They’re cheap, poor-fidelity, horrible propagation radios with handfuls of bugs (the one I bought years ago has a lot of trouble with frequency bleed).
But they’re also now less than $20 USD on Amazon.
FWIW, they’re still under $20 (or under $30 for a combo pack including what looks like a charger and some other stuff.) Although I’m not licensed (yet), I ordered one and will put it on the shelf for when I do get licensed, on the same principle that one’s first motorcycle shouldn’t be a Harley because you’re going to wreck it - I don’t want to spend big $ on a radio until I’m sure I’m going to stick with it as something I do.
Thanks, my wallet is now $20 lighter. I’ve got a couple of Yaesu HTs already, but I’m always game for yet another radio.
That’s nuts. I couldn’t buy the cheap parts in those for time and a half that!
One could purchase five of these for the cheapest Yaesu on the market right now.
Having said that, I’m not giving up my Yaesu radios anytime soon. :D
At $20 should I just get this for passive listening during emergencies even if I know I’ll never get around to getting a license to broadcast?
Thanks, my father has mentioned wanted to get into amateur radio so I grabbed one of these and the number of the local group. And since they were so cheap, I grabbed one for me and might go for my license by the end of the summer.
I saw this and am now lurking on the local repeaters while I study for a Tech license - couldn’t resist the deal for a “starter” radio, and it seems to work pretty well. I tried and gave up on the Code stuff back in the 70s, but since I am an electrical engineer, the only learning curve I have for the test now is the ham legalities and culture.
Thanks for the pointer!
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