On Fri, 04 Dec 1998 15:22:33 +0000, John Watson <jwatson@unix.cde.com>
wrote:
>I am interested in the FT-920, but I have some questions. Is it a 12VDC,
>or, 117VAC ?
It is 12VDC. Draws about 22 amps on transmit, 1.5 amps on recieve.
>Also, has anyone that has owned a FT-990 tried, or compared these two
>radios?
Yes! I own the FT-990 as well. I bought the FT-920 as a replacement
for my FT-990 thinking the 920 has 6m plus DSP and I can get rid of my
990. It didn't work out that way. Couple comparison points:
++The 920 has a *very* nice noise blanker. The DSP noise reduction
coupled with the IF noise blanker is top notch. The 990 with my
Timewave 59+ wasn't able to clean up the noise as well as the 920 can.
I heard signals on the 920 that the 990 wasn't able to copy with the
Timewave 59+.
++The 920 has a dual VFO system where the VFO B has its own readout
and knob. On the 990 you have old fashioned split button (easy to mix
up and tx on the listening freq). Once you use the dual knobs on the
920, operating split will be easy and painless. Going back to the 990
was a pain and was kludgy.
++6 meters. I love the band! Obviously the 990 lacks it so the 920
wins here by default. :-)
Couple bad points about the 920:
Major Problem++ The 920 has a very poor filtering as is. The 2.45 Khz
stock SSB filter and the 14 Khz AM filter are way too wide. Also lacks
FM. I purchased the INRAD filters to replace the stock filters (some
surgery required for the SSB filter but was very easy if you follow
the directions) to a nice tight 1.8 Khz filter. Also got a 6 Khz AM
filter and a FM unit (all added expenses). Without them the radio is
inadequate and doesn't come close to the 990 in the receiver.
The FT990 came standard with a 500hz filter (in my AC rig). The 920
lacks a narrow CW filter (added expense).
+The DVS that is built into the 920 is very poor and kludgy. I have
the DVS-2 with the 990 and the quality is much better both audio wise
and use. I will be getting a K1EA DVS board in the future since I
refuse to use that piece of junk known as the built in DVS on the 920.
+The inputs for FSK and AFSK share one jack in the back. I have a
PK-900 and with the FT-990 I was able to use both AFSK and FSK and use
the FSK for RTTY and the AFSK for Pactor/packet using the simple front
panel buttons. The 920 is all screwed up. You can only have one or the
other (AFSK or FSK) and the manual doesn't explain that to choose
between the modes (AFSK/FSK) you have to toggle the front SSB button.
I _could_ just get by and use AFSK for RTTY but the TX quality would
suffer with overmoduation and other 'nasties' or I could just get by
with using FSK with RTTY but then other modes on the PK-900 couldn't
be used.
+The autotuner on the 920 is 'wimpy'. It gives up if the SWR is over
2.5 to 1. The 990 it could tune out a 4 to 1 swr with ease.
Some comments..
I do a fair amount of RTTY. With the 990 in combination with the
Timewave 59+ and its RTTY remoduator, I am able to dig out very weak
and uncopyable signals. On the 920 those signals are uncopyable.
Also, some have commented that the CW keyer is flawed on the 920. I am
not a big CW man so I can't comment.
Don't get me wrong.. the 920 is a very good mid-range HF rig. But you
can see obvious things that they cut out to save $$$ and bring the $2k
rig down to the $1.4k range (filters for example). The 990 is a solid
$2k rig and the quality shows.
>And, lastly, is the DSP in this radio any better than some of the
>"add-ons? such as the timewave unit that goes into the SP-5, or 6?
>I have also considered just getting the timewave unit, and keeping my
>FT-990.
The Timewave 59+ is a very good outboard DSP. If you are looking for a
winner, the 920 is much better with general noise. Unless you get the
INRAD filters, the 990 blows away the 920 in everything else.
In my opinion I would get the Timewave DSP (either the one that goes
with the SP5 or 6 or a outboard unit like the 59+) and keep the 990
and save your money for a FT-1000MP. ***IF*** you are interested in 6
meters, only then would I recommend the 920. And that is the only
reason I have not dumped my 920.
My dream rig would be a FT-1000 with the FT-920's DSP built in (at the
IF stage) plus 6 meters. That rig would rock!!
I use the 920 as my main HF + 6m radio and use my 990 & Timewave 59+
as my RTTY and backup radio. That combo is unbeatable to me!
There are several messages from others who have the 920 who have
expressed their opinions about it. The archives of this reflector will
have them. There is also a very good web page about the radio from a
user stand point:
http://www.wm7d.net/hamradio/ft920.html
>Thanks for reading my message
>
> John Watson KC4TBH
Good luck John. Hope this helps...
73 Al
--
Allan W. Schlaugat allanws@werewolf.net Albertville, WI USA
Amateur Radio: N9ISN * Lumber Cartel (tinlc) Member #1390 * APS #186089
"Minnesota residents can now rest easy in the knowlege that their
governor-elect can physically dominate the governor of South Dakota."
--
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