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Reviews For: Radio Shack HTX-202

Category: Transceivers: VHF/UHF+ Amateur Hand-held

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Review Summary For : Radio Shack HTX-202
Reviews: 114MSRP: 199 c.1995
Description:
2 Meter Hand Held HT
Product is not in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
001144.7
KK6NJ Rating: 2001-11-01
rugged radio! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased my first htx-202,and 404 back in the
early 90,s, it is an brickhouse rig!excellent
receive sensitivity and intermod rejection,but
the radio is susceptible to computer hash and
high tension wire noise just like mentioned,
before,the squelch must be all the way on!
to stop this.In my opinion the radio is difficult
to program,but when you read the manual and
program the rig a few times it is not too bad.
Extended receive would be nice but this a trade
off for better sensitivity and intermod rejection.
I paid over $150.00dollars on sale!normally they
were $200.00dollars,now they are availaible
on e-bay for $50.00,to $75.00dollars! this a
good deal for this radio!Some icom older ht,s
like the o2-at,03-at,etc,battery packs fit the
htx-202,but sometimes thay dont fit 100,percent
and the power cuts out!so be careful and buy the
oringinal pack built for the radio.I am an formal
employee of premier communications,(adi,pryme,)
radios and accessories,and we did not at that time
when i was working there have a pryme batt,pack
for the htx-202,and i had a customer wanting a
battery for the htx-202,and i was going to
suggest an pryme,vesion of the icom bp-7 or
bp-8,but i was informed not to sell that battery
for the htx-202,because sometimes they dont fit
right,and we didnt want the liabilty,of course.
So be careful,with this icom,bp-7,bp-8 idea.
I tried with success for a while but as the radio
ages,the power kept cutting out and sometimes loss
of memory too!apparently the battery holder gets loose,from age and makes the fit of the bp-7,bp-8
worse!Also worth mentioning some people believe
this rig was built by icom? i even read in a
ham magazine that mentioned icom? I also heard
the rig was built by maxon,for radio shack,both
rumors are non-confirmed,far as i know.
KG8ZH Rating: 2001-10-05
Excellent Radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The 202 was the best rig Radio Shack ever made. I have owned four of these HT's . Actually three 202's and one 404, but all of them served me well. One of them took severe abuse. I carried it while hiking, camping, and fishing as well as hunting during Michigan winters. The radio was dropped, got wet, and one time while hunting, it fell off my belt and into a mound of snow. It took me about 20 minutes to find it in that snow mound, but when I got it out, it worked fine.

I think Radio Shack should bring that rig back.
N8PEP Rating: 2001-10-04
Comments about HTX-202 Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I own five of these radios and would even buy more. They are the easiest to program of all modern handhelds that I know of. Although they have only 12 or 16 memories (depending on how you count them), they have a very sensitive receiver with vitually no intermod, and their transmit audio is outstanding. They offer a full five watts with a 13.8 volt external source. They have CTCSS encode and decode and DTMF encode and decode built-in. They are supplied with a nicad pack and an alkaline case. There really are no options to have to buy, except perhaps a speaker/mic, which can be a Radio Shack, Yaesu, or ICOM. Aside from having limited memories, the only shortcomings I know of are (1) there is no capability for out of band transmitting or receiving, (2) the receivers are very sensitive to computer hash, electrical interference, and other weak signals, which causes the squelch to break more frequently than is desirable, and (3) it's rather large. However, even with its fairly minor shortcomings, this radio is one of the best handhelds ever made. They seem to be extremely rugged. Radio Shack made a huge mistake when they dropped this radio from their inventory.
KQ4YY Rating: 2001-10-04
Beaten,soaked,abused.Works great! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought my HTX-202 used- near- new at a local hamfest for a decent price some years ago.I then proceded to torture the radio, in and out of the mobiles (4 wheel drive often).Droping it on the ground pedestrian mobile,Hiking,biking and lastly as a base station back-up.I also left it out in the rain.It still works great! I may get a few more at the going rate(50-75$)the're a bargain!
KF2OK Rating: 2001-10-03
One of best ever made Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This was my first radio, I have used this as a base, mobile and portable operation. No intermod, encode/decode, alkaline battery pack, the rechargable battery pack is interchangeable with some older icom HTs. Microphone /remote jack compatible with some ICOM and Alinco DJ580,they use the same mike. Never any problems with this HT, although no extended receive and only 12 memories. I too have seen this sell for as little as $ 50, Think I paid $ 229 on sale some time back in 1992. Great radio, they dont make them like this anymore, Radio Shack out did themselves.
AD5CN Rating: 2001-06-11
Solid beginner radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The best HT Radio Shack ever "Endorsed". Poor decision to discontinue the production. However, the remaining stock can be bought at a good price for beginners and even "EX-perts". I still have mine as a back-up radio. This radio does not have a lot bells and whistles but it is a great performer. The only trivial problem I have is the signal strength meter/squelch sensitivity. The squelch has to be almost MAX to quiet the receiver and the meter pegs easily to weak signals or "white noise".
KC0ELC Rating: 2001-06-10
Best 2 meter ht out there Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I had this ht for over 3 years and i like it alot. I dont like that they stoped manufacturing it. Overall A++++++++++++++++++++++++++
W6PMR Rating: 2001-06-05
Best used price deal for 2meters Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is THE BEST deal going out there right now for a used two meter radio. I have seen these for as low as $50 bucks at swap meets.
The most common price is $100 or under in mint with box!!
In my humble opinion this is a wonderful BASIC radio, Not many frills but a very good preformer.
Very good intermod rejection, good audio, very easy to use and most older Icom HT stuff will work
with it.
It has enough power, (5 watts+ with direct 12 volts) and is the most rugged radio this side of a Motorola. For a first radio or backup you can't
go wrong.
KC2HMZ Rating: 2001-05-06
Great Radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Best 2m only HT ever made. Tight front end allows virtually zero intermod. Good audio on both transmit and receive.
KD5CYW Rating: 2001-03-23
Just about a bullet proof dependable Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought the 202 for my first owned radio in 1998, a great radio for a H/T that has been dropped over and over again. Since then I have another I carry (Icom T2A- fantastic) and reassigned the 202 to being my APRS Xmitter, it takes the 5 watt to a 45 watt booster and it has running for 2 years almost everyday. This also is a good back up radio with a 8- AA cell Batt case over the stock 6 cell batt case.