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write your own review of the FDC FD-150A/450A.
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WA9S
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 10, 2009 16:55
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Excellent Purchase
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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As a long time ham of 47 years I was looking for a rig to renew my interest in VHF. The FD-160A turned out to be a great purchase. I am mostly an HF CW operator and had forgotten how much fun 2 meters could be.
I have owned Icom HT's and still own an Alinco DJ-S11 (Stupid antenna design) and a Yaesu VX-5. The VX-5 works superbly but is complicated to program and is a bit small for my 61 year old hands.
The FD-160A is a perfect size, is light weight, has buttons that are easy to push without hitting the adjacent buttons, is of surprisingly sturdy construction, has a nice blue screen and is easy to program AFTER figuring out the instructions AND reading the many reviews. Don't mess with the computer programming method.
When I received this $56.50 radio after two weeks (shipping included) I soon discovered a few problems. The antenna supplied is junk. By adding the reverse SMA to BNC convertor I installed a perfectly tuned Icom rubber duck about 6" long and was able to hit even distant repeaters. That problem solved, I discovered that the audio was weak when compared to my other HT's. One of the reviews suggested drilling out the microphone hole a bit. I took the HT apart and drilled out the hole to about 1 mm (1/16"). That solved the transmit audio problem. I don't suggest drilling the hole without taking the HT apart! It would be easy to mess up the mike element.
The scan does not have a lockout function so I programed in reverse frequencies for stations such as WX. Just push and hold the reverse button and you have the "locked out" station. I found this idea on Yahoo.
I checked and discovered that the battery and drop in charger have grooves which permit the battery to be charged by itself without the radio attached. I bought a second battery for the huge amount of $13.50 (shipping included). Now I always have a second battery ready to go and don't have to worry about the bottom row of buttons being damaged inserting the whole HT into the charger.
My recommendations:
Buy this radio. It is fun receiving a package direct from China rather than from Walmart.
Also buy the reverse SMA to BNC convertor, an extra battery and a quality rubber duck from one of the major manufacturers. By the way, many of the ducks you will find at hamfests are junk. I have tested them on my MFJ analizer and found all of mine either out of band or of extremely narrow frequency coverage. A good antenna is critical.
I will probably buy a little mag-mount whip for the car and maybe the FD-460A for 440. Have fun and DO NOT transmit out of band. Just have fun listening to all the other stuff on the extended frequencies!
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N5ACK
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Rating: 4/5
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Jul 19, 2009 17:20
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Pretty good
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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This rig is fairly well made, has great sound quality. The antenna it comes with is not great, seems like it's resonant at a higher frequency than the ham band. Another little issue is when you put it into the charger, it kinda mashes the buttons down. You just need to put it in at an angle.
Anyhow, for the money this is a good buy.
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NS1R
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Rating: 4/5
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Jun 26, 2009 08:32
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Great deal
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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You can't beat the price. It is a ham radio for the price of a family type radio. The programing instructions are not the best but you can do it. I recommend the software method.
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M6FBS
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Rating: 4/5
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Jun 26, 2009 05:04
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Great little radio - incomprehensible instruction manual!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I have a couple of these for use by licenced Scouts in my Scout Troop. They are great little rigs for the price and do the job and take the use and abuse which we require - 5 stars all the way UNTIL we come to the wretched owner's manual and software help sections both of which are written in a language which is almost, but not entirely, unlike English! It is as if it has been translated from the original Chinese by computer into Swahili, thence into Italian and then into English by way of Hebrew!
"......Scanning is used to monitor the frequency of your desire: you do not need manually to operate.If you know every scanning method well, the monitor function efficiantly, can be used. Note: scanning can be used only when close the SQL. The transceiver will stop scanning when received a signal......." - A typical example of the literary merits of the book!
That apart, this is a great little radio for general use and once you have worked it out for yourself and, in my case, re-written the instructions for my Scouts, it is well worth buying!
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VA3FD
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 3, 2009 20:41
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good deal
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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FD-450, bought second hand from a local ham's brother-in-law who "wanted to be a ham but then decided he didn't have time" (translation: found out he had to STUDY something).
But it's a good deal even at $60. I specifically was looking for a 440 rig, since 2 meters was getting too noisy, and also I could (ahem) "listen in" on FRS/GMRS freqs if need be, another very useful feature of this handie.
Well worth the inexpensive price, I bought a second battery so it's always ready-to-go!
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WB0MMZ
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 9, 2009 14:54
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A real bargain
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I have been licensed for 35 years and owned many radios, including my first 2-meter Genave GTX-10. I bought this because I figured I couldn't get burned too bad for the price. I paid about $55 delivered. I do suggest that you get a BNC adapter and put a better antenna on it. I checked the output on my freq counter and it was right on. After reading the other reviews, I saw that a common complaint was programming it. It really isn't if you read and follow them exactly as written. One thing that this radio has to have done is for the CTCSS freq programmed in both TX and RX. I bought 4 more for some friends of mine. There are also some accessories that you can get. I bought the speaker mike and car adapter. As far as the car adapter, my only complaint is that you have to use the stand charger with it. You can't just plug in the car charger to the radio. Not a big deal though. The final comment is that the radio transmits from 136 to 174 MHz, but I wouldn't suggest it.
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KJ4AQV
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 19, 2008 21:33
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great buy , get it
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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this litte radio is worth the 2 weeks to get it. it all you need in a ht i have fd-450a uhf model its great buy it and save money.
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G7AQK
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 16, 2008 07:21
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Great for the price!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have owned my FD160A for a couple of years and it is used daily to access local repeaters on my regular trips between London and Cambride (approx 78 miles).
The 160A and 460A are basically the same as the 150/450 series, but they have the functions marked on the buttons (which makes programming much easier!).
The Good Bits:
Transmit audio is good.
Plenty of volume on receive (no problems when driving at motorway speeds)
Good sensitivity
100 memories
CTCSS & DCS
5w output
Easy to use when memories are set up.
Rugged construction
The Bad:
Some Rx breakthrough from nearby pager sites.
Displayed S Meter is virtually useless.
No DTMF
Gets hot if transmitting for long periods (screen goes black).
Will only scan the full range of frequencies covered or all memory channels.
Programming from keyboard can be time consuming.
Despite the bad bits, at the price I paid I cannot complain. I have set the time out timer to 90 seconds to avoid problems with overheating (not unusual on handhelds). I always use the radio powered from the car via the Feidaxin adaptor and use a mini mag-mount antenna. The adaptor initially would cut out after a fairly short transmit period so I decided to carry out some minor surgery myself rather than return it to Hong Kong. The thermal cut out has now been replaced and it works fine.
I like the FD-160A so much, I have now ordered a FD-460A together with the computer programming cable.
Neil
G7AQK
http:http://g7aqk.uk.googlepages.com
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KC2TUX
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Rating: 4/5
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Oct 25, 2008 05:15
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Great First Radio
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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This is a fantastic starter radio!
You will probably need help with programming because the owners manual stinks!
I bought two of these radios on E-Bay along with the mag mount antennas and a 12V Battery eliminator, and I am very satisfied with them.
I can the reach the local repeaters easily, and get good reports most of the time.
My daily commute (Farmingdale to JFK) is 25 miles, and I can reach W2VL 146.850 with no problems during the whole trip.
Bill
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VU2OEC
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 24, 2008 22:31
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Gem of a Radio
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I bought FD-150A 3 years and recommended to many ham friends. Full VHF coverage. Excellent Performance. Above, I used it in three car rallies in Deserts of Rajasthan, India and in Mountains of Himalayas in Himachal Pradesh, India. Great peformance every where. Fellow hams rated it best with the price tag of US $ 75.00 including shipping or US $ 100.00 with accessories like PTT MIC, Car Eliminator, Extra Battery and BNC connector. These accessories are must for field use. Great HongKong Radio.
VU2OEC
Rajesh Chandwani
INDIA
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