YAESUFT-60R DualBand Handheld 5W VHF/UHF Amateur Radio Transceiver - Dual Band

Been a great little radio for me. Built like tank and has a good feel. Easy to program as long as you know WHAT your programming, specifically repeater settings. I like the analog squelch very much. The charging cradle is a bear to get radio into and lack of USB charging are the most annoying issues for me. Good receiver sensitivity and contacts report clear audio. Expecting it to last a good long time.

The FT-60R is a great general-purpose dual-band (2m/70cm) ham transceiver. I've used this radio in the field as a volunteer search & rescue operator, and it has performed admirably in all sorts of conditions. For the price, it can't be beat.First the physical qualities: It's built solidly! Its body is cast aluminum, not plastic. It's not waterproof, but it is water resistant. I've been out in the rain with it and never had an issue. It's also taken a few drops onto hard surfaces without a hitch. The battery pack fits in real tight and never wiggles out of place. BTW, I highly recommend getting the FBA-25 battery pack that takes six standard AA cells as a backup if the rechargeable pack (included) dies.Programming the radio: This is a professional piece of equipment, and as such it is more complex to program than a regular walkie-talkie. As compact user interfaces go, this one's pretty good, but you'll get tired of programming lots of frequencies, so I recommend buying the USB programming cable and software.Operating the radio: This unit transmits with 5W of power; pretty common for this type of device. It's very good at pulling in weak signals. Voice is clear and stable, even when range becomes an issue. I like that the squelch is an analog dial and not a pair of up/down buttons. It has a control lock feature that prevents accidental button presses from detuning the radio unintentionally. It also has a scanning feature that can scan either stored channels in memory, or run sequentially up the dial.

Make sure you are getting the YAESU FT-60RE from IMPEX via Amazon. There is no doubt, the YAESU FT-60RE is an excellent amateur radio. We bought it for a specific purpose.We live in a rural Mexican community where 7 of our neighbors experienced burglary or theft and one home invasion in the last few months.We use the YAESU FT-60RE to set up a Neighborhood Watch in our area. I use the FRS and GMRS channels (listed in Wikipedia) which allow clear communications in areas where even Cell Phones don't work. Most of my neighbors have a one watt transceiver packaged with multiple radios. They can hear me and my wife with no problem. Most of these other cheap radios have short battery life and they have transmission problems because sending draws down the battery rapidly. Not so with the Yaesu FT-60RE.Should the rechargeable battery pass below operating voltage, the YAESU FT-60RE has a low battery alarm sounding like an alarm clock. It takes about 2.5 hours to re-charge the battery with the AC adapter that is bundled with the radio. I also bought a Yaesu 12 volt DC adapter for use in the car. In a city environment, I find the YAESU FT-60RE will broadcast 2-3 miles depending on urban obstructions. The YAESU FT-60RE can transmit in Mexican rural areas 1 to 6 miles depending on our hills and mountains. The GMRS channels allow an extended range over the FRS channels.For our Neighborhood Watch, I set the YAESU FT-60RE to a mid-power range (2 watts) instead of the high 5 watts setting with the FRS channels. This allows the battery to go 2 days without re-charging. My neighbors say my radio comes across as if I am in their house.Licensing requirements in Mexico for FRS/GMRS are unnecessary. However, use of local repeaters on other bands should bear study as business communications are dependent on the repeaters which become freely available at night. Amateur licensing in Mexico is not difficult to obtain if you want to use the repeaters, however the test is in Spanish.With the YAESU FT-60RE, I can monitor the Mexican police frequency at 866.700 MHz. It is strictly prohibited to transmit on this frequency without a Vecino Vigilante (Neighborhood Watch) signed agreement and training in the codes for summoning police assistance. This relationship is important as many of us have no cell phone reception in the mountain pockets where we live.I like the ability to program a frequency using the keys. The up or down scanning works well. Most important is the ability to LOCK the settings so that the dial does not change frequency. Novices can inadvertently push things. The LOCK setting allows the radio to be used in a carefree manner.Similarly the ability to select a different POWER range from LOW to MID to HIGH is very simple and the YAESU FT-60RE can LOCK in that setting as well. Any frequency can be saved as a channel and labeled.The manual goes thoroughly into the topic of REPEATERS and setting CTCSS AND DCS operations, an advanced feature to be used by Hams who have need of these.Overall, we chose two YAESU FT-60RE VHF/UHF radios from MARS IMPEX via Amazon for our use locally to help operate a local Neighborhood Watch and to manage our communication needs in the nearby city where we have only one cellphone between us. The cellphone cannot make phone calls from our house. For our purposes, the YAESU FT-60RE was an excellent choice.

I was looking for something inexpensive yet capable, and this was it. Great build quality, performs well, loaded with features. Would definitely recommend for new HAMs.

Someone commented that the green light never came on when it was charged I noticed the same thing. I know thing about this radio. It was very very complicated to set up each button seems to have four functions. Multiply that 10 and then another four functions times 10 it was just ridiculously complicated which is why I am returning it.

Radio seems ok overall, but the charger is utter junk.Green CHARGED light never illuminates so you never know it is done charging. In radio display never shows a full charge even after sitting on charger for days.Have emailed the manufacturer for support and have spent 3 hour sin total on hold on phone and have never gotten a response.I am guessing this is an issue with the charger it's self, but since I cannot get support, I have no clue.Guessing I will have to buy another charger since no one ever responds.Won't be buying another product of theirs over this.KE7YLJ