Quote Originally Posted by ubet View Post
I dont know what I dont know that’s why I am asking. I have access to live internet at high speeds, for now. The biggest thing I want in anything I buy is reliability.


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On quality...

I started out with the Standard Horizon HX370 - submersible, legal for (VHF) marine, ham, LMR (business band). While they require manufacturer software to program... they are channelized and keypad lockable, so easier to dummy proof for people who only need to know where the microphone is. This was pre-Baofeng era. I added HX400 model when HX370S was discontinued.

With very few exceptions I prefer to buy commercial or commercial-derived gear. However you lose flexibility with that gear. Most of these radios are channelized and you cannot enter frequencies directly via radio keypad.

The ham radio offerings split the difference in quality and frequency agility. Even the cheapy FT-65:
The FT-60R is much higher quality radio but to get the extended transmit (so you can use on MURS or GMRS) you have to take the radio almost completely apart and remove a tiny surface mount resistor.

With the FT-65 you simply power on the radio in a special sequence and urn up the radio in a special mode and enter a key code on the radio's keypad.

Anyway, we'll talk soon.