[RTTY] Best RTTY rig?

Ekki Plicht ekki@plicht.de
Wed, 20 Mar 2002 01:30:40 +0100


> So my question is: Which of the top rigs is best for RTTY?

Oh my, you will get all sorts of answers, and most likely you will get those
rigs which the people own.

My recommendation would be:
IC-756Pro or FT-1000MP

756Pro Pros (same applies to the new 756Pro2):
- Works FSK and AFSK fine (so does the FT-1000MP)
- Spectrum display - makes it very easy to spot a clear frequency or the
lonely caller. Very helpful in a contest.
- Lots of choice with DSP filters, even has a special Dual Peak RTTY filter,
all at no extra cost.
- Integrated RTTY decoder, helps occasionally when external decoder fails. I
use it regularly in a contest.

756Pro Contra:
- fixed frequency offset display in RTTY (Mark freq), not changeable
(enhanced in Pro2)
- Rx IMD3 and Dyn.blocking bandwidth leaves room for improvement (Pro2 no
data)
- Dual Watch unsuitable for RTTY (no true 2nd Rx as in FT-1000)

I cannot say much about the FT-1000MP because I don't own one, but have used
them regularly in contests. Nice rig for RTTY, superb Rx. In a contest the
Dual Rx is real helpful if you have a second decoder attached. Scan the band
while calling CQ (not when TXing of course). Needs additional filters
(cost). AF DSP is mostly useless for RTTY.

My guess is the new TenTec Orion will be a strong contender for the
756Pro(2).

73 & GL,
Ekki, DF4OR