HT’s (Handheld Transceivers also known as a Handie-Talkie) are more popular today than ever before. Many of the HT’s available offer a lot of functions in addition to just being able to talk to other people. With the ability to make circuits smaller, or make system-on-chip CPU’s that are specialized for the purpose, radios have been able to get smaller and smaller while still maintaining most of the functionality of their larger counterparts. This, coupled with the higher performing batteries available today, has allowed the humble handheld radio to really come into the spotlight.
Features
There are many features that you want to consider when buying a handheld radio. I will cover as many of these as possible below. If you want to see some comparison charts, check out our article on Handheld Transceiver Comparisons which has links to some comparison charts we created for popular brands like Yaesu, AnyTone, Baofeng, TIDRADIO, and TYT.
CTCSS/DCS
CTCSS/DCS is a big one. CTCSS (Continuous Tone-Coded Squelch System) uses a sub-audible tone and an automatic squelching system to avoid hearing others on a certain frequency, or to access certain repeaters. DCS (Digital Coded Squelch) is the same concept, except it uses a digital code instead of a sub-audible tone to trigger the squelch. Most repeaters these day use either CTCSS or DCS to keep unwanted traffic off the repeater (like people using the same frequency for simplex communications). All new handhelds should have both CTCSS and DCS, but older (more than 25 years old) radios may not have DCS.
VOX
VOX stands for Voice Operated Transmit (with an X representing the word transmit) is just what the name says. Instead of you having to press the PTT (Push to Talk) key to transmit, it transmits when your voice (or some other noise) is above a certain level, and stops once it falls below the cutoff. VOX can be a blessing, and a curse, depending on how it is used, and the environment.
Headphone and Microphone Connectors
Most handheld radios will have a headphone and microphone jack on the side of the radio to allow you to use headphones (or an external speaker) and an external microphone with the radio. This is usually in the form of a K1 connector (Kenwood’s design) that is now an industry standard. On most handheld radios these ports can also be used for programming the radio using a computer with a special cable so you don’t have to do all of the programming through the small keypad. Using a program like Chirp, or the manufacturer’s proprietary software, you can make a lot of changes quickly, and save them to a file for later use.
Display
It might not sound that important, but a good display is invaluable on a handheld radio. The more characters a display can fit on the screen, the more detailed your channel names can be, which is extremely useful. Color displays are also much easier on your eyes, and easier to understand what is on the screen quickly since the different information can be in different colors. So you may always look for red to know what your transmit power level is, or green to know what channel (name) you are on. Meters can display different colors for the scale to let you know if you are in the green, yellow, or red zone. The larger the display, the more information it can convey, and the easier it will be to read. A backlit display is also a nice addition for night viewing.
Keypad and Function Keys
A backlit keypad is a must-have for any handheld that I own. I also love it when the keypad includes a “d-pad” or “hat” to allow up/down/left/right movement to navigate the menus. Something that is fairly recent to the standard offerings in handhelds is programmable function keys. Some radios will have one or two on the front (usually labeled P1 and P2), as well as one or two on the side of the radio. These keys can be programmed to whatever functions you need the most, like adjusting the power level, switching quickly to an emergency/home channel, having a separate VFO A and B transmit key, or other uses.
Sound Quality
Handheld radio sound quality is expressed in 2 areas of importance; The way your voice sounds in your transmission, and how other transmissions sound coming out of your speaker. One of the places cheap radios can cut costs is in these 2 areas. If possible, read as many reviews as possible about the radio you are considering in radio forums where the reviews will be from more seasoned radio users who know the difference between the sound of a good or bad mic or speaker. It doesn’t do you any good to have a ton of other features and miss out on the most important feature of using a radio, which is to communicate. If you can’t understand them, or they can’t understand you, that’s not communication.
Physical Size
The physical size of a handheld is important. I have seen some that were way too large for most hands, and a few that were just too small for my preference. Size will mainly matter in the areas of how large the display can be, how easy the keypad is to use, and whether it will fit in certain use cases, like perhaps the pocket of a safety vest.
Weight
Along with the physical size of a radio, weight is a big concern for most handheld radios. The whole purpose of a handheld radio is portability, and heavier radios will be more trouble to carry around than a lightweight radio would be. In general, the bulk of the weight of a handheld radio is from the battery. The more amperage a battery offers, the heavier it will be. This is not as much of an issue these days as it was in the past since we have lightweight lithium batteries that can supply a lot of power in a lightweight package, but the rule still applies that the more amperage a battery offers the more it will weigh.
Antennas
Since handheld radios are in the VHF/UHF family, your communications will generally be limited by line-of-sight. When it comes to line-of-sight communications, the rules are that the higher your antenna the better, and the more gain it provides the better. Since most handhelds use a shorter antenna to keep the overall length of the antenna from being a nuisance, you tend to lose height and gain compared to a longer antenna that will cover more of the wavelength. The convenience of the shorter antennas is usually fine if you have a repeater close by, or if you are not doing a lot of simplex work. If you are not that close to a repeater, or do a lot of simplex communications, you might want to look into a better aftermarket antenna. There are many out there, and I cover several in my article Recommend Amateur Radio Antennas.
Battery Life
When it comes to handheld radios, the battery life is going to be a major consideration. If you mainly plan to use your handheld at home, or in your vehicle, battery life may not matter since you will have access to a charger. If you actually plan to use it on your person, especially for longer periods of time (all day) the battery life will matter a lot more. The upsides of a longer battery life are that you can operate your radio longer without having to charge it, and you can use a higher power output longer with a higher mAh (milli Amp hour) rating. Some of the downsides include more weight, a higher cost, and a larger (thicker or longer) overall radio footprint. Of course, sometimes it is easier and cheaper to simply add a second battery or a battery eliminator that plugs into a 12 volt accessory (cigarette lighter) port in your vehicle. When purchasing a battery for your handheld I do strongly recommend you buy a battery from the original manufacturer where possible. I have seen too many aftermarket batteries that were built with less than ideal cells that either don’t meet their ratings, or go bad a lot sooner than the original battery.
RF Power Output
Another consideration when buying a handheld radio is the radio’s RF power output rating. Many of the cheaper handhelds do not really meet their rated outputs, but are usually close enough. You will generally get a better signal by using a better antenna than by using more output power, but more power can help you cut through any interference better, or get a stronger signal to your destination. Being able to select between multiple power levels can be just as important as the overall power rating. Since you always want to use the lowest power setting possible to get a good signal, if you are working a repeater and 1W gives you a great signal quality, it doesn’t do you any good to use 5W of power. It will just drain your battery faster. You must double your power output to have a noticeable increase in your signal strength. Having output power settings that double (or more) your power output at each level like 1W/2.5W/5W or 1W/5W/10W would make a noticeable change in your signal strength. Settings like 1W/3W/5W might not if they are actually accurate since 5W is not a double from 3W. The more power you use, the faster you drain your battery. Some of the high-end radios like Yaesu, Icom, or Kenwood offer 4 power settings starting as low as 0.5W with levels like 0.3W/1W/2.5W/5W so you have more options to select just the right amount of power to save your battery. Also, using a higher power output can cause some radios to overheat. These are all factors to consider when purchasing a handheld radio.
Nice Extras
LED Light
Some features on a handheld radio are just nice to have and have nothing to do with the actual functionality of the radio itself. One of these is having a built-in LED light. This feature doesn’t add much cost to the radio or require a lot of additional circuitry or power, and can really come in handy in an emergency when commercial power is out. Although you won’t find this on some of the higher-end handheld radios, it is common among the more affordable radios.
IP (Ingress Protection) Rating
Another nice extra is if the radio has an IP (Ingress Protection) rating against solids or water intrusion. An IP rating, or code, consists of the IP prefix, followed by at least 2 other places which can be numbers or the letter X, that indicate (in order) what the rating is for solids, and water intrusion protection. If either of the 2 places is X, it means that it has not been certified for that criteria. If either of the 2 places is 0, it means no protection. For example IPX7 means it has not been certified for solids intrusion (dirt, dust, sand, etc.) but it has been certified to withstand immersion in water up to 1 meter (3 ft 3 in) deep for 30 minutes. For the first number, 6 is the highest rating. For the second number it’s 9K (not 9,000 – just 9 followed by a K to indicate it can withstand water jets, not just water immersion). For a handheld, an IP rating can really be important if you plan to use your handheld outside in rainy conditions, or anywhere that there is a possibility it may fall in the water. Some common IP ratings for handheld radios would include IP54, IP57, and IP67.
Some other nice extras to look for:
- Airband receive, which is AM, not FM like the other bands.
- Bluetooth connectivity, which can allow you to connect headphones, speakers, microphones, or even wireless programming.
- GPS
- APRS to allow you to send position and other information (requires GPS)
- Digital radio functionality like DMR (Digital Mobile Radio), D-Star (Digital Smart Technologies for Amateur Radio), YSF (Yaesu System Fusion), P25 (Project 25), or NXDN (Next Generation Digital Narrowband). Keep in mind these modes are not compatible with each other. They each use different codecs and protocols, but, you can bridge most of these modes with a “cross-mode” hotspot like Pi-Star or some other MMDVM (Multi-Mode Digital Voice Modem), which will translate between different digital modes over the internet.
- Encryption – which is illegal for general amateur radio communications unless it is used to control a satellite.
- Offers a large amount of channels/storage
- Chirp compatibility for programming the radio
- Wireless Copy Frequency
All of these are nice additions to being able to talk to others. If any of these features are important to you, check the manufacturers specifications to make sure the radio you select offers that feature. Keep in mind, features like GPS, APRS, and DMR will add significantly to the cost of the radio.