I own two FT-60R's, purchased about five years apart. Both in my
opinion have been second tier performers when compared to
my older Kenwood TR-2400 handheld when comparing the rf
characteristics.
The Kenwood opened repeaters consistently at distances that
were far beyond what my Yaesu's will. And the Kenwood reports
for many of the repeaters were, "Full Quieting", while the Yaesus
only trigger a few nearby (less than 15 miles) with full quieting
reports. That compares to the Yaesu 5 watt rated output and
the Kenwood 1.5 watt. To say it is disappointing is, well...................
I tried the Yaesu radios with a homebrew wire dipole, suspended
both horizontally and vertically. Just a 39 inch center fed dipole
using a 60 inch RG-316 coax feed. The difference was dramatic,
but still seems to be somewhat? off from the Kenwood with its
now crumbling coating on the rubber duckie.
While the Yaesu blows the doors off the Kenwood in memory
storage and digital capabilities, the Kenwood leaps over the
the RF performance of the two FT-60R's in the shack.
The performance difference is consistent between the Northern
Virginia QTH and the flatlands of eastern North Carolina.
One thing I noted about the Kenwood is, it has a full length cast
aluminum frame. The Yaesu has a metal frame totally enclosed
by the case, but no where near the length of the Kenwood. The
Kenwood frame also contacts the hand when in use. I have
wondered if the Kenwood's metal frame functions as a more
capable counterpoise for the antennas used.
Chuck
