Hand Held Ham radios are not only popular with amateur radio operators but are by and large with many outdoor enthusiasts. They are great tools to have when exploring the great outdoors, especially when other traditional forms of communication are at best spotty.

These devices become necessary especially in rough terrain.They can literally save your life if you are trapped in bad weather. Most Models today also have GPS capabilities. Some seasoned amateur radio operators scoff at the thought of a hand held as being a true ham radio, but those folks may have never left the garage and have no idea what kind of value this technology has.

Take a look at a few of these offerings to get a better ideaof price and function before you head out and pick one up.

Icom ID-880H


Described as the hand held companion to the mobile that goesby the same name except with an M at the end. Do you have to have the mobile?No, but it sure is nice. What does it offer? Ÿ

Ÿ Dual bands- one at a time

Ÿ Easy switching between bands

Ÿ 26 memory banks with 8 character channel comments and up to a 6 character bank name.

Ÿ Multiple scan options.

Ÿ DC power cable adapter, charge while you talk.

Ÿ The IC-80AD has a wideband receiver as a standard feature and covers 0.495-999.99MHz.

Ÿ Free software download for cloning.

List Price $598.00

Too rich for your blood than check out this:


The Kenwood TH-22At is an older model from the nineteen nineties but still in stores. It offers wideband frequencies and can outperform many much more expensive models. It has 40 memory banks with 8 channel seach. It offers GPS support and many of the bells and whistles that models that are roughly twice as much offer.

A good rule of thumb for a beginner of a newly licensed individual is to start out slow. The ham experience can be a bit overwhelming because it is such great fun, but watch your investments initially. A lot of folks that go out and spend a fortune on a hand held regret it almost immediately when it sits in the glove box for months and never sees the light of day. This is an affordable option and there is no skimping on quality.

The List Price is $229.00



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