>For a group which has expressed concern about the falling interest in VHF
>contesting, I'm rather surprised to see the 706mkIIg - poo-poo'ed so
>quickly.
de N8YSZ
I tend to agree with N8YSZ - the IC-706MII(G) is reasonable "entry level"
radio for
VHF Contesting and a good value. The radio is sensitive and reliable. It can
produce
remarkable results in capable hands. I used one in the June 2003 VHF QSO
Party
from Berumda. My '706MII made 6M contacts all the way to California west,
Belgium and
Italy to the east on Es, winning the "DX Category" that year. Memorial
Weekend 2005 I
vacationed in Bermuda and made over 600 50 MHz QSOs with it in casual
operating. On HF
this week the IC-706MII barefoot put YX0LIX in the log on 17, 20, 40 and
160M CW/SSB.
That said - it is not the "best" VHF contest radio. The IC-706MII front end
"crumps"
under strong adjacent signals. As John, NE0P notes, the FT-100D is better.
K5AND and W7XU
used FT-100Ds on their 9G5AN 6 Meter DXpedition.
http://www.uksmg.org/9g5anstory.htm
The FT-897D is a step up from the FT-100D, and I feel better overall
performance for
about the same cost as the IC-706MII(G). I recently bought one for the
shack, and now use
the 706MII for mobile operating.
One of the best 6M setups I have seen for the money was a Kenwood TS-830
with
a SSB electronics transverter (+ 8877 amp) at the WB0DRL VHF Contest
station.
As for the very best 50 MHz contest radio bar none...
The FTDX-9000 series HF/50 MHz Elite Class Transceivers
Hope to hear all these VHF contest radios on for the 6 Meter Sprint!
- Jon N0JK
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