Tag: review

  • Yaesu FT-857D Review: A Great All-Bander Held Back by Its Own Menu

    Part of our The Yaesu FT-857D: The Complete Guide. Still a Legit All-Bander I picked up the FT-857D for a great price and ran it in both the shack and the field kit, though it never rode in the Jeep. The reputation holds up. It’s a full HF/VHF/UHF all-mode radio, SSB, FM, and the data…

  • I Bought a Yaesu FT-857D for a Great Price. Here’s Why I Sold It

    I picked up a used FT-857D for a great price, ran it for a while, and decided it wasn’t for me. Here’s what’s genuinely good about it and why I sold it and went back to the FTX-1.

  • Yaesu FTM-300DR Review: A Compact Dual-Band Mobile Worth Considering

    Part of our Where to Spend Your Money guide. The FTM-300DR sits in an interesting spot in Yaesu’s lineup, compact enough to almost pass for an oversized handheld but built and marketed as a mobile radio with genuine System Fusion capability. Compact Footprint, Real Mobile Power Despite its smaller size compared to traditional mobile radios,…

  • Yaesu FTM-500D Review: A Compact Fusion Mobile

    Part of our Where to Spend Your Money guide. The FTM-500D fills a genuinely useful niche in Yaesu’s mobile lineup: a compact Fusion-capable mobile with a fully detachable head, small enough to work in vehicles where dash space is tight. Detachable Head Design The separated head and body let you mount the display wherever it…

  • Yaesu FT5D Review: Fusion’s Flagship Handheld

    Part of our Handheld Radios (HTs) guide. The FT5D sits at the top of Yaesu’s Fusion handheld lineup, and it is built to showcase everything System Fusion and Wires-X can do rather than just check the digital voice box the way a budget dual-mode radio does. GPS and APRS Integration Built-in GPS feeds directly into…

  • Icom ID-52 Review: D-STAR’s Flagship Handheld

    Part of our Handheld Radios (HTs) guide. If you have gotten into D-STAR and are ready to move past a budget dual-band handheld, the ID-52 is Icom’s answer to what a flagship D-STAR radio should be, and it shows in almost every part of the radio. Display and Interface The ID-52’s color display is a…

  • Xiegu X6100 Review: A Touchscreen Portable Alternative to the G90

    Part of our Where to Spend Your Money guide. The X6100 is Xiegu’s more premium portable offering, built around a full touchscreen SDR interface and an internal battery, positioning it as a more self-contained alternative to the G90 for POTA and SOTA style operating. Touchscreen SDR Interface Unlike the G90’s small waterfall display, the X6100…

  • Yaesu FT-710 AESS Review: A Compact Desktop SDR

    Part of our Where to Spend Your Money guide. The FT-710 is Yaesu’s answer to the desktop SDR category that Icom’s IC-7300 essentially defined, and it is worth a serious look if you are shopping that segment rather than assuming the IC-7300 Mark II is your only option. SDR Receiver and Front End The FT-710…

  • Icom IC-705 vs Xiegu G90 vs FT-891: Which Portable Radio Fits You

    Part of our Where to Spend Your Money guide. These three radios get cross-shopped constantly, and I own two of the three, so I want to lay out the real tradeoffs rather than just declare a winner. Power Output The FT-891 wins here decisively at a full 100 watts. The G90 sits in the middle…

  • Icom IC-705 Review: A Compact SDR QRP Radio for the Field

    Part of our Handheld Radios (HTs) guide. The IC-705 was one of the first radios to bring genuine SDR performance into a battery-powered, backpack-friendly package, and it remains one of the most capable portable radios on the market years after launch. What Makes It Different Unlike the Xiegu G90 or Yaesu FT-891, the IC-705 covers…

  • Midland MXT275 Review: A Popular GMRS Mobile Radio

    Part of our GMRS Radio: The Complete Guide. The Midland MXT275 is probably the single most common GMRS mobile radio I see mentioned in overlanding and family preparedness circles, and there is a reason for that. It is simple, widely available, and Midland backs it with decent documentation and support, which matters more than people…

  • BTECH GMRS-V2 Review: A Budget GMRS Handheld Worth a Look

    Part of our GMRS Radio: The Complete Guide. BTECH has built a solid reputation in the ham radio side of the budget radio market, and the GMRS-V2 is their dedicated GMRS-only handheld. Since it is not trying to double as a ham radio, it can lean fully into GMRS-specific features without the compromises that come…

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