![]() The receive audio is surpisingly loud from the small speaker, and I've never had a bad report on it's transmit audio. A battery case for four AA batteries is included with the HTX-420. The HTX-420 will produce 4 Watts output with a 13.8 VDC power supply. With all of the above stated, the transceiver hears better than it transmits, due to the 3 Watt ouput power (using the supplied 7.2 Volt lithium-ion battery pack). Amphenol's website provides detailed instruction on their installation and use. ![]() That supplied antenna looks wimpy but really does the job! This rig is my first experience with SMA connectors, which perform well considering their small size, and are not bad to work with. The receiver is free from overload when connected to my Cushcraft AR-270B dual-band Ringo (146/440 mHz, gain 5.5/7/5 dB) and tuned to a local repeater a short distance away.ĭistant repeaters come in surprisingly well with the supplied antenna, and I only noticed a very slight improvement when I switched to a Comet SMA24 (146/446 mHz, gain 2.15/3.5 dBi). I live in the wilds of Central Pennsylvania and don't have the potential for intermod issues users in more congested areas may face. This rig's case is some kind of (heavy) die-cast alloy. The quality of contruction strikes me as top notch. I believe these were manufactured for RadioShack by Maxon, the radar detector people. With the internal battery pack, the rated output power (3 Watts) is a bit on the low side, otherwise I would rate this handheld 5 out of 5. I purchased a HTX-420 almost three years ago and am impressed with this rugged little transceiver. This is very frustrating when programming the SAME codes. On my radio if you press one of those 3 buttons the radio seems to pick at random which button it will give you. After a little troubleshooting and opening the radio it was easy to repair with a soldering iron. It was very difficult to tighten and eventually the moving of the antenna connector broke its connection to the PC board. * After some time in rough service the nut on the antenna connector loosened up. ![]() The output audio "ground" cannot be connected to the input audio "ground." In my APRS setup I used an isolation transformer to prevent a DC connection between the two. If you home-brew any kind of audio interface device for this radio read the manual. When I recruited a friend into amateur radio, I loaned it to him until he purchases his own radio. It has survived being strapped to my belt as I push through thick underbrush in the woods, transmitting for short time with the antenna removed and has served faithfully as an APRS radio. It is indeed tough, and I've torture tested mine to its limits. Overall, I was quite happy with the radio. I purchased it right after I took the test and spent the days that passed between taking the test and receiving my callsign programming the radio for the local repeaters. ![]()
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