Well, got my radio, and the programming cable (I was too lazy to program channels on the actual keypad) for my first brand new, in the box radio. Yeah me! So, I can't compare boxing/shipping/etc with other rigs.
These are the specific Amazon items I ordered:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
But, first impression on opening the box: It's not a slouch packaging job. The inserts held all the components in a plastic tray. I'm on Amazon Prime, so two day shipping was free, and I got it in two days, as expected.
The radio came with a full charge, which I'm still working on draining (Manual says to drain it 3 times). So, three days of monitoring, and it's still full. The drop-in charger seems a little cheap. Nothing like the Maxon drop-in bases I've used in the past. But, to order a new one costs $8, so I suppose in this regard, you get what you pay for.
The radio itself, however does not feel cheap. Battery latches, belt clip, antenna all look to be of superior construction. It's comparable to my HTX-420, without the die-cast case. Not sure if it would survive a fall, but neither would my smart phone, and I paid about $200 for that. I don't think any plastic case radio would do to well in most falling scenarios either.
The antenna is a reverse female SMA connection (Male on the radio side, female on the antenna). Some people gripe about this, but I believe Yaesu hand helds are the same. It seems to me that it would allow the antenna to break before the radio connector (A good thing), which I like.
Now, I've only been mostly monitoring, but I checked into a net, and had no issues. I also used a repeater to get an audio/signal quality report. Came back with decent audio, and signal quality.
Programming on the keypad is painful, but no more so than programming my HTX-420, or my Yaesu FT-2500. Programming via CHIRP is easy-peasy. Had no issues with the cable I got.
The radio comes with a belt clip, an earpiece microphone, a charging base, the stubby antenna, the radio, and a hand strap. Looking at the loop for the hand strap, I wouldn't trust it. People have reported the pin coming out of the belt clip, and I can see how that would happen. The pin doesn't have any heads on it. Just a straight pin. So, I'll keep an eye on it, and see if it works itself out of there (Likely will).
The firmware I got on the radio is 307, which is the most recent (As of when I bought this) firmware. Firmware is non-updateable, so you get what you get. The radio does have VOX, so it should would well for digital modes (No PTT circuit needed). Radios can also do radio-to-radio cloning, with a single cable, which could come in handy during Emcomm stuff, field day, hamfests, etc etc.
There have been some complaints about the manual being written in Engrish. This particular shipment had no such thing. While the manual is sparse, it's plainly readable.
Overall, I'd say for $31 + $8 for a cable, this was a pretty sweet deal. Will it last as long as a Yaecomwood? Who knows? It's not submersible. It feels (In the hand) like quality construction.
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Originally Posted by W3WN
