Feature Descriptions

Throughout this guide, there are references to commonly used terms for the features and capabilities of handheld ham radios. This page describes and explains these features. For most terms, like NOAA Alert, the manufacturers all use the same name and there is a common understanding of what they mean. Other terms, like dual band, have different meanings depending on the context or the manufacturer.

These definitions are grouped by category, and are in the same order as they appear on the detailed specification page for a radio.

Deconfusing dual band

Let's start by clarifying one of two overloaded terms in ham radio: dual band. Unfortunately band can be used in several ways, and therefore dual band can mean three different things.

Dual band can be a description of the transmit capabilities of a radio. It means the radio is capable of transmitting on both the 2m and 70cm amateur radio bands.

Most handheld radios have some concept of Band A and Band B. On the screen of the radio, each band can be set to VFO or memory recall, and can be configured independently. Often there is button labelled "A/B" which switches which one of these bands is active for configuration or transmission when you push the PTT button. Some manufacturers, like Yaesu call this the Main band and the Sub band. Dual band can mean that the user interface for the radio can configure two frequency setups at the same time and conveniently switch between them.

Dual band can also mean that the radio has the circuitry to receive signals on two different frequencies at the same time. Many inexpensive radios don't have this circuitry, but the mimic the capability by quickly switching between two frequencies and then staying on one when it detects a signal.

In this guide, I enumerate the radio frequency bands, or ranges, on which a radio can transmit. I don't use dual band or tri-band to refer to this capability, even though many manufacturs and distributers do. I'll show a radio as able to transmit on 2m, 70cm, and 1.25cm instead. I call these transmit bands.

The user interface and concurrent receive meanings of dual band are closely related. You can't have dual receive if you don't have a place to set both frequences in the user interface of the radio. I combine these two capabilities into a single feature I call Design.

Channels

In amateur radio, the word channel can mean at least 4 different things. I wrote an deep dive to untangle the various meanings. At least two of those meanings are directly relevant to this handheld buyers guide:

the radio setup needed to communicate with another station
a memory location

To make things less confusing, I don't use the word channel in this guide at all. When I refer to the settings required to communicate with another station (i.e. TX frequency, RX frequency, CTCSS tone, etc) I call it a communication setup or a radio setup. I call memory locations memories instead of channels.

Receiver

Design

This is not a common amateur radio term, but I use it to make the term dual band less confusing. In this guide the design of the radio combines the user interface and receive circuitry into a single feature with the following options:

Single band - the radio has user interface for a single frequency or memory setup, and circuitry to receive on a single frequency at a time
Dual band single receive - the radio has user interface for two frequency or memory setups, commonly referred to as Band A and Band B, but sometimes referred to as the Main band and the Sub band. The radio has circuitry which allows reception of signal on only one of these frequency setups at a time.
Dual band dual receive - like Dual band single receive but the radio has circuitry to receive on both frequency setups (ie Band A and Band B) at the same time.

See also Full duplex and Cross band repeater

Receive Circuit

There are several ways to design a circuit which receives radio signals. Superheterodyne circuits are better at isolating received signals than direct conversion circuits. In practical handheld radio usage, the circuit type is almost never the difference between you hearing a signal and you not hearing a signal. Most radios on the market today are direct conversion.

Direct Conversion - also called a homodyne circuit, this has fewer elements than a superheterodyne circuit and is therefore the least expensive to produce.
Superheterodyne - often shortened to superhet, this circuit mixes the incoming signal with a local oscillator to produce an intermediate frequency that is easier to filter and amplify, giving better selectivity and sensitivity than a direct conversion circuit.
Double Superheterodyne - uses two stages of frequency conversion, providing improved image rejection and selectivity over a single superheterodyne.
Triple Superheterodyne - uses three stages of frequency conversion for the highest selectivity and image rejection, typically found only in higher-end radios.

NOAA

The NOAA Weather Radio service broadcasts continuous weather information from the National Weather Service on seven VHF frequencies between 162.400 and 162.550 MHz. Most handheld radios can receive on these frequences. If the radio has additional features like a weather specific memory group, or a weather scan mode, or a weather quick key, this guide will mark the radio with the NOAA feature.

NOAA alert

NOAA Weather Radio broadcasts include a 1050 Hz alert tone that precede warnings about severe weather, natural disasters, and other emergencies. Radios with the NOAA alert feature can monitor a weather channel silently in the background and sound an alarm when this tone is detected, even when the radio is tuned to another frequency.

Broadcast FM

Broadcast FM signals are transmitted between 88-108 MHz. A single broadcast typically includes a combined left and right mono stream, separate left and right streams, a 19 kHz pilot tone, a 38 kHz DSB-SC subcarrier, and often a 57 kHz data subcarrier for song titles and station info. Combined it uses 200 kHz of bandwidth. This is why there is never a local radio station on 94.1 MHz and another one on 94.2 MHz.

Amateur FM on 2m is narrowband: typically ±5 kHz deviation in a 12.5–20 kHz channel, voice only, no subcarriers, no stereo. Given the relative complexity of broadcast FM signals, you can't just tune an amateur radio to the frequency and hear the broadcast, you need some additional circuitry. If the radio has this additional circuitry and can receive Broadcast FM signals, this guide marks the radio with the Broadcast FM feature.

Airband

Aircraft communications take place between 118-137 MHz, just below the amateur 2m band frequencies of 144-148 MHz. Aircraft use AM instead of FM for several reasons, one being tradition. One practical reason AM is used is that if two transmissions happen on top of each other, the receiver hears garbeled audio which aircraft controllers immediately recognize as a collision, allowing them to ask for a repeat. On FM, the strongest signal wins with minimal indication one of the transmission was suppressed.

Because of the proximity to the 2m band, an antenna that works for 2m amateur transmissions works pretty well for airband receive, if the radio has the AM circuitry to listen to aircraft transmissions. This guide marks radios with the Airband feature if they can tune the airband frequences and decode the AM transmissions.

RX frequencies

All the frequency ranges on which the radio can receive signals.

Transmitter

Transmit Bands

Transmit bands mostly refer the to the frequency allocations for amateur radio. Some handhelds can transmit on other frequencies, the most common being GMRS. GMRS is not an amateur radio band, the FCC defines it as a radio service, making it a peer with the Amateur service. For practical purposes, this distinction doesn't matter, and we combine amateur bands and radio services. The radios in this guide have one of more of the following transmit bands:

2m
70cm
1.25m
GMRS
MURS
6m

Max TX power

The maximum claimed transmit power. Most handheld radios claim to transmit at 5W, and often have settings to reduce the power. When measured, the actual transmit power is often less than claimed. In practice, it usually doesn't matter. When transmitting on the 2m, 70cm, 1.25m, and GMRS bands, transmit power is less important than your antenna and your location.

TX power settings

Show the various claimed transmit powers available on the radio.

Memories

Some radios call memory locations channels, which doesn't make any sense to me. This is the number of user accessible memory locations for storing frequency setups in the radio.

Memory details

Shows any additional details about the memories on the radio

Memory groups

I think every radio that has memories numbers them. Many radios let you organize the memories into groups by name or number range. If the radio has this capability, this feature says how many groups are available.

Length of memory name

Most radios allow you to give a memory location an alphanumeric name. Most radios only allow an 8 character name for the memory. The best radios allow 16 character names, and show both the memory number and the name on the screen at the same time. This value contains the maximum length of the alphanumeric memory names the radio lets you assign.

Digital

GNSS

Global Navigation Satellite System refers to any satellite constellation that provides positioning, navigation, and timing services. There are four systems that provide global coverage: GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and BeiDou.

Some radios only support one of the systems, some support multiple. We mark this feature if the radio supports one or more GNSS.

Bluetooth

If a radio supports bluetooth, we describe what you can do with it, and what limitations there are. Example bluetooth capabilities include: PTT switches, headsets, programming, and KISS TNC.

D-STAR

D-STAR (Digital Smart Technologies for Amateur Radio) is a digital voice and data protocol developed by the Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) in the late 1990s and first implemented in Icom radios, using 4800 bps GMSK modulation with the proprietary AMBE vocoder to fit a voice signal plus slow data into 6.25 kHz. It provides callsign-based routing through internet-linked repeaters and reflectors, so you can call a specific ham or connect to a specific room by entering callsigns rather than frequencies, making it one of the earliest networked digital voice modes in amateur radio.

System Fusion

System Fusion is Yaesu's digital voice and data protocol, using C4FM modulation with the AMBE+2 vocoder in 12.5 kHz of spectrum. Automatic mode select allows a Fusion repeater or radio to transparently handle both analog FM and digital C4FM users on the same frequency without reconfiguration. Networking happens through Yaesu's Wires-X system of internet-linked rooms and nodes.

DMR

DMR or Digital Mobile Radio is a commercial land-mobile standard also adopted by hams, using 4FSK modulation and the AMBE+2 vocoder to fit two independent voice time slots into 12.5 kHz using time-division multiple access (TDMA). In amateur use it's organized around talkgroups routed through networks like Brandmeister and TGIF, so a single repeater can give you access to thousands of regional, national, and special-interest conversations worldwide.

APRS

Bob Bruninga (WB4APR) invented the Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) to provide a real-time tactical data network built on top of AX.25 packet radio. APRS broadcasts position, weather, telemetry, and text messages. A digipeater receives these messages and retransmits them, extending the functional range. iGates receive APRS messages and feed them into the APRS-IS internet backbone, which powers aprs.fi and other sites which show these messages on a map.

DPRS

APRS over D-STAR instead of analog frequencies. Many D-STAR repeaters send DPRS messages they receive to APRS-IS.

KISS TNC

Marked true if the radio has a user-accessible terminal node controller (TNC) that uses the KISS protocol. Some radios have digital features and therefore include a TNC, but do not make it available to the user, and therefore we would not mark this feature. The TNC can be available over a cable or wirelessly.

Physical Characteristics

Battery

Ports

Extras

CHIRP

CHIRP is freely available software for programming handheld radios from your computer. CHIRP runs on Windows, MacOS, and Linux and supports dozens of radios. If CHIRP supports the radio, we mark this feature yes.

Cross band repeater

A cross band repeater receives a signal on one band and simultaneously retransmits it on another band. This is commonly used to extend the range of a handheld radio by placing the cross band capable radio in a location with better antenna height or reception, so you can work a distant repeater on 70cm from your handheld while the cross band radio relays your signal on 2m (or vice versa).

Full duplex

Most radios can not transmit a signal and receive a signal at the same time. When you key up the radio by pressing PTT, the radio stops receiving. A full duplex radio is (usually) a dual band dual receive radio that has the added circuitry and filters to allow it to transmit on one band at the same time it is receiving signals on another band.

Full duplex radios are particularly desirable for communicating with satellites.

MicroSD

A few radios have a MicroSD card slot, which typically is used for firmware upgrades or recording audio.

Flashlight

Marked true if the radio has a built-in flashlight.

Roger beep

Why the roger beep is important 🤣

Unlockable

Handheld amateur radios are usually limited to transmitting on the frequency ranges of the amateur radio bands. For most radios, you can modify the hardware to allow it to transmit on a broader range of frequencies. Some radios have a software unlock feature, which permits the radio to transmit on non-amateur frequencies without making any hardware modifications. If the radio has such a software feature, it's referred to as "unlockable".