15:44
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Still kicking
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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After owning this little radio for almost 9 years??(its been so long iv forgotten when i bought it exactly) This 2/440 transceiver is still working fine ... i never used the oem rubber ducky but bought a high-gain replacement from the same place.
Sure it uses alkaline batteries but those rechargeable work fine too ... just cant recharge them in radio .. OHWELL !!!!
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K3VSA
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Rating: 4/5
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Aug 22, 2008 18:21
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Fairly Good Value
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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When my wife and I first got our tickets, we bought a pair of HTX-245s. (We've switched to Alincos now.) Our area has a pretty solid 440MHz repeater, so we had no trouble getting into the machine with only 750mW. Good points: inexpensive, very compact, easy to program and operate, tough (fell off the roof of the car several times and survived, looks like WWII surplus now!) Bad points: SMA antenna connector instead of BNC, OEM rubber duck antenna broke and was replaced with a better aftermarket antenna, will not really work with Ni-Cds, as it needs at least 3.9V or it acts crazy, you'll need a cheap source of alkaline AAs to keep it fueled and happy. I suspect the remote earphone jack is the source of many of the audio problems users are reporting, check the contacts. BUT--Just took it out of the drawer after a year's hibernation, cleaned out the sludge in the battery compartment, put in new AAs, and it powered up and pinged the repeater just fine. I'm gonna give mine to a newly licensed ham to use until he can buy better.
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KD7PTN
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Rating: 3/5
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Nov 18, 2007 20:15
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good beginner
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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this was my very first ht after I got my ticket. about a year after I bought the radio, the 70cm side failed. I program in the local repeater, key up and the display says "ERR"
it won't receive on 70 cm either. also recently the internal speaker gave out, I get very low audio out of it. I can plug in a external speaker in the ear jack, and it'll blow ya away. it still does a good job on 2m. I would like to find a ext. speaker/mic for it let me know if anyone has one laying around.
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K0TEX
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 30, 2004 12:15
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A Big Surprise ina Medium/Small Package!!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Well I grabbed this from Ebay last year for about $55 and now how I wish I would've known about the close-out price, I would've bought at least 10-20 of these new!
This is not as slick and feature-filled by any means as my Yaesu FT-51R, or Icom IC-24AT. but what a neat little rig, and the audio is bass-rich, healthy and solid!
Not a lot of power but it seems to punch through better that I would've expected for 1 watt or so.
As I'm on my way out the door I'm finding I now grab this for repeater work, or just general what-ever more often than my FT-51R, IC-24AT, or VX-2R just because it feels good in the hand, not too heavy or light, nor too big or small, simply 'just right'.
Access to all features is so simple it's elementary level, and very quick, which leads me to this next statement; I want several more!
If you are considering one, go ahead and grab it, you won't be disappointed, and if by chance you are, I'LL BUY IT!!
For the manual: Radio Shack part 'RSU'# 12233383
If you have one you'll let go of call 916-759-6002, ask for Stan.
I gave it a '5' not because it can keep up in all ways with a much more powerful and feature laiden rig like the FT-51R, but for what it is, it's 'Spot-On', and almost intermod free!
Enjoy your little workhorse, & 73!
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KC6VVT
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Rating: 3/5
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Jan 26, 2004 17:24
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It's Dead, Jim
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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An HTX-245 Radio Shack HTX-245 died here.
It might have been too much VSWR on the flimsy cable that frayed on this after market mag mount antenna. I found the possible cause of this problem, but the HT is still dead, even with the rubber ducky on it.
Anyone with any suggestions about how to go about a hard reset on this unit?
Any experience with RS Repair on this HTX-245 unit?
Looking for real experience on this particular problem only, please.
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KF6UPN
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 21, 2003 11:32
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Suprising durability
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I should have written this review after the Catalina Marathon back in March, but my attention has been elsewhere. This radio suprised me by its durability and transmit audio (as part of CARA, we provided radio communications for the event) during one of the worse rain/hail/wind storms to hit the island. The mile 21 checkpoint was without shelter and the weather claimed my ADI AT-201, but this little Radio Shack HT survived dunkings, near-freazing temperatures, and being generally beaten up. Even with the 40+ MPH winds at the summit, I was still heard, which helped at least 2 runners, and was able to coordinate with our base station.
Otherwise, I have found that the 1 watt of power sufficient to hit most local repeaters. Functionality is good, some menu functions are more complicated than needed, but overall easy to use. I am not a fan of the SMA connector, a BNC is more useful to me, for mag mount antennas, etc. Ergonomics don't equal, say the Kenwood Th-G71, but for the price I paid, $120 for 2 radios with Ni-Cads and chargers, I can't really can't complain.
A worthwhile buy if you can find them for cheap. Again, it suprised me on its durability.
73's
Jacoby Wilson
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LNXAUTHOR
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Rating: 5/5
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May 23, 2003 15:09
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A bargain $49.95 dual-band HT
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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here's the story of my 245...
- purchased a month ago (April 2003) for $49.95... should have tried it in the store, but didn't - when i got home i found out the audio was dead... not only that, but upon inspection it appeared that some fool tried to do a kludge of a hardware mod for the extended rcv/tx (which wasn't even necessary, as it may be done through a special reset)...
- AFAIK there are two models of the 245: an earlier one (which required a hardware mod) and the last one (which has an 'A' in the model # [19-1106A], and which can be reset for extended rcv/tx... hold down the 2 and 3 keys when turning on to turn on the MARS/CAP capability; to reverse, again hold down 2 and 3 upon subsequent power-up )...
- took the 245 back to RS the next day, and sent the radio in for repair... then waited...
- exactly 30 days later i got a call that the radio was ready for pickup and had been repaired at the RS repair center in Jacksonville, FL... apparently IC507, the audio amp, was replaced (an LM4864?)... no charge for repair, although the chip was listed at $4.84 on the invoice...
- powered up the HT and... it works great! no problems whatsoever... hit the local repeater right away...
- so it looks like i have a little 5-oz, dual-band HT w/keypad, DTMF, 50 memories, scanning, and NOAA WX that transmits at 700mW on batteries, recharges batteries internally if desired, and has 1.5W out when on a 6V DC external adapter...
- there *are* bargains out there if you look hard enough, but i'm afraid that this unit will be the last one for me from RS, as it looks like it has gotten out of the amateur radio business... i was also fortunate enough to previously find an htx-200 in excellent condition for $24.95...
- would i have popped for the original retail of $229? nope! would i have purchased it on sale at $170? nope! would i have bought it at $100? maybe... but at $49.95 how can you go wrong, even it doesn't work right away but can be repaired for free?
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KD7QZW
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 19, 2003 21:40
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took a real beating
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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got the radio 1 year ago "first radio I owned" set it on the roof of the car one day and forgot about it and drove off... come off the roof at 70 and hit the blacktop... then a 18 wheeler fit it! sent it off to the shoulder of the freeway... brok the antenna... but there sorta cheep... break easyly the radio still works good but the desplay only works on the bottem half now... never come apart didn't loose the batturys and a true shook test 73's good luck with yours...
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KA3TTU
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Rating: 4/5
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Feb 18, 2003 13:13
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At $45.00 it's the best radio in the world.
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Well I was in the local RS and saw this little jewel hiding behind the FRS radios. I was looking for a little 2m handie for echolink. Well I found the HTX-245. Does a pretty good job. At $45.00 it is the best radio in the world.
:)
73's
Jim, KA3TTU
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KB7QDI
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Rating: 4/5
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Nov 4, 2002 10:03
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Good radio for the price
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I bought the HTX-245 from a ham fest (didn't know Radio Shack came to hamfests, but that's an entirely different topic).
I have been looking for a couple months on a small dual-band HT that will give me low power for use on EchoLink and when our club uses a cross-bander to link to our 2-meter repeater. The HTX-245 seems to fit that bill perfectly.
700 mW is adaquate for my purposes, and it is usually enough to hit some of the Milwaukee repeaters when I am close. Receive audio is better than I anticipated as well.
There are comparible models, like the Yaesu VX-1, but they don't have external DTMF pads, which I use quite a lot with EchoLink.
My first impression is good. Even better if you can get it for $70.
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