Yaesu FT-60r Handheld UHF/VHF

So it seems like there are a few on here that have a radio or interest in amateur radio. I just got a new antenna for my hand held (aka handi-talkie or HT) so I thought I'd share. I've owned the FT-60 for almost a year now and I'm really happy with it. If you're looking to get into the hobby this is a good radio for several reasons. I've gotten a few PM's here and other forums so I thought I'd put down my experience.

The FT-60r is a dual band radio, in this case it's a 2 meter band (UHF) and 70 cm band (VHF). I primarily use 2 meter but it's nice having the 70 cm there while traveling or using established systems in certain regions. The radio will receive from about 144 to 999 mhz with some frequencies in between blocked (cellular, military, etc). This makes the radio a scanner for those frequencies. Some police, some fire, commercial (tow trucks, buses, etc).

I got the FT-60 because it's relatively cheap, I think I paid $120 shipped. It's been around a while so there may be used ones out there worth snatching up. I also got the Yaesu because I have a Yaesu FT-2800M in the 4Runner. Both radios have enough similarities in programming and operation that I felt it was the way to go. Another reason for this radio is it's small size. It fits in a pocket, belt, pack, chest harness, etc, well and isn't big, heavy and bulky like other radios (even other Yaesus).

Here it is out of the box with the stock rubber duckie antenna.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-s...0/DSC08318.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-P...0/DSC08321.JPG

After programming the radio I started playing with it. For the most part receive (RX) in the house didn't work all that well. Not a surprise considering our cell phones don't work well in the house either. Outside the stock antenna was OK but not great. To my benefit I have many repeaters near by some that reach from the Bay Area to the west side of the Sierra.

Since I got the radio to use on the road and radio support (bicycle events, races, Western States 100, CIM, etc) I needed something reliable and better reaching than the stock duckie. After some research I ended up with a Diamond SRH77CA dual band antenna.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-l...0/DSC08378.JPG

It's a great antenna. It fits the SMA antenna port snug, the quality is very high and overall it's a durable antenna. One issue that comes up is it's length especially when wearing the radio in a chest harness. It's kind of hard to tell but the antenna is quite long for a small palm sized radio.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-X...0/DSC08381.JPG

After running the SRH77CA for awhile I started looking again. I ended up getting another Diamond. This new one is a Diamond SRH519. It's much shorter and the diameter much smaller. As a result it's less likely to poke your eye out, easier to use in a vehicle but it is visibly not as robust.

Here are the 3 mentioned antenna side by side for reference.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-l...0/IMAG0493.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-y...0/IMAG0495.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-u...0/IMAG0496.jpg

Receiving (RX) is pretty easy for a radio with an antenna to do. For example the hooptie you see driving down the street with a coat hanger as an FM antenna. Like I mentioned before the stock duckie did OK, part of that OK is RX. Part of the OK was transmitting (TX). HT's maximum output TX strength is 5 watts, compared to the 65 watts on the FT-2800. As such you want a good antenna to make the most out of your 5 watts. Sure there are other factors but plainly put even at 5 watts the stock duckie leaves my RX somewhat distorted, flat and not so clear. Another thing to consider is battery life. 5 watts will drain the battery faster and heat up the radio faster than if you were TX'ing at say 2 watts to the same repeater but with a better antenna, hence my reason to replace the duckie.

Below are some pictures showing the strength meter with the different antennas. Again, an under wire can RX a signal but this is for demonstration purposes. I did the test in my garage, next to a parked car and with the thick, insulated garage door closed. I know the strength would be higher with the door open and my on the driveway but it's kind of cold outside and I didn't want a bunch of pictures with the meter pegged as it wouldn't show much.

I set the radio to 3 different frequencies. Two to weather stations (WX) and one to a repeater. When reading up on antennas I found guys were saying to test the antennas while RX'ing the WX frequencies. I'm not totally sure why other than someone on the other end is always talking but I believe another reason is that the signal can be coming from pretty far. The WX stations I used were 162.550 (located ~55 miles away in Jackson, CA) and 162.400 (located ~70 miles on Wolf Mountain in Nevada County). The third frequency is a repeater located on Mt. Vaca in Vacaville, CA, ~60 miles as the crow flies.

The meter is the line of blocks towards the bottom of the screen. It goes from 1 to 10.

Stock, WX 162.550
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-r...0/IMAG0509.jpg

Stock, WX 162.400
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-3...0/IMAG0510.jpg

Stock, Mt. Vaca
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-j...0/IMAG0517.jpg

SCH77CA WX 162.550
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-a...0/IMAG0513.jpg

SCH77CA WX 162.440
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-v...0/IMAG0514.jpg

SCH77CA Mt. Vaca
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Y...0/IMAG0515.jpg

SCH519 WX 162.550
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-A...0/IMAG0511.jpg

SCH519 WX 162.440
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-h...0/IMAG0512.jpg

SCH519 Mt. Vaca
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-i...0/IMAG0516.jpg

As you can see all antennas can RX 162.550 pretty well. 162.440 takes a bit of a hit but it's farther away. Similar story RX'ing the Mt. Vaca repeater. I can TX to the Mt. Vaca repeater from my house no problem with the two Diamond antennas at medium power. For best results I need to be on high power for the duckie to hit it well enough for guys to know I'm not on an HT. For a nice repeater like the Mt. Vaca both the Diamonds shine and with a short one and long one it's nice to have options.

This test backs up my experience in using the 3 antennas. The SCH77CA TX and RX's the best. Down side is the length. The SCH519 would be my second choice but the TX and RX wouldn't be as great. In some instances it could mean the difference in hearing or being heard. I usually run the 519 and if I think I need it I toss the 77CA in my pack. Another thing I consider is that if I drop the radio and break the 519 it's likely toast (but I do carry it on my chest http://www.coaxsher.com/Radio-Chest-Harness-p/rp203.htm so it's pretty safe). Having the 77CA as back up is nice insurance.

My old 4Runner setup used a mag mount NMO base with an FM-E coax end. I wanted the mag mount because it's easy and I wanted the FM-E because I wanted to run the coax into the cab through existing wire harnesses and weather tight bundles without drilling holes. A PL-259 adapter screws onto the FM-E for attachment to my FT-2800. I drilled holes for permanent NMO mounts on the 4Runner so I have the old mag mount to play around with, with the FT-60.

NMO is the circle mount shown in this magnet. It's what police cars, fire engines, taxis, etc use. It's solid and allows for adapters to accommodate different antennas.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-4...0/IMAG0498.jpg

FM-E end and adapters.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-I...0/IMAG0501.jpg

SMA end on the HT.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Y...0/IMAG0494.jpg

Adapter SMA to FM-E. So excited when I found this.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-z...0/IMAG0500.jpg

I've have had 4 different NMO antennas since I got my license. Right now I'm down to two, both being 2 meter antennas. 2 meter only because I spend most my time on 2 meters and the 4Runner radio is a single band radio and that's where I use these larger antennas.

These are both Larsen antennas. The short (~18") is a 1/4 wave and the (~48") is a 5/8 wave.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-n...0/IMAG0503.jpg

Here are the results for the same test I did with the small HT antennas.

1/4 wave WX 162.550
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-k...0/IMAG0505.jpg

1/4 wave WX 162.400
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-1...0/IMAG0506.jpg

The 1/4 wave pegged the meter when tuned to the Mt. Vaca repeater (no pic).

5/8 wave WX 162.550
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-u...0/IMAG0507.jpg

5/8 wave WX 162.400
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-c...0/IMAG0508.jpg

Again the 5/8 pegged when tuned to the repeater. The 5/8 wave is much longer than the 1/4 wave but had lower numbers on the meter. From what I've learned, a longer antenna doesn't work better than a shorter one (har, har). These 2 antennas are actually quite different but that's for another thread. The 5/8 wave is a tunable antenna that I haven't tuned. By the meter numbers it appears it's actually better tuned to RX 162.400 than 162.550, unlike all the other antennas. The strength numbers were opposite than all the other antennas when tuned to the 2 WX frequencies. Perhaps after tuning the number would swap, perhaps they would both increase. I don't know, again just demonstrating.

What I was trying to show was flexibility with an HT using antennas. If I were going to be using the HT in a vehicle or indoors all the time I'd run the mag mount with an NMO antenna over the duckies. The signal is stronger and I'll be able to use less power. On the go I'd use one of the Diamonds and ditch the dummy load factory antenna.

And again the FT-60 is a great radio and easy to use. I like my mobile hard mounted setup but if you have to have one radio this HT is a great choice along with some antennas.

always good to have some HAM posts on here!

Whos the next one to make the switch?

I have been searching ebay and for another dual band hand held for mine exploring. Prices are holding on most everything, but interesting little junk HT are turning up for ~40. I got to thinking most CB installs are ~100 after they are all said and done. A HT set up with external antenna as you have shown would be in the same price range and be a hell of alot more useful then CB...Just gotta get more HAMs on the trail to make it a viable option.

Y

Quote:

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Originally Posted by troyboy162

always good to have some HAM posts on here!

Whos the next one to make the switch?

I have been searching ebay and for another dual band hand held for mine exploring. Prices are holding on most everything, but interesting little junk HT are turning up for ~40. I got to thinking most CB installs are ~100 after they are all said and done. A HT set up with external antenna as you have shown would be in the same price range and be a hell of alot more useful then CB...Just gotta get more HAMs on the trail to make it a viable option.

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you might be better off buying new and getting a warranty for a ht radio. I looked for a bit and most people will not come down in price enough to make it worthwhile to get used.
Keep looking on qrz and eham.net as well

I was talking about the new Chinese HT's being all the way down in the sub $50 range. I'm sure they are nothing fancy, but on par or better then the cobra 19 dx in a quarter of our trucks.

old thread getting a bump because I'm interested in making the switch I think...

You gotta do it. One of the biggest things is having other people do it too. None of my wheeling buddies do it but everyone else does. I talk about 3-4 days a week with people, mostly older hams, while commuting or running errands. I've relyed calls and just monitored as well. I volunteer at several local events and that's a lot of fun.

Locally I can monitor and frequently talk with guys on the Rubicon. That was one of my relay calls. A guy on the trail needed a part from a buddy. There is no cell service on the trail yet heard the call while doing yard work at home in the valley. I phoned up his buddy, told him to pack and extra alternator and that his buddy was waiting for him.

I've met a lot of people through the hobby. Most are older and non wheelers and that's what makes it fun. There is a huge group of people who run the Rubicon that are licensed. They all run a class and take the test at the same time. They also have a group buy on ft-60's.