Thinking about trading VHF radios

[Crumm]

I currently have a Yaesu FT-3000M but the Mic cord has gone bad. I contacted the guy I purchased it from and he tells me that the radio has been discontinued for some time but he may be able to get me a Mic for around $70. For the same $70 he will trade me the Yaesu FT-3000M for a Kenwood TM261A. I did a little research and found that the Yaesu had a retail price of $399.95 when they were available but near the end of the run they could be had for under $200. The new in box Kenwood that he will trade me has a retail price of $169.95. Just comparing prices tells me that I may be getting ripped off, on the other hand my Yaesu is currently broken and is a 10 year old discontinued model. What do you VHF radio gurus think? Good or bad trade?


Yaesu Specs.


Kenwood specs

 

[bushpilot]

i dont know squat 'bout these radios and whats good and bad but
from what i READ the yaesu has considerably more power

Yaesu: 70/50/25 & 10 Watts
Kenwood: 50/10 & 5 Watts

on the yaesu it also looks <to me> like the frequency coverage
is better than what the kenwood provides.

seems to me the POWER alone would be reason for you to keep the
Yaesu...as i know you go off road camping etc...if i were living in
the outback of alaska id want all the power i could get & then some...
it might mean the difference in getting help and NOT.

 

[Tbar]

Crumm,

Have you tried to fix the mic............

If not repairable I would consider an even exchange of a non working radio for a working radio a pretty good deal though I would have to wonder why someone would want to make that trade.

Both radios are discontinued models so if this guy isnt a dealer seems strange to me he would have a new in the box discontinued radio.

FWIW...........the TM-261 appears to be a MIL spec radio.

Have you ever thought about the TMD700 ???




Tbar

 

[stroked 350]

fwiw we have been using kenwood raido's in the fire service for many years with good results

 

[Crumm]

Crumm,

Have you tried to fix the mic............

Nope, bad cord I believe and it doesn't unplug from the mic.

If not repairable I would consider an even exchange of a non working radio for a working radio a pretty good deal though I would have to wonder why someone would want to make that trade.

Not even. I have to pay $70. He likes modifying the 3000 for his own use so he wants a spare.

Both radios are discontinued models so if this guy isn't a dealer seems strange to me he would have a new in the box discontinued radio.

He is a dealer, just a side job though.

Have you ever thought about the TMD700 ???

Don't know a thing about them. I just push the mic and talk.

 

[JLDickmon]

I currently have a Yaesu FT-3000M but the Mic cord has gone bad. I contacted the guy I purchased it from and he tells me that the radio has been discontinued for some time but he may be able to get me a Mic for around $70. For the same $70 he will trade me the Yaesu FT-3000M for a Kenwood TM261A. I did a little research and found that the Yaesu had a retail price of $399.95 when they were available but near the end of the run they could be had for under $200. The new in box Kenwood that he will trade me has a retail price of $169.95. Just comparing prices tells me that I may be getting ripped off, on the other hand my Yaesu is currently broken and is a 10 year old discontinued model. What do you VHF radio gurus think? Good or bad trade?


Yaesu Specs.


Kenwood specs

take the mic to an outfit that does PA and audio repair.. like commercial PA systems.. they might not fix it there, but can probably send it in for repair.

 

[jharvey]

Crumm, you can get a Yaesu FT-7800r dual bander for about $269-ish.
FT7800r

Or if you want to stick to 2 meters the new FT-1802m is only about $129.
FT1802m