New HF Rig?

[oldtymer]

Some good answers posted to your question.
Time to ask a few; is this your first HF radio?
What are your limitations for room for antenna(s)?
Do you plan to add an amplifier in the future?
Is FMmode needed for your setup? Makes a difference of how wide the roofing filter is.
As far as brands Kenwood, Icom, & Yaesu have all made shining stars & all have had
their share of problem rigs.
From personal experience my choices would be Icom 7200 & LDG AT- 200 tuner if FM is not a priority. The 200 pro vs the 100pro more memory slots for multiple antennnas.
Need FM I would go with either the Kenwood TS-480 SAT & the same LDG tuner or
either the Yaesu 950 with the latest firmware & same LDG tuner.
Any of these set ups will not break the budget, are by no means obsolete.
If you like the digital modes the 7200 would probably be your best choice of the three.
I have owned all three of these radios at some point in time & still have the 200 pro
tuner. Any one of them are solid dependable rigs.
One more thing & just a preference of mine, avoid 200 watt transceivers, too much
heat build up & that extra 100 watts is only 3db on the other end.
Need more watts there are plenty of amps available.
Hope this helps, happy hunting.

 

[Riverman]

I have the IC-7200, oldtymer. Love it. Very solid performing rig. But having had it for a year now (it's my first radio), I'd like something with a few more bells and whistles. I think that's what fogdog is after as well.

Couldn't agree more about the 200 watt rigs.

 

[fogdog]

I have the IC-7200, oldtymer. Love it. Very solid performing rig. But having had it for a year now (it's my first radio), I'd like something with a few more bells and whistles. I think that's what fogdog is after as well.

Couldn't agree more about the 200 watt rigs.

You got it.

 

[fogdog]

Some good answers posted to your question.
Time to ask a few; is this your first HF radio?
What are your limitations for room for antenna(s)?
Do you plan to add an amplifier in the future?
Is FMmode needed for your setup? Makes a difference of how wide the roofing filter is.
As far as brands Kenwood, Icom, & Yaesu have all made shining stars & all have had
their share of problem rigs.
From personal experience my choices would be Icom 7200 & LDG AT- 200 tuner if FM is not a priority. The 200 pro vs the 100pro more memory slots for multiple antennnas.
Need FM I would go with either the Kenwood TS-480 SAT & the same LDG tuner or
either the Yaesu 950 with the latest firmware & same LDG tuner.
Any of these set ups will not break the budget, are by no means obsolete.
If you like the digital modes the 7200 would probably be your best choice of the three.
I have owned all three of these radios at some point in time & still have the 200 pro
tuner. Any one of them are solid dependable rigs.
One more thing & just a preference of mine, avoid 200 watt transceivers, too much
heat build up & that extra 100 watts is only 3db on the other end.
Need more watts there are plenty of amps available.
Hope this helps, happy hunting.

Fm isn't a giant deal, but I have been using fm on 10 meters lately. I have 10 acres, and tons of tall,hardwoods to throw a wire up on. As far as having an HF rig, wellllll kinda sort of. I have a Stryker 955, and that's it. Although it's a darn good radio, it's not a Real HF rig at all. My Shack is ready to receive a real HF radio. I also do appreciate the time and information you provide. Thanks a bunch. As you can imagine my noggin is spinning. 73

 

[fogdog]

Thanks for all the replys Fellas. Keep them coming, I'm taking it all in, and want to make the correct choice. Seriously I don't want another small radio, my fingers are big, and those Small controls I can't feel anymore due to neopathy damage. Touch screens are kind of a problem as well.

 

[543_Dallas]

I'm trying for all the band's I don't already have really, which is just 10 and 12 meter. On the online SDR Radio websites, I hear a lot of activity on 17,20,30,40, and 80. I guess I'm not sure which bands are better for me. I'm not a nite owl, so that may make some of the band's not so important, but then again how would I know because I can't listen to them now except for what I hear online. Ultimately I want to contact a few of my friends that are all the way across the country.

I started with a 40 meter dipole and now use a doublet a that covers all HF bands. I would get the radio and listen around. Then put up a dipole for the most interesting one. There are a lot of options for working multiple bands later and the dipole is a cheap experiment

There's some early afternoon and early morning activity on 80 (75m). Sometimes the band stays good all night and sometimes it just sucks.

40 is usually ok during the day. 20 seems to always be open somewhere but a lot of contesters. 17m is a cool band but not heavily used. The rest of them are pretty poor right now because of the solar cycle.

 

[L2]

Icom ic-7300 for the win.

 

[338_MtRushmore]

Assuming someone has a computer in the shack already, is there an advantage to these rigs over an sdr receiver with a 450d or something similar? It seems like a separate sdr receiver with a simpler radio would tick a whole lot more boxes, and give up nothing but portability.

 

[Tallman]

Thanks Tallman, but

Thanks Brother for the solid offer, and I know you mean it. I've got my heart set on getting one on my own, and I'm funded for it. Going to order one soon while Mama is still in the festive spirit. Know what I mean.

Give her some Egg Nog with some extra NOG in it until you have the radio in hand.

 

[SIX-SHOOTER]

I am usually a Big Fan of ICOM but I HATE any radio with a Touch Screen.I personally would not own one even if it were FREE if I were required to keep & actually use the radio.I much prefer my ICOM 7600 & would take it over any of the rigs that you listed but I have owned it several years & know just how Sweet of a rig that it is.My neighbor has the ICOM 7300 which he uses just on 6 meters & an ICOM 7800 & he says he really likes the 7300 for what it is but does see that it is not as good of a radio on 6 meters as it is on HF.He also owns a K3 & a KX3 so he has a lot to compare it to on all of the bands.Lots of folks don't know that the 7600 not only has Dual Watch in the same band but it also will do Dual Watch on Two Different Bands within the same Pass Band. I often listen to 17 & 20 meters at the same time & I can even listen to my locals on 10 meters while working 17 meters.The signals must be a bit stronger than those on 17 & 20 at the same time but it does work.I have seen a used 7600 for as low as $1200 & that is more than a STEAL in my opinion.I went from an ICOM 756 PRO II & ICOM 746 PRO to the 7600 & it was a Very Smart move on my part.It works like a Champ with my ICOM PW-1 amplifier so I have ZERO complaints.

SIX-SHOOTER

 

[fogdog]

I am usually a Big Fan of ICOM but I HATE any radio with a Touch Screen.I personally would not own one even if it were FREE if I were required to keep & actually use the radio.I much prefer my ICOM 7600 & would take it over any of the rigs that you listed but I have owned it several years & know just how Sweet of a rig that it is.My neighbor has the ICOM 7300 which he uses just on 6 meters & an ICOM 7800 & he says he really likes the 7300 for what it is but does see that it is not as good of a radio on 6 meters as it is on HF.He also owns a K3 & a KX3 so he has a lot to compare it to on all of the bands.Lots of folks don't know that the 7600 not only has Dual Watch in the same band but it also will do Dual Watch on Two Different Bands within the same Pass Band. I often listen to 17 & 20 meters at the same time & I can even listen to my locals on 10 meters while working 17 meters.The signals must be a bit stronger than those on 17 & 20 at the same time but it does work.I have seen a used 7600 for as low as $1200 & that is more than a STEAL in my opinion.I went from an ICOM 756 PRO II & ICOM 746 PRO to the 7600 & it was a Very Smart move on my part.It works like a Champ with my ICOM PW-1 amplifier so I have ZERO complaints.

SIX-SHOOTER

Some good answers posted to your question.
Time to ask a few; is this your first HF radio?
What are your limitations for room for antenna(s)?
Do you plan to add an amplifier in the future?
Is FMmode needed for your setup? Makes a difference of how wide the roofing filter is.
As far as brands Kenwood, Icom, & Yaesu have all made shining stars & all have had
their share of problem rigs.
From personal experience my choices would be Icom 7200 & LDG AT- 200 tuner if FM is not a priority. The 200 pro vs the 100pro more memory slots for multiple antennnas.
Need FM I would go with either the Kenwood TS-480 SAT & the same LDG tuner or
either the Yaesu 950 with the latest firmware & same LDG tuner.
Any of these set ups will not break the budget, are by no means obsolete.
If you like the digital modes the 7200 would probably be your best choice of the three.
I have owned all three of these radios at some point in time & still have the 200 pro
tuner. Any one of them are solid dependable rigs.
One more thing & just a preference of mine, avoid 200 watt transceivers, too much
heat build up & that extra 100 watts is only 3db on the other end.
Need more watts there are plenty of amps available.
Hope this helps, happy hunting.

Lots of good info. Im Leary of buying anything used, particularly if I can't see it and touch it. We don't have any radio stores within 6 hours from here, so it makes the decision difficult, so I'm going by yours and other owners reviews. I'm more comfortable buying new with some of warranty. Thanks again for your input. That 7600 is a sweet rig, and yes I did look into it.

 

[fogdog]

Give her some Egg Nog with some extra NOG in it until you have the radio in hand.

Its all good, I'll just spike her Nog more lol. I just have to make a decision now.

 

[sp5it]

Frankly speaking whatever you connect to wire won't outperform that wire. That's main bottleneck here.
Mike

 

[fogdog]

I think with all the forum help, eham, qrz, and every other review that I can find I beleive I'm going to go with the 7300. It just has all the boxes checked for what I think I need for now and the future. Today is the last day you can add a 10 year warranty from gigaparts for 10 dollars. I think that might be a good deal. I will be ordering today one way or the other.
next on the list will be an antenna. Either I will make my own dipole, or buy one pre made. i will never have a tower due to cost, so that eliminates a big beam. Ive already got an Imax 2000 for 10m. Can anyone tell me how much I can expect to hear on that, particularly the other bands. The antenna no matter which one i use wont be going up until this weather settles down a bit. This old man gets cold easy these days.

73 ALL

 

[SIX-SHOOTER]

I think with all the forum help, eham, qrz, and every other review that I can find I beleive I'm going to go with the 7300. It just has all the boxes checked for what I think I need for now and the future. Today is the last day you can add a 10 year warranty from gigaparts for 10 dollars. I think that might be a good deal. I will be ordering today one way or the other.
next on the list will be an antenna. Either I will make my own dipole, or buy one pre made. i will never have a tower due to cost, so that eliminates a big beam. Ive already got an Imax 2000 for 10m. Can anyone tell me how much I can expect to hear on that, particularly the other bands. The antenna no matter which one i use wont be going up until this weather settles down a bit. This old man gets cold easy these days.

73 ALL

I own Two 50 ft towers & BOTH were given to me.I did have 150 ft of Rohn 25 & it was all FREE but I traded 100 ft of it for other items.My antennas cost me nothing since I used the extra tower as payment for the rotor & antennas.I have less than $200 in both towers,10 antennas,coax cables,& guy wires.It just takes patience & I have lots of that.Included in that is Two Yaesu G-800SDX rotors.My cost was the installation by a friend.People are always giving me stuff so I use it or trade it for things I can use or that I want or need.

SIX-SHOOTER