What to do with that old HT you used to love so much...

If you are a ham for at least 10 years, then chances are you might have an old HT laying around that doesn't see a lot of use.  It seems that more and more, we are using our D-Star handhelds, our DMR radios, and other HT's that are combos of digital and analog.  That leaves a lot of HT's unused and gathering dust.

Besides being replaced by new "fancy" radios, why might that old HT be just sitting?

I can go though a few experiences of my own and perhaps they will align with yours as well.

1) The battery pack is NiCad. It is pretty much dead and won't take a charge.  I won't toss the radio, because it is a good radio that has a power problem.  Ok, so there are some solutions here.  Let's consider my Kenwood TH28

Kenwood TH-28

In the past, I purchase replacement batteries for this little radio.  They worked fine for a while and then they too bit the dust.  The radio, however, was and is still fine, so when I saw the prices of the new batteries, I couldn't justify that kind of expense for a radio that will not see much use.  BUT there is an alternative.   You can get yourself a standard battery pack.

The battery pack takes 6 standard AA batteries.  I bought mine from overseas because I was not in a hurry.  The batteries were very difficult to insert, but I managed to get them installed, and the pack was cheap.  Now the TH 28 is powered up and ready to go.  We even used it on a special event site recently for communications between stations at the site.  Works fine.

2. The second reason that the older HT might be on the shelf could be because of mechanical issues.  My Kenwood TH79a was a great example.  The antenna mount inside the radio was always mechanically "weak," and it required me to disassemble the radio and do surgery on it.  Unfortunately, although this worked for a long time, eventually the radio just wasn't a good long-term radio and other things broke.  With a radio like this, I had no choice but to do something I despise doing:  I tossed it.  The battery went to the recycler, and that's that.

3. Some radios are just too unique to get rid of.  I have at least 2 handhelds like this.  The first is the Icom Delta 1A.  This is a tri-band HT with 2m, 440m, and 1.2 ghz.  What a rare radio.  The battery packs are long dead, and it is near impossible to find a new one.  With a radio like this, there is only one solution that I can think of and that is to rebuild the battery pack yourself.

This can be a daunting task, because you must open the radio and disassemble the existing battery pack, then replace the cells with something that fits that are NiMH or Li-ion, and you must be sure to have a charging system that will work with these new cells.  If you do it correctly, then your old-time classic will have a new lease on life.

The Venerable Icom Delta 1a

I have another rare Icom that also has a battery issue, however this radio's batteries are still available if you hunt around.  The radio is an Icom IC-2SRA.  This was a really interesting HT, because it has 2m plus it also is a separate antenna for a receiver that covers 25 thru 950 mhz.  You can also rebuild the battery pack on this one if you are motivated.

The Icom IC-2SRA

4) No one is talking on VHF or UHF analog.  Well, I hear you, but I think that is not entirely true.  There are plenty of analog repeaters out there and in fact, analog audio is just a lot better than digital audio almost always.  Perhaps P25 is the best of the digital audios out there, but P25 is pretty rare on the air.  

And then there's Allstar Network which is analog and is bulletproof if you set up your own node correctly.  You can use that Analog and ancient HT to work on Allstar as long as you are in range.  You can also set up DTMF tones to get Allstar to connect to other nodes that you want programmed into your HT.  A lot of people don't know much about Allstar, so in a future blog I will attempt to break it down for y'all.  

Finally, there is always charity and mentoring.  There are Hams out there that do have access to an analog repeater, but could use an HT because they don't have the spare cash to buy a new one.  When I think about using an old Kenwood or Yaesu HT to work my nearby analog repeater, well that is definitely preferred over using a new Chinese radio any day.

There is also the possibility of getting someone more involved in ham radio by using VHF or UHF to get them involved in the local club or just as a means to becoming an Elmer to a newer ham.  I think back when I passed my Technician, and it was just great when I could find people that I met at the club meeting on the local (Memphis) repeater.  These folks helped be along to learn and improve my skills and to upgrade.  That old hand held of yours might find a lot of use in the hands of a newbie.

Recently I received a large and heavy dualband radio, the Icom IC-32AT.  This thing is the size and weight of a brick, but it has a real DTMF pad on the front panel.  There is no way a working radio like this is going to end up being shelved.  Perhaps at your next club meeting you should show up with a brick-sized radio on your hip.  Could lead to an interesting conversation about the old days.

73

Mark 4x1ks