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Reviews For: Radio Shack HTX-252

Category: Transceivers: VHF/UHF+ Amateur Base/Mobile (non hand-held)

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Review Summary For : Radio Shack HTX-252
Reviews: 107MSRP: 179.95 plus tax
Description:
2 meter FM moble tranceiver, mini size. 10 memories, 10/25 watts, DTMF mic, 144-148 tx, 136-174 rx
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.radioshack.com/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
141073.1
N1YLN Rating: 2001-03-07
I have one of the good ones! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Everyone thinks I'm on a higher caliber radio as I always get good audio reports. I did get it for the sale ($149.99) price which is why I gave it the 4 (I would have gone the extra $20 and bought an IC-2100 if it hadn't been on sale.). Compliants?? The same as the ones listed by others, too few memories, no memory lock out, inability to directly changs freq. from the dtmf pad...

Ed N1YLN
KC8QEK Rating: 2001-03-07
Decent little radio Time Owned: N.A.
As long as you remember why you bought this rig it is a great "little" rig. The small size of this unit makes it great for cramped quarters and makes it very portable. I have had excellent reports on the output audio, with a lot of suprised people when I told them the price. the big down side is the memory, but what can you expect for 149.00 bucks.
KG6DMY Rating: 2001-03-06
Not that great. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have owned this radio for less that three monthes and have found that the back lit diplay is going out. It ia a radio that would be good for if you are going to move around between different vehicals. It is hard to program while you are on the move. The biggest draw back that i can think of is that there is not a schematic for the radio so that you can wire a different microphone for it if you needed to. The Rx is not all it is cracked up to be. It will out Tx the Rx.
KG4GYL Rating: 2001-02-17
good but no lollipop Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
needs at least 50 watts rf out-for the price- and the lcd display breaks up which can be fixed with a tap on the chassis.

the programming is a learning experience yet it's
okay and there's need for at least 12 memory channels.

i wish it had been more like the old htx202 ht

it's a good beginning mobile radio for the new ham

loren swift
kg4gyl
st.simons island, ga
KF4UQL Rating: 2001-02-12
Could have been made better. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased the HTX-252 for my car mostly because of its size, and that I could install it temporarily (selling the car soon). Having had the HTX-242 for over a year I was spoiled. Like mentioned in the other post, mostly bells, no whistles. The scan rate is too slow. Frequencies can only be entered through the knob or up/down keys on the mike. The keypad on the mike only does DTMF codes, not direct entry for frequencies. They could have done a better layout for the LCD screen. No lockouts in memory, and everytime I turned it on it goes straight to VFO, despite the instruction saying it will go to last used mem or VFO. The radio is not very easy to program and not very customizable.

Although, having used it a couple of times everyone I have talked to stated it sounds great. I can make it to most repeaters, about 40 miles max on low power (10 watts) so I have been pleased on that regard. Speaker quality is so-so.

The one good part of this radio that makes it better then the HTX-242 is the mike plug. Its no longer that delicate network plug.

If I had know about this radio better I may have waited, but once the hassal of programming the radio was done, it has worked OK.

MAGENTA Rating: 2001-01-23
Eating Crow Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Well after using this radio for 2 short weeks, The VFO pot has become defective, and the audio out has declined.

I had ordered and recived a Icom IC-2100H last week. Then the HTX-252 started going south. So I have ordered a second IC-2100H to replace the clunker HTX.

Much to my suprise the radio Shack store I bought the radio from would not refund my money in store. "Company policy is to send a check". I asked that if I ever take the risk to purchase another R/S product, if it would be acceptable for me to not pay for it when I pick it up. Ohh well, live and learn.

KD7LMT

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Earlier 4-star review posted by MAGENTA on 2001-01-06

When I purchased my HTX-252 I had told the nice man at the radio shack store that it was not getting good reviews at eham.net. He said "take it try it out. If you don't think its worth $149.00 bring it back for a full refund no questions asked". Well for the money I think i will hang onto this lil rig.

No it does not have the features that the other radios have. Yes its only 25 watts on high. But its a dang good lil radio. Make for a quick change from base to mobile.

Not only that it will make a great radio for a new ham! Thats one reason I plan to keep it. When someone wants to get into ham but dont have the money for there first radio, I will loan them this lil radio!
K7NNG Rating: 2001-01-13
SHAME ON RADIO SHACK Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have purchased two of these dogs, neither one operated properly. Concept is good, engineering is poor, format poor, audio is awful, some whisles, NO bells. programming and re programming is awful. I tried two, sorry Radio Shack, it's a definate loser for hams.
KC5YNP Rating: 2001-01-11
A Turkey! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
A real bolo from RS, which usually sells good quality gear. When my HTX-242 (bought on closeout) quit working while under warranty and was declared 'legally dead' by their service department, RS offered me a new 252 or a refund. Having been very pleased with the 242 I figured the 252 would be a step up in features so I took it. After spending 10 minutes with the new radio I knew that RS made a big mistake by bringing this rig to market. No frequency entries by keypad, only 10 memories, small, hard to read display, only 25 watts out, poor quality construction. Kinda' makes you wonder what went through the heads of the marketing folks at RS HQ when they decided to add this to the line-up. What makes this radio an even worse choice is the price - $179 retail. Let's see, for that price I can get something from ICOM or Yaesu with tons more features, more output wattage and world-class construction. Hmmmm. Tough decision!
N6CHM Rating: 2001-01-06
Best thing about HTX-252 Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I guess the best thing about the HTX-252 is that Radio Shack discontinued the HTX-242 and closed it out for $119.00 and I bought one.
45 watts...40 memories....
KG4CLD Rating: 2001-01-05
From one generation to the next. Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I've owned several of Radio Shack's ham rigs and I must say only the HTX-100 10-meter SSB/CW mobile was satisfactory. The 212, 242, & 252 all fall short in features, and performance. In my opinion, unless you get one that is blessed by the ham-fairy, you WILL BE sorely disappointed!