[aprssig] Barebones "Data Radio"

[Jason KG4WSV]

> On Mar 4, 2017, at 11:16 PM, Brett Friermood <brett.friermood at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> I'm looking for something a little more hardened than an average amateur radio

The FC301 is ok, certainly more convenient as a data radio than an HT, but it isn't particularly "hardened". I tried them for high altitude balloons and most lasted a single flight. In particular, the PCB seemed to be cleaned improperly or not at all after soldering, and a single high humidity excursion resulted in severe corrosion. 

Common HTs (a yaesu, an icom, and several Alinco DJC7) last for many flights. In spite of being a bit heavy, larger, and inconvenient to mount compared to the fc301, we prefer them for reliability.  

-j