Most Expensive Ham Radio Handhelds TESTED!

We're back at the park to test the most expensive ham radio handheld radios available today. Which radio will have the strongest transmit signal, best receive audio quality and best transmitted audio quality?

Support Ham Radio Crash Course Content
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

★ FOLLOW ME HERE ★
Physical Mail.............►Josh Nass P.O Box 5101 Cerritos, CA 90703-5101

Music by Sonic D:

#HRCC #hamradio #amateurradio

00:00 - Intro
00:28 - My testing methodology
00:53 - Kenwood TH-D74
02:46 - Yaesu FT-5DR
04:30 - ICOM IC-52
05:36 - Yaesu VX-6R
07:19 - The value of mic gain
09:48 - The results!
12:02 - My thoughts

[racerveza]

I’d love to see you include the Anytone AT-D878II in tests like this.

[mrjikey]

Love these ‘park bench’ comparison videos. I’m always curious to see how well radios perform with tough RFI environments, and how well they receive weak signals. It’d be especially interesting when comparing high end HTs against each other (and even cheaper Chinese radios).

Keep ‘em coming!

[karlmadsen]

It's also good to know that the tree behind you isn't going anywhere. It is firmly chained to the table you were using and that table looks to be too heavy to carry. It's important to protect against tree theft by chaining them to heavy tables. I also love my FT-5DR and will not consider chaining it to anything as of right now. But I'll keep and open mind.

[bruceforster]

I think overall, the Kenwood had the best audio. I own a VX-6 I bought new in Early August of this year. I think the VX-6 is the best Handheld for the price currently on the Market. I bought it to replace my VX-8 that was stolen out of my vehicle in June. Then in Early October I found a MARS Modded VX-8 at The San Diego HRO Store with some nice extras for $200.00. I JUMPED on that deal! I would LOVE to see you do this Bench Test on a VX-8.
My VX-6 is my Everyday Radio. I keep my VX-8 for Special Event use, and Search and Rescue deployments.
I MIGHT loan my VX-6 out in an emergency, but NOBODY but me touches my Beloved VX-8, LOL!

[person]

the 6r is the first radio i bought when i first got licensed 12 yrs and its still going strong

[LUHQW]

Add a Tiger Tail (counterpoise) when use the Signal Stick.
Increases the signal levels on your transmission.

[MrBracey]

The FT70 is one of the best value HT’s available, great bang for your buck!

[electriceyeslide]

It’s a little strange because the ICOM had the 3rd highest SNR @2 meters but sounded better than the Yaesu and Kenwood to my ears.

So clearly it’s not all SNR, it’s protocol, transceiver, gain, etc…

Awesome test!

[acestudioscouk-Ace-GACE]

Thanks for an interesting and very fair appraisal of these HTs. Some good confirmation in the figures and one or two surprises. Good to see a review that has actual figures included!

[cotharyus]

Stoked to see this, Josh. I can't wait for the "radio picks" followup. I promised my son I'd give him an HT if he passed his tech (he's low key into radio, in the way the 20 year olds are about stuff their father does) so I'm thinking about upgrading mine. It's nice to see what the expensive toys do, especially in comparison to the Alinco you previously tested, since that's what I have now. I love the fact the icom does its magic thing with repeaters based on where you are, given that I travel so much, but the price is ...wow! there be one in my future? Might depend on your next video!

[tmo]

Great video, Josh. One thing to note: the antenna is guaranteed for life. If it ever breaks, you get a new one.

[NSSC]

The VX-6R TX sounded like it was super wideband, almost like a wireless mic, while the rest of the lot sound crunchy, like I’d expect VHF/UHF radio to sound. Interesting

[TheOutdoorFun]

Thanks for the videos. I have the Yaesu FT5DR, I set my mic gain to 8. Love to see how any radio would compare to the legendary Yaesu FT-60 receiver

[winstonsmiths]

2:52, I see you have my favorite key chain flashlights! Love that thing. About to order one of the signal sticks you used on this video.

[Odinz]

Very interesting test! Cool to hear the audio differences on the receive end. To my ears the Kenwood sounded the best by a good margin - although at a premium price.

[johnk]

The audio for both RX and TX was clearly won by the Icom. However, as you pointed out, the SNR results are not entirely conclusive - SNR is dependent on ERP. And ERP between the units will not be 100 % the same, age of battery, state of charge of each battery will give different ERP levels and different results. Interesting though, thanks Josh

[jameskioeb]

Great comparison of ALL THE THINGS HT. Funny the GT-5R did so well.

[Raziel_SSJ]

Thanks for this interesting bench.
As you alluded in the Baofeng test video, recording a test message then play it back with a speaker always at the same volume setting and distance from the radio for every TX tests would be a good methodology upgrade. So you/we can be assured that there is no bias (ie: speaking in the radio at different loudness).

[TomSPTL]

The biggest downside of Yaesu HTs is its speaker. So quiet compared to many other radios, especially the Chinese ones, whether it's a Bao or Wouxun, TYT, AnyTone etc. I think the speaker in FT5D is a little bit better than all previous Yaesu models. I've had the VX6 and built-wise I think was the best out of all HTs on the market. Its speaker was so tiny, but the audio was very clear.
From your video I can clearly see that the mic gain on the FT5D is way behind the ID52.
Thank you for the test!

[nlx]

Nice, I have all the same radios myself and agreed that each has their purpose.