The market for amateur radio HT's (walkie-talkies) is changing fairly rapidly. As I noted in December, Puxing has released the PX-UV973 dual-band HT that costs about the same as the monoband PX-777 that I got into ham radio with. With various BaoFeng models selling for around $40 (and the 888S for around $20), one might think that Baofeng will continue to dominate. They are popular radios, obviously, and the UV-B5 can be programmed to work on 222 MHz (1.25M) at about two watts. Only two years ago, hams were raging and shaking their fists over the invasion of Chinese HTs. Now, though, it's not that uncommon for even long-time hams to actually own one. Even though I'm a big fan of Puxing, I still own a BaoFeng UV-5RB (2M/70cm) and a UV-5RS (2M/1.25M) that I mostly just use for monitoring. The flashlight and FM radio functions are a plus for car-camping and boating. I've found that the BaoFeng HTs don't handle being connected to external antennae very well -- beyond the "rubber duck", anyway. If you're just using it as a walkie-talkie, then it's not a big deal. But if you want to use it as a mobile or a base, then you'll find that you get much less improvement in signal strength with a mobile whip, for example, than you would with other radios. Does it "work"? Yes, it does.
If, for whatever reason, you decide to spend more money on a non-BaoFeng HT, you have many, many options. The PX-777 and PX-888 are both available for around $70, are both monoband, and the PX-888 has MSK ANI . The "old" dual-band PX-888K is now slightly more expensive than the new cross-band, dual-band PX-UV973 model. Both have MSK ANI encode and decode. Likewise, there are at least eight other brands offering monoband HTs, all around $68-70. With a market like this, there's little point in taking a gamble with a Golden Spring or a Linton radio that may not have batteries around in the future.
Even the "YaeComWood" manufacturers are beginning to exploit the market conditions. For example, about $100 gets you the Yaesu FT-257 UHF monoband HT. Unsurprisingly, the same type of ham that scowled and snarled over the introduction of the cheap Chinese HT is now dismissing the cheap Japanese HTs out-of-hand. And, the multitudes that ignored those hams and bought BaoFeng, PuXing, and TYT radios continue to ignore those same hams' dire warnings and specious objections.
Digital FM is also experiencing the start of the same phenomenon. PuXing has a DMR Tier-II compliant HT coming. And ConnectSystems is laying the groundwork to steal a significant share of the DMR-based HT market.
Everybody has an opinion on HTs, it seems. Some have a favoured brand, others just loathe a particular brand. For me, the best (non-BaoFeng) deal right now looks like the TYT TH-UVF9 dual-band HT for $69 with MSK. But, realistically, I would spend the extra money and buy the PuXing PX-UV973 if I were in the market for a new HT.
Still, HTs are likely to be the entry point into the hobby for some time. While many new hams will end up buying a "real" radio at some point, the HT will be their best option during that crucial period of introduction and evaluation of the hobby. A snobbish attitude and 'helpful' advice regarding how many hundreds to spend on that "real" radio is counter-productive. In the 18 months or so that I've been a ham, dual-band HTs have come down in price while monobands are no longer competitive. This has meant that UHF is available for "free", and hams that have ignored it are now getting exposed to it. It's clear that HTs "mean something different" to hams that have been around for decades. To them, it's about "emergencies", public service stuff like marathons and parades, and "serious business". To those new to the hobby, HTs are cheap mobiles and base stations to get in the 'fun', such as it is. Thus, the old-timer's plaintive whining about 'quality', the ridiculous $400 bar (when battery packs, software, and antennae are included), and the casually-dropped notion that such a price point is merely the 'start' are things that leave new hams disillusioned.
People can get a lot of fun out of the hobby for very little money. Having a radio that lasts thirty years is not a big attraction, since the hobby might not be viable then. Likewise, this obsession with Armageddon, "emergencies", and 'serious business' doesn't relate to the desire to be able to chat to someone on the drive in to work. The cheap HT is not just an entry point in to the hobby. It's also an entry point into the disconnected and increasingly irrelevant world of the deadly serious and terminally boring 'real' ham.
EDIT: Just thought that I'd add that the Weierwei VEV-V16 dual-band also has MSK for $85. Interesting to me because I've only ever seen PuXing and TYT radios with MSK capability.
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