Handheld transceiver
| Handheld transceiver | |
|---|---|
| Also called | HT, handie-talkie, handheld |
| Bands | Usually 2 m and 70 cm; some add 1.25 m or 6 m |
| Mode | FM; many add a digital voice mode |
| Power | Typically 5 W high, 0.5–1 W low |
| Typical range | A few miles direct; a region through a repeater |
| Price | From about $30 to $600 |
A handheld transceiver, universally called an HT, is a pocket-sized radio with a built-in battery and antenna, the walkie-talkie of ham radio. Most cover the 2-meter and 70-centimeter bands on FM, put out around 5 watts, and run for a day on a charge. For the majority of hams it is the first radio they own, and for many it remains the one they use most, because it goes everywhere: in the car, on the trail, to the club meeting and to the public-service event. The abbreviation comes from Handie-Talkie, the name Motorola, then called Galvin Manufacturing, gave its SCR-536 radio of World War II; the trademark has long since lapsed, and hams now use the term for any handheld.
What it can do
An HT on its own antenna reaches a few miles on simplex and across a city or county through a repeater. Beyond that, the HT becomes a window onto bigger systems: linked repeaters, internet-connected digital voice networks, and amateur satellites, several of which can be worked with a handheld and a small Yagi during a ten-minute pass. Add a GPS and an HT can send APRS position reports; add a cable and it can be programmed from a computer in minutes.
Choosing one
The market splits into two groups. Inexpensive imported radios, from about $30, work and have brought thousands of people into the hobby, but their receivers are easily overloaded near strong signals, their menus are cryptic and a few have been found to transmit spurious signals outside the band. Radios from the established amateur makers cost several times as much and are better built, with cleaner transmitters, better receivers, weather resistance and proper support. A reasonable path is to start cheap and upgrade when you know what you want.
Things worth having regardless of price:
- Dual band coverage of 2 meters and 70 centimeters, which together cover almost every repeater.
- Programming cable support, so you can load repeater lists with free software such as CHIRP instead of entering them by hand.
- A decent battery, ideally lithium-ion with a spare, and a way to charge from USB or a car.
- A better antenna. The short rubber duck antenna supplied with most HTs is a compromise; a longer whip or a quarter-wave improves range noticeably. See Handheld antennas.
Getting the most from it
- Hold the radio upright with the antenna vertical, away from your head, and speak across the microphone, not into it.
- Height is range. Step outside, go upstairs or walk to the top of the hill before you decide the repeater is out of reach.
- Use high power only when you need it; low power saves the battery and the receiver of whoever is next to you.
- Keep the frequently used repeaters and the simplex calling frequencies in the first few memory channels.
- For the car, an external magnetic-mount antenna on the roof turns a marginal HT into a reliable mobile.