Originally Posted By: celler
Take a look at the Yaseu VX-7R. It does not meet all your requirements, but it will probably come the closest possible in one package.


The VX-7R was a close second. It is within my budget (just) and is more rugged and waterproof than the Kenwood TH-F6A I ended up selecting. The reasons I didn't buy it are:

1) 6M coverage isn't useful for me, and the Yaesu's 1.25M output is much lower.

2) Yaesu radios are harder for me to program than Kenwoods. This may be that I'm used to my Kenwood and it may be that Kenwood has a better interface. I suspect a combination of both.

3) I have a Kenwood speaker mic and a Kenwood 12V cable that will work with the TH-F6A.

4) The Kenwood has a wider receive capability. I don't know if this is going to end up being important to me.