| M5AEO |
Rating:  |
2011-09-19 | |
| Excellent! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Purchased this rig recently from W&S for a rediculously small sum, and I think it's great!
I have owned several Yaesu HTs over the years and I didn't like the programming in the VX5 etc. But the FT60 is much improved. Programming is easy, and access to things like CTCSS tones is just a couple of button pushes; much easier than previous models. The battery is also very good and works well with the power levels set at sensible values. The only negative is the supplied antenna, but there are so many better one's easily available that it's not a problem (I would suggest trying GAREX in the UK for a replacement).
Overall, I highly recommend this radio.
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| KG4NVV |
Rating: |
2011-09-09 | |
| Fine, Competent Dual Bander That Deserves A Better Antenna |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Just picked one of these up at the Shelby, NC hamfest, so here are my first impressions after about a week of use. I already have a VX-150, and programming in repeaters on the FT-60R is very similar, so it was easy for me. The receive audio on this rig is awesome, as good as if not better than the VX-150. Plenty of volume and the low to mid audio frequencies come through with plenty of punch, unlike the audio of my Kenwood TH-F6A, which is rather "tinny". This is one of the major selling points for this radio, in my opinion. I've gotten good reports so far on transmit audio through one of our local UHF repeaters. The 1400 mAh battery life seems great; I yakked it up quite a bit with a fellow on a 70 cm repeater and still had a good bit of battery life left.
Like the VX-150, this rig is very handy for use in the field. It fits well into the VX-150 leather carrying case, but you will have some difficulty seeing the display since it is on the side of the rig rather than the top like the VX-150. So far Yaesu does not seem to offer a dedicated leather carrying case for the FT-60R. A message to Yaesu: please come out with one!
Another benefit is the very wideband receive capability of this radio, and you can even receive the VHF AM aircraft band frequencies.
About my only beef with this great rig is that the supplied antenna is simply awful. It is very poor at receiving 2m frequencies and only marginally better on 70cm. I swapped it with my VX-150 OEM antenna to see if there was any difference on 2m, and there was: repeaters that came in S4 or so on the FT-60R antenna would come in S9+ using the VX-150 antenna. I wound up purchasing a dual-band Comet SMA-24 aftermarket SMA antenna to replace the OEM antenna and the difference on both 2m and 70cm is night and day. Much better reception on both bands, which translates to better transmit as well!
All in all, I highly recommend this fine handheld! Just beware of the antenna and realize that it can be replaced with better options. |
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| KD0JWY |
Rating: |
2011-07-20 | |
| My favorite Dual Band HT |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| Hello this is KD0JWY, This radio is a workhorse. I have dropped it a few times while holding a Elk antenna and working SO-50. It's a great radio. Easy to program. Nice size buttons. I don't have anything to say bad about the radio. I love it. It works great as a FM Satellite hand held radio. It is a workhorse. 73 from KD0JWY |
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| GM0WNR |
Rating: |
2011-07-17 | |
| Great little workhorse |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I have @15yrs experience in ham radio and have owned several VHF/UHF hand-held radios, this one, in my opinion, is one of the best. It is a rugged little workhorse of a radio with enough functions to keep your average ham happy for years. A great battery life, and cheap battery too! I ordered one from Hong Kong and all in it was @ £18 delivered, 'nuff said! I use it for occasional use in the garden to monitor the local UHF repeater, or when out for walks with the XYL. The extended receive is just the icing on the cake for me. It is very intuitive to use without much reference to the well written manual, and with the price in the UK coming down recently, it was a steal. There is no commercially made Yaesu case for this radio (Yaesu what were you thinking!!) but I bought a Nintendo DS neoprene case from feebay and it fits just nicely for @ £5. If it were to go missing / a victim of spontaneous combustion, I would replace it in a heartbeat. Nice one Yaesu!! |
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| N1VVD |
Rating: |
2011-07-12 | |
| The best Dual-bander on the Market |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Rated a 4.7 with 237 Reviews...
That about sums it up.
Yaesu/Vertex makes some of the best HAM gear. |
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| M3FLP |
Rating: |
2011-07-12 | |
| Lovely H/H |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I had a Kenwood D72 that was stolen and I replaced it with this. Yes, no GPS or APRS but I never used it anyway.
The battery lasts forever on the Yaesu, at least a week on receive for about 5 hours a day. The memories are sooooo easy to program, just like my 817. Simply go into VFO mode, enter the frequency, hold down function, go the the memory number you want to save it in and press function again, simples!
It feels very solidly built, has great reception and TX quality and much much more.
I haven't been able to find a case for it but I understand an old Kenwood one fits, can't remember the model. It also has awesome wideband receive so great for the airshows and local military airfields. I had mine widebanded on the TX by Radio World who were selling them for a bargin £130, it was a no brainer!
This will go to the grave with me, I love it to bits. |
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| W3END |
Rating: |
2011-07-05 | |
| Nice HT |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Very nice HT like the knob layout with squelch and volume control. Good size, not too big not too small fits hand nicely. In my opinion it was relatively easy to program. Seems to have everything necessary to rate it a five. |
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| KD0NGX |
Rating: |
2011-06-10 | |
| Great Public Service Radio |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| I purchased this radio as my first HT when I got my license in December 2010. I use it at public service events. I didn't purchase the Yaesu speaker-mic because it looked cheap; I purchased a heavier-duty speaker-mic and have been happy with the radio. I have found the only way to get the speaker-mic to stay attached to the radio is to run the cable around the radio and under the belt clip, then that holds it in place well. That would be my only complaint with this radio. It is easy to use, the battery lasts forever, and it sounds clear. I have used a higher-gain antenna with it and that seems to work well; during an American Lung Association "stair climb" recently there were hams in three different buildings in downtown, in stairwells and all throughout several buildings and the Skywalk and I was able to access the 2M repeater with no problem. Used it on a race recently too, and despite being in a lower spot on the course, I still had no trouble communicating. The price was good - I did a ton of research before purchasing last December and I would order another one if this one ever dies. I recently found a FT-250R on HRO for about $100, which I ordered. It uses the same battery/accessories as the FT-60R, and as a 2M backup for $100 I thought I couldn't go wrong given the FT-60R's performance. I don't get into a lot of technical stuff yet with ham radio; most of my interest is in just talking to others and spending my time with the public service events, so if you are new to ham radio and are looking for a HT that is easy to run, reliable, rugged and a good price, I think this is the one. |
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| KC9UAX |
Rating: |
2011-04-26 | |
| Great radio, great features for the money. |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I'm new to the hobby, so this is my first HT. I've owned it about a month or so. I have read extensive reviews of other brands/models, before deciding on the FT-60R. It is compact and easy to use. I had mine programmed manually with no issues. The stock duck works okay where i'm at, but i bought a Diamond SRH519 AND SRH77C which both increase my transmit range on low power to save the battery. Great rig. |
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| VA3DTP |
Rating: |
2011-03-19 | |
| Great Rugged Radio ! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| This was my first radio purchased as a ham over two years ago. Very popular hand held radio, rugged, dual band (VHF/UHF), 1000 channel memory capacity including ten memory banks, built-in ten weather channels, 5 watts output (variable). Lots of features, well worth the current new price. Used it as a mobile radio for 6 months with a mag mount antenna and worked well. Computer programming software and interface cable available at extra costs. Suggest buying an extra spare battery. |
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