Yaesu's newest 144/430 MHz 5-Watt FM Hand-held was introduced at Dayton 2004. The FT-60R includes wide receiver coverage, outstanding audio quality, the most CTCSS/DCS flexibility in the industry, and a new Emergency Automatic Identification (EAI) feature for search-and-rescue work. The FT-60R is a dual band FM transceiver with extensive receive frequency coverage, providing local-area two-way amateur communications along with unmatched monitoring capability. The FT-60R’s small size allows you to take it anywhere - hiking, skiing, or while walking around town - and its operating flexibility brings the user many avenues of operating enjoyment. Its incredibly tiny FNB-83 Rechargeable Nickel-Metal Hydride Battery Pack provides up to 5 Watts of transmit power on 144 MHz and 430 MHz Amateur Bands. Besides 144- and 430-MHz transceive operation, the FT-60R provides receive coverage of the VHF and UHF TV bands, the VHF AM aircraft band, and a wide range of commercial and public safety frequencies! New and exciting features of the FT-60R are the Emergency Automatic ID (EAI) function, that will automatically cause your FT-60R to transmit your callsign and engage your rig’s microphone, even if you are disabled and unable to press the PTT switch; Enhanced Paging and Code Squelch (EPCS), that allows you to page a particular station and only receive calls from that station, if desired; and a security Password feature, that will allow you to turn on and operate your transceiver only after you enter your Password. Additional features include a convenient access key for Vertex Standard’s WIRES™ (Wide-coverage Internet Repeater Enhancement System), a transmit Time-Out Timer (TOT), Automatic Power-Off (APO), Automatic Repeater Shift (ARS), Yaesu’s exclusive ARTS™ (Auto-Range Transponder System) which “beeps” the user when you move out of communications range with another ARTS™ equipped station, plus provision for reduction of the TX deviation in areas of high channel congestion. And an RF squelch circuit allows the owner to set the squelch to open at a programmable setting of the S-Meter, thus reducing guesswork in setting the squelch threshold. Jim Baudo, NØUQZ