Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: Radio Shack HTX-404

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

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : Radio Shack HTX-404
Reviews: 19MSRP: 199
Description:
440 MHz mini-HT, 200 mw output w. 2 alkaline AA batteries, 2 watts out with 9.6 volts external, 30 memories, programmable tones, discontinued in early 2001
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.radioshack.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
14194.3
K4III Rating: 2003-06-25
Great w/o tone squelch Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
It is a great radio. However, if you plan to use tone squelch to cut out other noises and/or users on frequency, you may want another radio. There is a problem with the chip used and the tone squelch only searches every couple of seconds for the tone. I read somewhere that it is a programmed chip fault in the radio. In other words, one time it may open the receiver's audio right at the beginning of the person keying, the next time, open it 3 seconds after the person speaks. The same problem happens if you are using tone squelch to knock the repeater's squelch tail out.

This seems to be a common ham rig problem not found much on commercial gear, even with the newer rigs such as the early Yaesu VX-5 HTs!

Otherwise, if you don't plan to use tone squelch, (not Tone) it is a GREAT little HT that can offer a lot on UHF. The transmitted encoded tone works fine. (It's the decoder)
K4SDC Rating: 2003-04-19
Every Ham Should Have At Least One Of These!!! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
All I can say is that Radio Shack made a BIG mistake when they quit making these radios.. In my opinion they should have expanded the line to include a dual-band, a 220mhz, and a 6-meter; all to match the 404/202 rigs.

This is a solid radio with good output, excellent audio on both transmit & receive, enough features to make it a functional radio but not so many functions that you need a college degree to turn it on. I have 2 HTX-404s (and 2 HTX-202s as well) and have had no problems with either one of them. Perfect first HT for a new ham!

Now, wouldn't it be great if eHam would put all of the 404 reviews under one heading instead of two?
KD7BCS Rating: 2002-03-26
CTCSS prob? Time Owned: more than 12 months.
this is for coment about the CTCSS:

We don't under stand what is going on with this tone problum. We have tested 7 radios on a IFR-1500s, over $20,000 service monitor and have seen no problums. I own IRLP node number 501 here in Southern Oregon our repeater needs 173.8 tone and we have no problums with that. Also, none of our PTT switches make any niose....????

I like the CTCSS encode cause they hold carrior for about 250ms after a unkey so a repeater that has not got a audio delay bord you hear no sqelch crash....

----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by KD7BCS on 2002-03-13

This radio though made by radioshack i few years ago, was clearly one of their best. this is a must for a UHF buff. These radios can crank 5 watts all day long or 1/2 watt. Also there RX is awsome because they dont go out of band. RX is 430-450 thats it.... Great reject, no intermod, very solid like its bro (htx-202). awsome display very easy to read...

to have a good list ya must have a down side :)

Down side:
the only thing that i can say is that the keypad don't light up..(so what) they work to well.....

Side note. I hade some custom batt's made for it with big Mah for 12v so 5 watts is nooo brob.

to buy one is about $80-110 if more its to much

Chris KD7BCS
KQ6Q Rating: 2002-03-20
my only 70cm radio! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
There aren't many open 440 repeaters here, so I only use a couple of the memories, no problem with the PL on the ones I use. Receiver is nice and tight - recent deployment inside a hospital, I could hear the F6A's on simplex, but they couldn't hear me. One of the other guys got another 404 out of his bag, we were in solid communication in a high-noise RF dense environment. I use it in the car with an external antenna and power from the cigarette lighter, and a speaker-mike - works great. Just don't think about trying to use the keypad or reading the display while driving at night!
VE6TXT Rating: 2002-03-19
But one significant problem Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I agree with the other sentiments about the radio, it is a good unit for the price. It does have a significant problem with CTCSS encoding, and if you need encoding to access a repeater, you should make another choice for a uhf handheld.

See http://sbszoo.com/ve6sbs/projects/htx404/htx404.htm
for a detailed explanation.
KC0JEX Rating: 2002-03-19
Great radio for the cash Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I bought this radio used on eBay for around $80. I think I got a great deal on it with the 5 watts output on a 13.8 VDC plug. Good features, I like the DTMF components and other functions.

----------------------
Earlier 4-star review posted by KC0JEX on 2001-12-01

I bought this radio used and got it for a good deal. It comes with all the necessary features and covers 430-450 MHz. Runs 5 watts output on 12VDC, nice little 70cm HT, for a beginner or Advanced operator.
WD9DUI Rating: 2001-08-31
Good radio for price Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I had to return the first one that I found, it had no audio on TX. The 2nd one works fine, good reports and able to get into all the local machines. A good radio for under $50.
N1VLQ Rating: 2001-06-02
some more details... Time Owned: N.A.
Since I work for RadioShack, I thought I'd give you a little more information. The HTX-400 is now closeout priced at $49.97, and if your store doesn't have one, they can quickly tell you which stores in their district do have them, if any at all. Tell them to check their "perpetual", short for perpetual inventory, which lists much of the merchandise in all the stores in a particular district of RadioShack stores (typically 20 to 30 stores). It takes literally less than 5 seconds to check that information. As for the power plug, I tried part number 273-1712 on the HTX-200 (the 2 meter version of the same radio) and it seems to fit nicely. There are a few different pigtails to attach that plug to, located in the same section (usually!). Hope that helps!
73
Bruce, N1VLQ
KT8K Rating: 2001-06-02
more details Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
The small SMA antenna connector is odd, but Radio Shack does sell a 2-3 ft. pigtail adapter for it. Like the HT-245 2 meter version, it is capable of using Alkalines, NiCads or Nmh batteries. The receiver audio is weak and not especially clear, but a speaker mic or earphone can make up for that. It works OK when you are CLOSE to a repeater (5 miles for my town's repeater). As I said before, a good starter rig for 440, and a deal if you can find a closeout.


----------------------
Earlier 3-star review posted by KT8K on 2001-06-02

On closeout, this radio sold for $69.00, and is a great deal at that price. The controls take a little study, but it functions very well and has a good receiver. 200 mw is OK around town, but more is needed. Unfortunately I haven't found a power plug that makes a good fit, so 2 watt operation has eluded me. Documentation also lists 1 watt in another spot, and I haven't checked the actual output. Overall, a good starter rig for 440. I have enjoyed it.