In fairness to the competition...
The problems with driver failures on the Icom IC-703 were limited to
early production runs. Any newer radio or any version which has had
the service bulletins performed is rock sold. It runs a good long time
on it's external battery. It really is an excellent radio.
The problems with finals failures on the Yaesu FT-817 were limited to
the original version. Such failures are very rare on the FT-817ND and
usually attributed to abuse. In addition, failures are really a tiny
percentage of the over 100,000 units sold worldwide. The FT-817 is the
best selling radio Yaesu has had since the FT-101 series. It's pretty
much ubiquitous among QRPers. Battery life is also much improved on the
FT-817ND and aftermarket batteries really can give a reasonable amount
of operating time.
For both of these radios a CW filter is a very good idea. It truly is
essential on the FT-817. The W4RT dual filter option is the way to go
on this rig, and yes, it adds $269 to the price. Take that into
consideration before buying the rig.
Tiny controls? Why yes, what do you expect on a radio that is 1.5"
tall?
I, personally, don't find 10W much of a limitation, especially on CW.
I loved the Scout in it's day but the IC-703 has it beat hands down.
Of course, the Ten Tec Argonaut V outperforms the IC-703 IMNSHO.
73,
Caity
K7VO
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