Kevin, Gosh it's so long ago and my mind isn't as sharp as it used to be. I
think we (in the US) LOST the 902-903MHz portion of the band. The Canadians
still have 902 so that's why the 144-902 combo still exists and it's
perfectly useable at 903 when the IF is tuned to 145. There used to be
"some" stations back in the "old days" that couldn't go above 144.4 (for
instance) with their IF rig (I know that seems pretty far fetched with the
proliferation of multimode 144-148 rigs these days - but it's true). That
fact coupled with the desire to have "instant bandswitching" (not having to
change band switch on IF rig when going from 903 - 1296 - 2303, etc) made
the 144-903 desireable to some.
These days the 144-902 (144-903) setup is probably the best. That way if you
want to sell the rig to a VE station, he doesn't have to buy a new crystal
if he wants to operate at 902.. (hah!)
hope you are now as confused as I am!
bill, k1DY Maine
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