Thank you for all the useful feedback. How long (roughly) does the TH-F7
> Hi Ben,
> I own both sets and they are both good in their own ways, but I think I
just
> prefer the Kenwood.
> Both sets suffer from intermodulation (especially on 2m from Pagers) but
the
> Kenwood has a switchable attenuator which helps quite a lot. The VX-5
> short-wave coverage is not great, only up to 16 MHz which is a drawback
for
> me. The Kenwood has wonderful coverage, 0.1 to 1300 MHz, with SSB
available
> up to 470 MHz, and it also has reasonable AM bandwidth-the VX-5 has much
too
> wide filters for use on the HF bands. The Kenwood also has a built in
> ferrite bar aerial which improves low frequency reception-a bit!
> I use 6m quite often with the VX-5. The standard *** duck is a poor
> performer on 6m on the VX-5, although I can use it where I live but I use
an
> aftermarket Diamond SMA connector aerial which gives quite an improvement.
I
> miss having the extra band on the Kenwood-they should have made 6m
available
> to make up for the loss of 220 MHz from the European version.
> Both have great battery life-but that's what you expect with Lithium
> batteries. The Kenwood takes longer to charge though, but lasts the
longest.
> I had big problems with my first two VX-5s-eventually the dealer replaced
> the faulty sets with a new "Silver" version (just a colour change). The
> problem was poor CTCSS decode, which affected early models mostly, but
some
> of the new sets have it too. The Kenwood is free from any problems as far
as
> I can tell. I think the VX-5 is showing its age a bit by the way.
> The Kenwood has have the necessary 6.25 kHz steps to allow you to use the
> set to listen
> on the 446 licence free band. The Yaesu doesn't have 6.25 kHz steps, so
it's
> not usable.
> I haven't modded either of my sets as there's no point me doing so.
Neither
> set will work
> on transmit on CB bands, though you can listen to them with the Kenwood.
> Both sets produce 5 Watts, so there won't be any difference in range
between
> them. I find the standard Kenwood aerial a bit better than the Yaesu.
> Accessories are, as usual, hugely expensive for both sets but it's
possible
> to get round this with generic equipment. Both sets will rapidly lose the
> lettering on their buttons without a protective case by the way.
> I'll probably be selling my VX-5 soon, as I need some cash towards a new
> Kenwood TS-2000!
> 73.
> Al Bolton, G4VSQ
> http://www.redwaveradio.com/
> ====================================
> > Hi All
> > I'm new to amateur radio, and am obtaining my Foundation licence soon. I
> > want to start with a hand-held, for use in the UK and Switzerland. I
> expect
> > to use repeaters often.
> > I want a very small unit, and am trying to decide between the Kenwood
> TH-F7
> > or the Yeasu VX-5R. May I ask a few questions:
> > 1) Is it possible to modify the VX-5R to be compatible with PMR446? I
> > understand the Kenwood can be, but the frequency stepping is wrong on
the
> > VX-5R?
> > 2) Is there any other (5W or higher) compact hand-held to consider -
> > preferably that could be used with PMR446?
> > 3) Will the hand-held to hand-held range be similar between the two
models
> > at the same power in the same conditions?
> > 4) Can either be modified to transmit on the CB frequencies (I have a
> > licence)?
> > 5) Realistically how useful is the 6m band on the Yeasu?
> > 6) Any other comments on the two units, preferably from somebody who has
> > both.
> > I have read loads of online reviews so have a vague idea. It seems that
> the
> > VX-5R is generally better unit but I really want back-compatibility with
> > PMR446 (I am aware there are licence complications here)
> > Thanks in advance
> > Ben
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