| KG6HWS |
Rating:     |
2001-10-22 | |
| Small, reliable and easy to use. |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
The only reason that I cant give this radio a 5 is because of the minor adjustment that you have to make when you first get the radio. It is really just a minor deal but without it you get horrible on the air radio reports. All that you ahve to do is open the top of the raio and adjust the audio deviation. When you open that radio you will see it ( its almost dead center) and turn it up. Be sure not to turn it up that much.
Other then that little adjustment the radio has been excellent and i would suggest it for use to anyone.
73's
kg6hws |
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| KD7NMI |
Rating:      |
2001-09-12 | |
| Great Radio for the price |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I bought this radio about 3 weeks ago, when I first opened it up and installed it in my car I couldn't even bring up my local repeater (the one I can hit with 1 watt from my HT inside my house) so I got online and found out I wasn't the only one with this problem, found the deviation mod and what do you know 10 minutes later I was up and running, with great audio reports. So far has been an excellent radio, missing some features I would like (direct freq. entry on keypad) but I can't complain for the price. 73's KD7NMI |
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| KC8PMM |
Rating:      |
2001-08-07 | |
| Update from before |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I am giving the radio a five to even out the three I gave it before. It's performed very well since I did the deviation mod and I don't even notice the decreased power (Double the power gives a barely noticeable 3 dB increase in range, as physics tells us).
I think this radio has advantages over some others. First, its lower current requirement allows it to be powered by a cigarette lighter jack. Second, it's REALLY small for a mobile radio. Third, it's a very simple design that's easy to learn. After a week, you can throw away the manual.
It's worth the sale price, I think.
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Earlier 3-star review posted by KC8PMM on 2001-07-02
Don't forget- The list price on the 200 mW hand held HTX-200 Radio Shack sells is the same as the 252.
That's less than 1/100th the power and no DTMF.
Doesn't sound so bad to me.
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Earlier 3-star review posted by KC8PMM on 2001-07-02
The HTX-252 is not a "successor" or even "next generation" to the 242. It's totally different and scaled way down. I think RS is trying to cater to different markets to see what is the most profitable.
After doing the deviation adjustment (turned it WAY up) and resetting the memories, the radio works fine. The memory set function is a little quirky if there are already memories programmed. It's better to start with a "clean slate."
I don't know about any other problems, but I think this radio is barely worth the $140 I paid for it used. It's more likely not worth $170, but that's not very much, either, considering that's the inflated list price. I'll bet it will end up around $150 or even $129 on sale.
It's really small and 25 watts is sufficient for most local work. You can get much better gains in performance with a good antenna than by doubling the power. I usually leave my 45 watt Kenwood set at 5 watts unless I am 30 miles away from the repeater.
I think it's a great backup radio or starter radio. I'm using it as a base station, since I don't use it enough to warrant a $350 radio for that. If you're not a scanner fanatic or you don't need every repeater in your state programmed, it's perfect. (It has 11 channels, counting the Call frequency). |
|
| WA3KYY |
Rating:     |
2001-08-02 | |
| Nice Little Rig |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| My wife bought me this rig for Christmas on sale for <$150. It has been a solid performer for me with none of the audio problems others have reported. Using a 5/8 wavelength mag-mount I can hit all the local repeaters on the low power (10W) setting but can easily switch to 25W if needed on the fringes. The only negative for me is the lack of direct frequency entry via the keypad on the microphone. Twisting the VFO dial to reach frequencies not in memory is a little cumbersome. Other than that I like this little rig a lot. It fills a niche for those looking for a quality no-frills rig for mobile use. It's small size is a definite plus for mounting in today's small cars. |
|
| WW8X |
Rating:     |
2001-07-19 | |
| I like this rig |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Just bought the HT-X252. So far, it works well. There's plenty of not-so-good reviews posted here, so I wanted to let some of you who are considering buying this radio see a positive review. Yes, it could use a few more bells and whistles...but, in a way I like the simplicy of the little rig. It's pretty much a no hassle radio to operate. All the on-air reports I've gotten have been excellent. The transmit audio is not a problem--in fact, the reports have been very complimentary. It gets a little warm, but nothing unusual. That big heat sink is doing it's job well. Yes, I wish it had more memories available. And, I would like to be able to enter freqs from the key pad. But, I don't consider those a major flaws. If the radio keeps working like it has so far--I'd call it a keeper. |
|
| KC2IEB |
Rating:     |
2001-07-18 | |
| Not too bad |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I must admit, that I bought the HTX-252 quite hastily. I had just got an unexpected wad of cash, and was walking past a Radio Shack when I decided to peek inside. It was on sale, and I jumped for it. After the 15 minute learning curve, i have no problem doing anything with the radio while driving with no distractions whatsoever. Yes, it feels a bit flimsy but that's to be expected, I suppose. No, it doesn't have the flashy features, but yes, I got it, it's readily available anywhere in the country, and it puts out a decent sound, as far as I'm concerned. Don't listen to some of the OF's who require all the doohickeys. If you need a small (and i mean small) radio in the car, go for this one...especially if it's on sale... |
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| KU4QD |
Rating:     |
2001-07-11 | |
| A nice, simple radio with a few quirks |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I bought the Radio Shack HTX-252 on sale after my Alinco died for the third and final time. (Alinco does not want me to review their rig, trust me.) I chose it for two reasons: small size and small price. On the overall, I am quite satisfied.
In many ways the rig reminds me of the old Yaesu FT-230R I had some years ago. It is extremely simple to operate, puts out the same 25 watts as the old 230R did, and has the same number of memories: 11 counting the CALL frequency. For those who complain about it not having 45-50 watts, gee... that's just about one S-unit. My ability to get into the 146.64 repeater in Raleigh, which I am in the fringe of the coverage area for, is just the same as it was with my Alinco DR-140TQ. I also talk on all of three or four repeaters, so having 40 memories or so just isn't important to me.
The rig has crisp, clear receive audio. Transmit audio quality is just fine, but very, very low from the factory. As previously reported, open up your rig and turn the deviation up. You'll get fine audio reports then. It's annoying to have to do this to a new rig, but it's really a minor thing. The small size makes it possible to mount the rig just about anywhere. I just bought a new 2001 Ford Escape, and I managed to mount this rig inside one of the little storage compartments in the console. It looks like it belongs there, and made for a really neat, professional looking installation. The display is easy to read and is clear in all lighting. Many of the major controls are right on the mic., making eyes-on-the-road operation no problem at all which is a real plus for me. I use the up/down keys to tune between my favorite repeaters in memory. One nice feature is an on/off switch for the DTMF pad. This way you don't have to hold the PTT button to dial, and you still can avoid accidentally keying the repeater and transmitting a tone.
I have two complaints about this rig, which prevent me from giving it a "5". First, as others have reported, there is no way to lock out a memory from scan. Second is the annoying fact that every time you turn it off and then on again, it goes back into VFO mode. I also don't think I should have to tweak the audio on a brand new radio, but I had to do the same with the Alinco (too hot) and that rig proved to be an unreliable piece of junk that cost more. This rig works well, and so far has proven to be reliable.
I like simple radios. The KISS principle works well for me, especially when I'm driving. So... this rig works well for me too. Don't spend more than $150 on it. Get it on sale and it's worth the money.
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|
| KD5FDN |
Rating:     |
2001-07-04 | |
| Nice Little Rig |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
Considering my mother-in-law works for Radio Shack Corporate and she is able to get me a discount, I cannot complain about the price.
My brother and I both have this radio and are very happy with it so far. I have had mine 6 months at this point. I am using a Larsen 2.5db gain 5/8 wave antenna on this radio and it is doing great. I am able to hit most repeaters in town, and on low power can do 8 to 10 miles Simplex.
The only drawback is the frequency tuning and setting. I wish direct entry were on the radio, and there was a MHZ button like the Icom IC2100H.
Other than that, it is a great first radio, or small application radio. |
|
| KE3YO |
Rating:   |
2001-07-02 | |
| Not worth it. |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Works well except the memory wouldn't work on the one I got. Found it easy to get on packet. Got good audio reports. But as the other hams have pointed out, for a few bucks more you can get a rig with a lot more features and more power from ICOM or Kenwood. I plan to return this rig to Radio Shack for a refund. Radio Shack has apparently dicontinued this model and no wonder. |
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| KD5OMZ |
Rating:     |
2001-05-31 | |
| good overall; low audio output |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I just got my ham ticket this past month, and this is my first rig. I got a good deal on it considering I got the rig (like new), a power supply, and an antenna for an old Palm III PDA. Though I certainly wish it had more features, like entering the frequency from the keypad. My only complaint is that a lot of people tell me my audio is low. How do I change this? A previous review said it (the deviation) could be changed by "rv2". What does this mean, and what do I change it to? Any help would be much appreciated! |
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