Bruce,

 Welcome to Amateur Radio!  I hope you find it an enjoyable and useful hobby.  I highly recommend that you involve yourself in your local ARES organization and use your new skills and equipment to serve your community.

 I think you made an excellent choice.  I’ve only been a ham for 10 years now (has it been that long, already?) but I’ve had dozens of HTs.  I’m just one of those ‘have-to-have-the-latest-gadget’ kinda guys.

 In my not so humble opinion, the TH-F6A is probably the best-engineered ham HT ever, as far as the overall design goes.  Any HT is a series of compromises, ergonomically and electrically, but Kenwood seems to have achieved the best balance I’ve seen so far.  Its tough (mil-spec), easy to use, and has tons of really useful features.

 If I had one gripe about the radio, it would be that its ham band receiver performance suffers as a result of its very-wide-range receive coverage.  It is more susceptible to intermod than other less complex radios I own and have owned.  However, this is something that no manufacturer has been able to overcome, at least in a handheld package.  Also, I think the stock antenna could be much improved. 

Another thing to consider is quality.  In my experience and in that of many others as of late, Yaesu’s quality has been called into question. While almost without exception, every Icom and Kenwood I’ve owned has performed flawlessly over its life, nearly every Yaesu I’ve owned has had some sort of problem.  The same goes for my close ham buddies.  This is a shame, as I really think Yaesu has had some great radios lately, and I’ve really enjoyed using the ones I’ve owned. 

My Yahoo Messenger ID is K7ADN, and I’m logged on often throughout the day.  If I can help you or any other members of this list, don’t hesitate to IM me.

 73,  Dean, K7ADN