Wouxun, Puxing, Baofeng, Quansheng...

[McKailas Dad]

Ham that is... I'm reading the Yaesu and the Kenwood (finally, one I can spell) are highly recommended, but how do these others compare?

I'm looking into getting a (non-GPS) tracker (beacon, I guess...), but will also need a receiver. I've been looking at them on Epay, and they range from $50 to $700.

Any ideas for a 1st time ham-er?

I see a RadioShack HTX 202 for $11.09.......

 

[WillMarchant]

I'd go to the local ham club meeting and see if someone has one to sell. You might also want to attend a local ham event and check out options in the "flea market."

 

[sylvie369]

Jeff -

I notice that the "HTX 202" you mentioned is just a 2-meter transceiver. I don't know of any locators that work on 2 meters. The Big Red Bee transmitter works on the 70cm band (also sometimes called "433 MHz"), and if that's what you're planning to use, you'll need a radio that receives on that band (plus an antenna, probably from Arrow Antennas, and connecting cables).

I have a cheap Puxing radio I would consider selling, and a Kenwood TH-F6A that I would NOT consider selling. I've used the Kenwood in tracking, and it works great.

Whatever you buy, make sure you get one that receives on the frequencies that your beacon transmits on. That probably means you'll need a "dual band" or "tri band" radio (2 meters/70 cm or 2 meters/70 cm/6 meters).

 

[Uncrichie]

I have an HTX-404 and its at the bottom end of what you want. It was based on an older version of an Icom radio 20 years ago. Get something that has a better receive portion to it.

 

[n5wd]

Ham that is... I'm reading the Yaesu and the Kenwood (finally, one I can spell) are highly recommended, but how do these others compare?

My wife is an elementary school principal, and her school's nurse is a brand new ham, wanted a radio, and asked for help. We attended a local hamfest where all but the Quansheng radios were present, and able to be demonstrated.

She ended up purchasing a Wouxun UHF/VHF handheld. It looks like a nice radio, has good audio on both receive and transmit. But, programming by the keyboard on the radio is difficult - best to do with the included program run on your desktop or laptop. With that program, it's a breeze to program.

That'd be my recommendation of the Chinese imports. Though, I wouldn't normally recommend it if you had a bit more money to spend - in that case, a Kenwood or a Yaseau with GPS would be my recommendation. Either will be a lot more useful in the future than just a "positionally challenged" radio.

73 Wayne N5WD

 

[CG Zaft]

There may be internet forums for ham foxhunting (hidden transmitter hunting). Yes, there are hams out there who think that hunting for your rocket is more fun than launching. I'm sure they'd be a great source of info.

Now a good word for the HTX-202 and HTX-404.

These are rugged radios with a legendary resistance to interference (maybe not so important for your needs).

You can get a working one cheap, and some of the "dead" ones (showing "Er 1" on the screen) just need a keypad reset at every power-up to use the VFO, or a common $6 memory battery replaced if you want to use the memories (not necessary for tracking?). These dead ones should be almost free. (note: the 404 may need another keypress to expand the receiver to also cover 430-440 MHz if the memory battery is dead)

Many of them have packs for 6 AA penlight batteries. The receiver has a very low current drain and will run a long time on the AAs. If it has a NiCad pack, it should be easy to rebuild the pack. For occaisonal use, it's much more convenient to use the AAs.

I don't have numbers on the sensitivity of these rigs, but for most uses a good antenna is much more important.

There is an op-ed in QST this month (Nov. 2011) on the virtues of simple handhelds.

CG