|
New to Ham Radio?
My Profile
Community
Articles
Forums
News
Reviews
Friends Remembered
Speak Out
Strays
Survey Question
Operating
Contesting
DX Cluster Spots
Propagation
Resources
Calendar
Classifieds
Ham Exams
Ham Links
List Archives
News Articles
Product Reviews
QSL Managers
Site Info
eHam Help (FAQ)
Support the site
The eHam Team
Advertising Info
Vision Statement
About eHam.net
|
|
You can
write your own review of the Yaesu FT-60R.
|
N0FPE
|
Rating: 4/5
|
Oct 29, 2009 04:48
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Just missing one thing
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
|
Great radio but since it is not a true dual band but a one band at a time with 2 band capibilities it loses for me. I prefer an HT that can listen and transmit on VHF and UHF at the same time. I have relagated the FT-60 to backup HT in favor of the new Alinco DJ-G7T tribander
|
|
KJ4KKI
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Oct 29, 2009 02:43
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
I continue to think this is the best HT I've ever used.
|
Time owned: 3 to 6 months
|
|
I have had my FT-60 now for 4 months and I absolutely love it. I'll make a few general comments w/o getting technical. For a couple of months I lugged it around with my hi gain Diamond duck (all 15 inches of it). I decided to put the stock antenna back on, and it scans public safety as well as before. I was pleasantly surprised. I haven't put it to the test, but I think the Diamond does a bit better on tx. In reference to what VE3GIH noted, I got the ADMS software and supplied cable and it worked great, right out of the box. Plus, version 3 or higher can copy and past your freq bank to another Yaesu radio. As I'm planning to get the 7900 or 8800 (with ADMS software), that's handy to know. FYI for anybody thinking about the FT-60 for satellites: Some people are upset that it's not dual receive and think you can't do sats...at least w/o having to rotate the VFO knob back and forth between side-by-side preset freqs. Put the VHF and UHF freqs in the software and list it as a split. If you take your radio display off alpha tag, you'll notice when you key the mic, it displays VHF, and when you let go, it shows UHF. I set them up with +10 KHz, +5, main freq, -5 and -10 KHz to allow for doppler shifts. Back to the radio... I have talked on it with a Diamond 20 inch mag mount and hit a repeater 30 miles away on 1 watt. A lot of our club members have this radio, and everybody I know has been totally happy with it.
|
|
KE7IAE
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Oct 28, 2009 12:22
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Excellent Product
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
|
My work requires the option of reliable radio access and dual band operation. I had owned the single band VX-170 and found it to be a very fine radio so I had high expectations for the FT-60. Those expectations were met! I use this radio every day at work AND at home. In the work environment it is subject to potential exposure to elements and blunt trauma and thus far shows no stress whatsoever. At home the wide receive allows me to monitor all sorts of interesting sources, effectively replacing a scanner. The radio is easy to program, especially with the free software available on the net. I picked up a programming cable off of eBay for under $15 and now "easy" programming is "effortless". Many reviews I've read note the squelch knob... I love it! Some reviewers don't like the belt clip but I've found it to be quite sturdy. I've removed mine however, because at work an actual radio holder is more practical. Bottom line... I love this radio, it is the highest quality and most versitle HT I own. I may buy a second one for a spare because work and fun would be a real pain without one!
|
|
VK2KIT
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Oct 21, 2009 02:51
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Absolutely Fantastic!
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
This little radio does a lot more than advertised.. The 'MARS' mod is not the only mod for this little gem (Don't bother asking. Do your own research!)
Great price, good solid construction and cheap original and after market parts..
This radio is a bargain for the price. Yeasu are building the radios in Japan and most of the parts (including batteries) in China to keep the price down, but that ain't a bad thing. Some of the other cheaper Chinese brands are actually getting pretty good too! I'm not a die hard Yaesu fan either.. I also have a VX-7r and absolutely hate it.
The FT-60r can also be powered by 6x AA Alkaline or Ni-Mh batteries, using the cheap FBA-25 holder. A feature which is critical in emergency or remote area work. Something the VX-7r and some others are lacking.
It has a great AM RX for air band monitoring and it keeps it's specs right across the VHF & UHF Ham/PMR bands.
If I lost this radio or dropped it into the brine, I would be sorry but would not lose too much sleep, due to the replacement price. I would just go out and buy another the next day.
I cant understand why people would spend $400+ on a handdheld when you can get one of these for $179!
|
|
YO2DNO
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Oct 10, 2009 13:04
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Great radio !
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
|
I had an FT60 for a year, then I bought one more. I use them for three years and there were no problems. Programming and interface easy to build, rich and easy to use menu, similarity with FT7800, big enough display. I worked over 200 qso's on FM satellites with great reception and enough power to reach them. No complains.
|
|
K0BKL
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Oct 8, 2009 11:49
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Replacement radio works
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
AES sent a replacement radio for the one that did not receive and it works great!
Another ham in the area has one and it has worked great for him and does not understand how I got a dud the first time!
|
|
G6NLX
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Oct 4, 2009 14:17
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
It Just Works.
|
Time owned: months
|
Had my FT-60E for a year or two now and used it mainly for RAYNET use and I have to say, it has performed flawlessly. It has also done some duty as my main base V/UHF radio connected to a little 25 watt amp when I was between radios, and to be honest, it perfomed flawlessly there too.
Last RAYNET duty(last weekend) I was walking with the competitors on a 10K charity walk using 70cms at 5 watts into a Comet replacement AE. My Control station reported me as "consistently the strongest and clearest station at the event" compared to the other 4 walkers all with different HT gear (all 5 watts out).
Incidentally as a little aside, He started out using a Kenwood Mobile rig at the control station and went off the air after about 30 minutes. He came back up about 5 minutes later stating he had a problem with the mobile unit not transmitting because of a voltage problem causing the TX to keep resetting itself. When I got back to the control vehicle, he had plugged in guess what - his own FT-60E as a back up and had run the remainder of the event on the HT.
Also I have yet to "kill" a battery yet, bought the accessory AA pack a while back and never ever used it. Also used it a few times now all day (05:00 till 18:00) on Raynet exercises chasing Scouts all over mountainous terrain, in all weathers, all conditions, and never a hitch.
Sometimes use it with a "POG Stick" elevated up a SOTA Pole and never have I not got a signal through when it was needed.
I use it with FTB60 to programme memories and share set ups with my FT-7800. Also use the Yaesu speaker mic, and yes it's a pain for the few moments it takes you to run the cable behind the belt clip.
This radio just sits in my rucksack all the time and it just works!
Suffering low capacity on batteries? My usual set up may provide a clue - backlight always off, RX LED Off, TX LED Off, TX Power Saver ON, RX Power Saver set to 300MS and I nearly always use an in ear, covert type earpiece on the yaesu speaker mic, which must reduce RX audio current draw just a little bit. I find this basic set up means in my experience, that my FT-60 lasts all day on typical 80:10:10 duty cycle.
Enjoy.
|
|
N0MUD
|
Rating: 1/5
|
Oct 2, 2009 20:08
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
poor
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
One day it was working just fine and the next day it's not working at all. I really enjoyed it when it was working, so for now I've sold the drop in charger, the car charger and the microphone.
Wish I knew why it stopped.
73's Mike, N0mud
|
|
K0BKL
|
Rating: 0/5
|
Oct 2, 2009 19:09
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Receive failed
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
The receive was dead almost upon receipt.
A day after getting it, it failed to receive anything but the closest repeater and that was noisy.
AES has a replacement on the way to me.
I will further review it when I get a working model!
|
|
KC9PDM
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Sep 18, 2009 19:15
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Great Dualband HT
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
Its a great dual bander ht for a good price. Its very durable. Like others I bought the SRH77A and it greatly improved my range.
If you owned other yaesu radios such as the 7800 then you will be able to navigate the menu system. If this is your first yaesu radio then you might have trouble getting used to using the radio.
All in all its a great radio for a great price.
|
|
If you have any questions, problems, or suggestions about Reviews,
please email your Reviews Manager.
|
|
|
|
|
