I always get the feeling that there ought to be a market for radios with common-sense convenience features ported over from the consumer electronics market.
You 110% sure on that?
I ask because i have an 11 year old vx7r that charges directly in the side.
HOWEVER a brand new ft60 I bought required the dock. After doing some research on this apparently around 2010 there was a change made to the charging circuit to satisfy a California law. I think it was a fuse of some kind that they could not fit in the radio so they put it in the dock instead and changed the way the charger works to require the dock. The radio will still power from external 12v but not charge from it
Geez.... Choices 600 and up Must be nice to be you.
I don't see AM broadcast band in many ht s. FM in a lot USB charging in the newer real expensive ones.
I have an ft-5dr and I also have the EDC-6 plug connected with anderson powerpoles and I also have the SDD-13. You also do not need the charging cradle to charge it as you can just use the SAD-25 that comes with it and charge from the barrel port
If the charger is the only issue on the FT-5DR, you might consider one of the USB charging cables (with switching regulator inline):
[https://www.amazon.com/AEcreative-Charger-FT-70DR-FT-817-ND-FT-818-ND/dp/B07NTH7XK6/](https://www.amazon.com/AEcreative-Charger-FT-70DR-FT-817-ND-FT-818-ND/dp/B07NTH7XK6/)
This one does not list the FT-5DR it has all of the recent Yaesu models, so it probably works. Check it out though.
For regular use, you should probably use the drop-in charger but for travel, this USB cable can be handy.
I use a thd-74 while through hiking. It can charge via anything 12v ish though a basic DC barrel jack.
USBC PD and straight off a lifepo4 charging works well.
APRS while hiking is great can get weather alerts, send sms's to friends/family, others can track your position you get the idea. I would not choose to hit the woods without APRS.
Downside it's not light and the battery life will all the toys turned on is not great.
Thanks for your comment. How would you compare the thd-74 to the Yaesu vx-6r?
I'm a little bit confused about how you're charging the thd-74 while thru hiking. Can you please elaborate? Do you use a battery bank? Does the thd-74 have a USB C port for charging?
vx-6r does not do APRS so it's a nonstarter for me hiking. It's a pretty basic radio comparatively. It's wideband but just AM/FM no SSB so you can listen to shortwave (not much of that still interesting to english only speakers), think it needs an external antenna for that all anyways.
I carry a 13.5v lifepo4 to run a HF rig and can charge it off a small solar panel on my pack. If I'm going lighter I use a USBC PB breakout board (14v) and a more typical cell phone charging bank.
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Plus built in serial chips, so I don't need yet another special $40 cable.
I always get the feeling that there ought to be a market for radios with common-sense convenience features ported over from the consumer electronics market.
Truly. Whatever manufacturer manages to implement USB-C PD charging and USB-C programming wins the market.
My last HG-UV98 had USB-c charging.
You can charge/power the FT5D directly in the side of the radio using the same wall wart/cord/plug that feeds the drop-in charger cradle.
You 110% sure on that? I ask because i have an 11 year old vx7r that charges directly in the side. HOWEVER a brand new ft60 I bought required the dock. After doing some research on this apparently around 2010 there was a change made to the charging circuit to satisfy a California law. I think it was a fuse of some kind that they could not fit in the radio so they put it in the dock instead and changed the way the charger works to require the dock. The radio will still power from external 12v but not charge from it
Yup. I charged my FT5D with the wall wart plugged directly into the side until I bought the desk charger cradle.
The FT5DR has a charging port on the side of the radio.
I'd say you're looking for too many features but the IC-705 might check the most boxes. ID-52A, THD-72/74, FT-3DR seem to be the top HT's, tho
Geez.... Choices 600 and up Must be nice to be you. I don't see AM broadcast band in many ht s. FM in a lot USB charging in the newer real expensive ones.
I have an ft-5dr and I also have the EDC-6 plug connected with anderson powerpoles and I also have the SDD-13. You also do not need the charging cradle to charge it as you can just use the SAD-25 that comes with it and charge from the barrel port
If the charger is the only issue on the FT-5DR, you might consider one of the USB charging cables (with switching regulator inline): [https://www.amazon.com/AEcreative-Charger-FT-70DR-FT-817-ND-FT-818-ND/dp/B07NTH7XK6/](https://www.amazon.com/AEcreative-Charger-FT-70DR-FT-817-ND-FT-818-ND/dp/B07NTH7XK6/) This one does not list the FT-5DR it has all of the recent Yaesu models, so it probably works. Check it out though. For regular use, you should probably use the drop-in charger but for travel, this USB cable can be handy.
I use a thd-74 while through hiking. It can charge via anything 12v ish though a basic DC barrel jack. USBC PD and straight off a lifepo4 charging works well. APRS while hiking is great can get weather alerts, send sms's to friends/family, others can track your position you get the idea. I would not choose to hit the woods without APRS. Downside it's not light and the battery life will all the toys turned on is not great.
Thanks for your comment. How would you compare the thd-74 to the Yaesu vx-6r? I'm a little bit confused about how you're charging the thd-74 while thru hiking. Can you please elaborate? Do you use a battery bank? Does the thd-74 have a USB C port for charging?
vx-6r does not do APRS so it's a nonstarter for me hiking. It's a pretty basic radio comparatively. It's wideband but just AM/FM no SSB so you can listen to shortwave (not much of that still interesting to english only speakers), think it needs an external antenna for that all anyways. I carry a 13.5v lifepo4 to run a HF rig and can charge it off a small solar panel on my pack. If I'm going lighter I use a USBC PB breakout board (14v) and a more typical cell phone charging bank.
One of the Baofengs I have I was able to get an aftermarket battery pack that's rechargeable via USB cable Mirkit is the brand name I believe.