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| Reviews Summary for Feidaxin FD-450A |
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Reviews: 4
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Average rating: 4.0/5
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MSRP: $30
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Description: UHF fm transceiver
400-470 MHZ
99 memories
Hi / Low power select 1 or 5 watts
standby time 120 hours
CTCSS and DCS codes
computer/Manual programm
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More info: http://www.feidaxin.com
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You can
write your own review of the Feidaxin FD-450A.
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SV1ENS
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Rating: 4/5
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Jul 18, 2008 07:36
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Value for money
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I needed a "no worries" rig for my rainy day commuting car (I'm usually motorcycle mobile) and didn't want to reach too deep into my pocket.
While browsing ebay I came about the FD-160A (VHF version of the FD-450A), after reading the reviews in eham, I took the plunge and ordered from one of the ebay shops. My order included the HT, programming cable, battery eliminator and bnc adapter, all for the price of 69 USD (shipping included). At the exchange rate Euro to Dollar this came up to about 45 Euro which makes it 1/3 the price of the cheapest competitor VHF HT you can get locally (just the HT, no cables).
The package arrived in about 5 days registered air mail from Honk Kong !!
My first impression when I opened the package was "Hmmm" nice solid feel... Somewhat old school !
In general having the FD-160A and my other low budget HT Alinco DJV-17 side by side makes me wonder, was the extra money I paid for the DJV worth it ???
Anyway, here are the highlights of the FD-160A:
Pros
- Price
- Nice solid feel
- Audio is good, I like the fact that the volume is not controlled by a button!
- Nice cool blue display !
- Simple computer programming !
Cons
- Included rubber antenna
- Water resistant claim not really accurate, take the mic jack cover for instance, just a plastic cover held in place by a screw (a really big screw!) leaving many open space around it. When mic is inserted HT is NOT water resistant.
- No alphanumeric in the memory, it gets a bit confusing telling one repeater from the other (how did we manage before alphanumeric displays came around)
- Supplied charger has a very tight fit, lower part of keyboard needs to be "handled" in order to slide radio into charger.
Anyway, in 4 words or less: Great Value for Money !
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AA5JG
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 16, 2008 10:26
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Great bargain..it comes in Red!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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When my Yaesu VX5R died I was pretty short on cash so looked around for a 70cm monoband HT since I pretty much just use that band anyways for transmitting. I found one of these HTs on ebay for $62 shipped from Hong Kong, and you can get it in RED! When is the last time you saw a red HT? You won't get this mixed up with the other HTs at field day or the club meeting.
I wasn't sure what to expect, but for $62 this HT is sure a bargain. I have found it very easy to program, but did have to read the manual once or twice. The receive audio is fantastic, and there is plenty of it-much better speaker output than many HTs. I receive very good transmit audio reports as well, and some have said it sounds like a Kenwood.
This HT comes with a drop in charger, but it is not really a rapid charger. It will take 6-8 hours to fully charge the battery. I just charge it overnight when I am asleep and it seems to work for 3-4 days on a charge. The antenna is a little different in that the SMA connector is backwards of all other HTs-the male end is on the radio! The stock antenna seems to work very well.
The HT is just the right size with decent sized buttons. It has PL and DCS encode and decode as well. I can't comment on the DTMF since I haven't used it yet-but the keypad can be used for direct entry as well. It may not have a million different features like some HTs, but if you want several memories with band or memory scan, and just want to get on a talk, you can't go wrong with this HT for $60. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a monoband HT.
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KC8UIO
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Rating: 4/5
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Oct 26, 2007 03:55
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Cheap is GOOD!
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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The Feidaxin FD-450A is a handheld UHF-band transceiver. The frequency range is 350 through 490 MHz, both transmit and receive. I was very leary about buying this HT because of some of the yahoos out there who are spreading false information. So, I bought one. I was pleasantly surprised when I tried it out. I was hitting repeaters up to 30 miles away and getting very good reports on the other end.
The downside is the key-pad programming. It is difficult, but it can be done. Buy a cable and download the software (free from Feidaxin). It is very easy to program over the serial bus.
I have used mostly Icom HT's in the past. This Feidaxin unit compares well in every way with the Icom units I have owned.
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F4EPP
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Rating: 3/5
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May 10, 2006 10:45
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Good but...
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I find out this manufacturer on the famous world auction seller !
As prices were really nice I decided to buy one from Hong Kong. (45$ shiping costs included !! I live in France)
I always operated Ham bands with the usual famous manufacturers.
This radio fits well in hand. It's smaller than professional radios such as Motorola GP-340 and charging time is very fast but I havn't it for a long time ago so I can't say anything about lifetime battery. What is sure is it works perfectly for the moment and can be recharged once a week only!! (even in daily use...I use it working night)
The hot battery feeling doesn't exists on this HT
(even after 3 minutes talking non stop) what is always the case with Ham manucturers.
The very bad point is intermodulation in big city use. This problem is focused on certain frequencies but PMR446 MHZ (family free channels) are definitly unusable for example.
434 MHZ has the same problem and actually I don't know if it's intermod or the lack of internal freq filters.
Nevertheless, I use it now everyday on the 70cm Ham band and on 458 MHZ at work (it works perfectly between 450 and 470 MHZ...). Original antenna is excelent I just miss it hasn't the 1750 hz call we use here in Europe to operate the repeaters.
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