Well John,
The top 3 are (in no particular order) the ICOM IC-910H, Kenwood TS-790,
Yaesu FT-736R. Here is a listing of their good and bad points.
ICOM IC910H
Good points - current model, so no concern at the present time about
unobtainium proprietary parts. Buy it new (AES is just 10
miles from me), and I have a warranty. Receiver is
decently hot and quiet too. Power levels are more than I need,
but could be turned down (and for that matter
cranked up if needed). Dual receive capability. The fact that ICOM
claims it's optimized for weak signal work,and not
cheezed out to perform better on FM, is a plus IMO.
Bad points - price (at $1300 it may stress out my soon to be bonus
enhanced budget [I will not know until the check is in my hand
tomorrow morning, how much I am getting; I do know
that it will be at least several hundred dollars]). The power
supply is external (this is not a major bummer, but
it would be nice [in spite of the fact it would raise internal heat levels
in the radio] from a self contained standpoint if the
power supply were internal)
Yaesu FT-736R
Good Points - from my personal experience, a decent performing radio.
Expandable to 4 bands (my old one had 2, 220, 432, &
1296 capability). Shop wisely, and the basic 2/432
radio can be picked up at a decent price.
Bad points - age (like any older radio, some of the parts are
unobtanium). The band modules are getting harder to find, and can be
very pricey (I was very surprised, when I saw a 222
module going for over $600 on ePay [I paid $500 for the band
modules I bought brand new]). The internal power
supply (which is unbtanium) is considered to be a weak spot, with a
high failure rate (I was surprised to read this - the
power supply in my FT-736R never gave me problems). If it fails,
you either have to use an exteranl supply, or try to
retrofit a computer power supply (ala the CQ article of 2 or 3 years
ago).
Kenwood TS-790
Good Points - A decent receiver. It's power level of 45W on 2 , 35W on
432, & 10W on 1296 is pretty much the power level I'd
like to run on those bands. Expandable to 1296
capbility. Shop wisely, and the basic 2/432 radio can be picked up at
a good price. Dual receive capability.
Bad points - age (like any older radio, some of the parts are
unobtanium). The TS-790 is relatively rare and hard to find compared
to the FT-736R, and the IC-910H (this even more the
case for the 1296 band module). The power supply is external
(once again, this is not a major bummer, but it would
be nice [in spite of the fact it would raise internal heat levels
in the radio] from a self contained standpoint if the
power supply were internal). Costs more than the basic FT-736R
(but significantly less than the IC-910H).
Decisions Decisions.
73,
Ellen - AF9J
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Geiger" <aa5jg@lcisp.com>
To: "Ellen Rugowski" <ellenjoanne2003@sbcglobal.net>;
<vhfcontesting@contesting.com>
Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2008 9:29 PM
Subject: [Bulk] Re: [VHFcontesting] Mulitband VHF & UHF rigs - thanks for
your inputpeople
> Hi Ellen,
>
> So overall what was the general consensus of the list, and what do you
plan
> on getting?
>
> 73s John AA5JG
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Ellen Rugowski" <ellenjoanne2003@sbcglobal.net>
> To: <vhfcontesting@contesting.com>
> Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2008 1:51 AM
> Subject: [VHFcontesting] Mulitband VHF & UHF rigs - thanks for your
> inputpeople
>
>
> > Hi Everybody,
> >
> > Thanks for all of your input on VHF & UHF all mode rigs. :)
> >
> > 73,
> > Ellen - AF9J
> > Grid EN52xx
> > _______________________________________________
> > VHFcontesting mailing list
> > VHFcontesting@contesting.com
> > http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/vhfcontesting
> >
>
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