Yaesu ft65 65 R ? Can it be unlocked and is it super heterodyne?

[WRZF693]

Anyone have the Yaesu ft65 / 65R radio .. A ham radio.  ???  Also, can it be unlocked to use on GRMS, MURS, FRS, etc..? 

Is it super heterodyne as well? All of the reviews say it's a great radio and it costs like 125 bucks which I thought was reasonable all things considered... Would make a great put in a 3 day SHTF bag.. 

Thanks folks . 

[wrci350]

10 minutes ago, Sshannon said:

If you pay $125 you’re paying too much.  All the ham radio outlets (not Amazon) probably have it for much less.  

This.

Amazon is NOT the place to buy ham radio gear.  Actually, some of the ham radio stores sell on Amazon too, but the prices are higher.

[Guest]

I have two of those and they are just solid radios !!!

As far as the mod is concerned, #LMGTFY

 

[Sshannon]

1 hour ago, WRZF693 said:

Anyone have the Yaesu ft65 / 65R radio .. A ham radio.  ???  Also, can it be unlocked to use on GRMS, MURS, FRS, etc..? 

Is it super heterodyne as well? All of the reviews say it's a great radio and it costs like 125 bucks which I thought was reasonable all things considered... Would make a great put in a 3 day SHTF bag.. 

Thanks folks . 

I have one.  It’s a decent handheld radio.  Yes, it can be unlocked. No, it’s not superheterodyne, but way more is made of that than makes sense.  There are some extremely high end ham radios that are direct conversion.  

If you pay $125 you’re paying too much.  All the ham radio outlets (not Amazon) probably have it for much less.  Here’s an example of it for $90 at HRO: https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-015573

[wrci350]

The FT-65 is a SOC, not superheterodyne.  That's not necessarily terrible; with the proper filtering a SOC radio can be a good performer.

On the other hand, I have a couple superhet radios I am very unimpressed with.

[WRZF693]

1 hour ago, WRXD372 said:

I have two of those and they are just solid radios !!!

As far as the mod is concerned, #LMGTFY

 

Thanks man.. Really appreciate it..

[WRZF693]

1 hour ago, Sshannon said:

I have one.  It’s a decent handheld radio.  Yes, it can be unlocked. No, it’s not superheterodyne, but way more is made of that than makes sense.  There are some extremely high end ham radios that are direct conversion.  

If you pay $125 you’re paying too much.  All the ham radio outlets (not Amazon) probably have it for much less.  Here’s an example of it for $90 at HRO: https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-015573

Thanks man.  I never even thought it could be cheaper.  I really appreciate it.  I just started down this rabbit hole.. I have my GMRS license of course, but will probably get my technician license because I want access to the VHF frequencies and others as well.. Thanks again..

Tim

.

[WRZF693]

1 hour ago, wrci350 said:

The FT-65 is a SOC, not superheterodyne.  That's not necessarily terrible; with the proper filtering a SOC radio can be a good performer.

On the other hand, I have a couple superhet radios I am very unimpressed with.

Interesting. Thanks so much.  I thought, but don't know since I'm new at all this that the super heterodyne radios were supposed to be superior at Rx and TX is the reason I asked about the same.  Appreciate it very much..

Tim.. 

[WRZF693]

58 minutes ago, wrci350 said:

This.

Amazon is NOT the place to buy ham radio gear.  Actually, some of the ham radio stores sell on Amazon too, but the prices are higher.

Thanks so much.  Much appreciated.. I needed this advice.  

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, WRZF693 said:

Thanks man.. Really appreciate it..

I like those very much -- in my experience, they hole the charge well (when not in use / turned off) !

[WRZF693]

1 hour ago, WRXD372 said:

I have two of those and they are just solid radios !!!

As far as the mod is concerned, #LMGTFY

 

What is LMGTFY??? Please? 

[Guest]

 Let Me Google That For You 

No problem - that's what forum friends are for - and then they add their two cents and a picture starts to emerge! 

As I mentioned (and many will disagree) those are solid radios and I have good experiences with them.

My pet-peeve are batteries: After ten years of staying away from Wouxun (because their batteries drain even if switched off) I just bought one of their new radios just to find out that the battery problem is still a thing. 

Keep asking - no reason for you to reinvent the wheel or make all the mistakes many of us already made !!!

You are welcome. 

 

[wrci350]

57 minutes ago, WRXD372 said:

My pet-peeve are batteries: After ten years of staying away from Wouxun (because their batteries drain even if switched off) I just bought one of their new radios just to find out that the battery problem is still a thing. 

Yeah I have a Wouxun KG-UV7D (2m/6m) that I bought a year or so ago.  Because 6m.  Every time I grab it off the shelf the battery is dead.  Fortunately I have spares so I can just grab another one.

[back4more70]

1 hour ago, WRXD372 said:

My pet-peeve are batteries: After ten years of staying away from Wouxun (because their batteries drain even if switched off) I just bought one of their new radios just to find out that the battery problem is still a thing. 

 

I have a KG-935G+ and a UV-9D Mate, and I do not have this issue with my radios.  Which model did you get?

[Guest]

10 minutes ago, back4more70 said:

I have a KG-935G+ and a UV-9D Mate, and I do not have this issue with my radios.  Which model did you get?

Based on your recommendation, I grabbed the Mate -- big box with all the fixings !

Great device -- amazing color !!! - and the spare battery and the other accessories from the package provide me with all I need.

... maybe I need to check on the firmware once more ...

or, i need to use it more and not let it sit 

 

[wayoverthere]

1 hour ago, wrci350 said:

Yeah I have a Wouxun KG-UV7D (2m/6m) that I bought a year or so ago.  Because 6m.  Every time I grab it off the shelf the battery is dead.  Fortunately I have spares so I can just grab another one.

Was trying to remember which one I had, as I have the 2m/1.25m flavor. Both that and my kg805g do the same battery drain as well. I just store them in a shelf with the batteries removed

[wayoverthere]

8 hours ago, wrci350 said:

The FT-65 is a SOC, not superheterodyne.  That's not necessarily terrible; with the proper filtering a SOC radio can be a good performer.

On the other hand, I have a couple superhet radios I am very unimpressed with.

To add to this...in a very general sense, it can be easier to make a good performing superhet than SOC, and there's some cheap bad SOC radios out there. There's also some really awesome (and priced accordingly) SOC radios, and some meh superhet ones.

That aside, I have the little brother to the ft65 (the ft4x), and it's been solid, and is the one I grab most often for handheld use. Holds a charge well, little to no drain when off, and decent filtering. Even took it up on the hill by the repeater and commercial fm sites, and was listening to myself and the convo on the repeater there, while talking into another repeater across the valley on the mobile. Meanwhile, the baofeng uv5r I also had along was stone deaf, acting like there were no signals present

[Sshannon]

59 minutes ago, wayoverthere said:

To add to this...in a very general sense, it can be easier to make a good performing superhet than SOC, and there's some cheap bad SOC radios out there. There's also some really awesome (and priced accordingly) SOC radios, and some meh superhet ones.

That aside, I have the little brother to the ft65 (the ft4x), and it's been solid, and is the one I grab most often for handheld use. Holds a charge well, little to no drain when off, and decent filtering. Even took it up on the hill by the repeater and commercial fm sites, and was listening to myself and the convo on the repeater there, while talking into another repeater across the valley on the mobile. Meanwhile, the baofeng uv5r I also had along was stone deaf, acting like there were no signals present

Yeah, I have one of the ft4x radios also and I really like it.  It’s small enough that I can easily carry it in a pocket.  I put a stubby Diamond antenna on it too.  That doesn’t improve the reception, but it’s sure convenient.

 

[wayoverthere]

5 minutes ago, Sshannon said:

Yeah, I have one of the ft4x radios also and I really like it.  It’s small enough that I can easily carry it in a pocket.  I put a stubby Diamond antenna on it too.  That doesn’t improve the reception, but it’s sure convenient.

 

Yeah, I have a little stubby flexible rubber comet antenna and a signal stick for mine too. The comet is great for around the house (or vehicle) hotspot use.

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, wayoverthere said:

Yeah, I have a little stubby flexible rubber comet antenna and a signal stick for mine too. The comet is great for around the house (or vehicle) hotspot use.

Sometimes, the coolness-factor is important. Looks are "everything" !!!   

[gortex2]

Its a ham radio. Why open it up. Use it for ham radio and buy a GMRS radio for GMRS. Its not certified for use on GMRS, or MURS so just dont do it.