Of course, specs are important. There's an interesting article about radio
specs in the latest QEX that generally agrees with my observations.
Disinterested product reviews are also important. They can keep you from
buying something that is unreliable or unsuitable for your purpose.
On the other hand, I have to drive to the Atlanta area six to eight times a
year on business. I am interested in how fast I can get from exit 80 on I59
to exit 75 on I75. I drive a car none of the reviewers have liked at all. But
we can make the trip in just over five hours and we arrive ready to go to
work.
An associate who usually makes the trip with me has a highly rated autobahn
buzzer. The same trip in his gogomobil takes us almost six hours and we
arrive too tired to do more than eat and turn in. So now he doesn't offer to
drive us and if he did I would go alone.
Much the same thing goes for radios. The specs are interesting, sometimes
educational, but they are no substitute for a direct A-B comparison.
73 Pete Allen AC5E
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