[SEDXC] RIG TECH REVIEWS

[John Harden]

I first got in the hobby in 1959 at age 15.... I've certainly had the 
opportunity of operating with a whole array of rigs over the years. This 
includes both homebrew and commercial.  For many years I used the 
Collins S Line as it was the best at the time. In the late 1950's the 
KWM-2 transceiver cost as much as an automobile
(around $1200.00). Of course it was out of my price range at the time....

Later on I migrated to Ten-Tec and I had its whole array of transceivers 
from the Corsair II, Omni V, Omni VI Plus and finally the Orion I. Their 
service was excellent
as was Collins though not cheap. I was very pleased with all of the 
Ten-Tec gear and it was all reasonbly priced and worked well as the 
competition if not better.

I did have a couple of ICOM Rigs  (IC-730 and IC-735) though they were 
never my main rigs. Their quality was average and I was never impressed 
with either one.
However they were not expensive.

The K-3 is the best transceiver I have ever operated. It is my current 
rig & it only costs $3500.00 or so loaded with 3 extra filters, the 
sub-receiver & the transverter board which allows a separate receive 
antenna. There is no way I would pay $10,000 for a "rice box" that is 
never supported that long, is difficult to get service for & does not 
work as well as the K-3. I do admit that the K-3 ergonomics are not what 
a larger rig has to offer. It is a small rig no doubt.

I have said this before but the most sensitive rig I have is the Collins 
KWM-2 which is 50 years old. It was gone through with a spectrum 
analyzer by a long-time Collins employee and all circuits were maximized 
by test-selecting circuit components. However, this rig does not have 
any bells and whistles like the newer rigs.

If I were going to spend $10,000 I would go to Harris RF or Collins 
Avionics but such a transceivers sells for $25,000 to $50,000. I 
operated a Harris RF digital transceiver while deployed overseas with 
the military. It was awesome but expensive. Such an expenditure is not 
practical.

Also I must admit that I am inherently prejudiced being retired military 
and I only buy American made gear......

73,

John, W4NU
(K4JAG 1959 to 1998)
W4NU/9K2 (July - Sept. 2002)







On 7/12/2011 9:30 PM, Gary McConville wrote:
> The K3 might have a tighter front end, but it's not as fun to operate as the FT-2000 or even the FT-102.  Ran a K3 at FD one year.  It was fun but too laborous for me.  Playing with the Icoms at HRO, I had to go up to the 7700 until it felt like a real radio.  And with the new Kenwood TS590, I kept waiting for my prize to pop out of the box.  Just like the Yaesu feel.
> My personal choice...
>
>
> --- On Tue, 7/12/11, Mike Greenway<K4PI at BELLSOUTH.NET>  wrote:
>
>> From: Mike Greenway<K4PI at BELLSOUTH.NET>
>> Subject: Re: [SEDXC] RIG TECH REVIEWS
>> To: "Hal Kennedy"<halken at comcast.net>, "'SEDXC'"<sedxc at contesting.com>
>> Date: Tuesday, July 12, 2011, 3:57 PM
>> I guess there is a lot of
>> individuality when it comes to that.  Doesn’t help
>> you work more DX just ease of working it . HI.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Hal Kennedy
>> Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2011 2:46 PM
>> To: 'Mike Greenway' ; 'SEDXC'
>> Subject: RE: [SEDXC] RIG TECH REVIEWS
>>
>> Too bad there is no column for ergonomics...
>>
>> N4GG
>>
>>
>>
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