[chirp_users] inexpensive Dual Band Mobile radios?

[rdhutch at pacbell.net]

How about the Jeuntai JT-6188, also marketed as the Zastone KT-8900?  They offer a high power of 25 watts, vs the 10 Watts of the Leixen.  Unfortunately they don't seem to be Chirp supported yet, but are pretty easy to program manually.  I have both the Jeuntai and the Leixen and I can tell you that the Jeuntai / Zastone radios have tighter front ends, in that they don'r recieve anywhere as many spurious, off channel signals, and I get better transmit audio quality reports.  They're very compact, about same height and width as the Leixen but about 2" deeper. They also appear to be much better built with better speakers and heavier heat sink, and better microphone. All for under $100 on Amazon. I think they'd be an excellent choice for a beginner with limited space and budget.

http://www.amazon.com/Juentai-JT-6188-136-174-400-480MHz-Transceiver/dp/B0149KUE84/ref=sr_1_5?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1447165723&sr=1-5&keywords=dual+band+ham+radio

Ray, AE6H
      From: Dave Nathanson <k6gzjo.lists.chirpusers at nathanson.org>
 To: Chirp Discussion <chirp_users at intrepid.danplanet.com> 
 Sent: Tuesday, November 10, 2015 2:20 AM
 Subject: [chirp_users] inexpensive Dual Band Mobile radios?
   
[This is sort of off-topic, but hinges on CHIRP support for the radio] 
Howdy, I'd like to get a recommendation for a dual band mobile radio for a new ham that will (probably) not use it a whole lot. But it needs to work reliably enough, even if not a lot of features. Actually less features is fine, that is just less stuff to not understand & less to forget between uses!   :-) 
Mounting a UV5R in a car doesn't seem like a good idea. Can anyone offer anything good or bad about any "inexpensive" mobile dual band ham radio, including the Leixen VV-898 or Jetstream JT270M (apparently the same radio). It is one of the few cheap Mobile units I see on the list of CHIRP supported radios. http://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/wiki/HomeAmazon reviews seem fairly ok, especially for $99.  I'm interested in a CHIRP-supported radio. This is intended for an 1997 Jeep Cherokee, and a small radio is probably a better match. It does need to be a dual bander. 
If the cost gets anywhere even near $200, I'd just recommend the Yaesu 7900 or Yaseu 8800. But for this situation, I'm open to hearing about cheaper alternatives that I might be able to recommend until this new ham grows into the "sport". 
Thanks for your helpful council. 
73,Dave NathansonKG6ZJO
PS: if you know of a better forum to ask about CHIRP compatible mobile radios, it's ok to shoot me a pm or direct email about it. 

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