Radio (or ensemble) you can't do without?

[N8YX]

We haven't done one of these in a while.

Let's say you had to pare your station down to one group of equipment, all from a specific manufacturer. What do you keep, and why?

I'm on the fence between my Kenwood 820 lineup, an FT-90x ensemble or an FT-980/YO-901/FTV-901R. Maybe a Drake 7 line.

The Kenwoods and Drakes give me dual receive capability. The Yaesus give me all mode transceive through 432MHz, though I think I can pair a spare R-820 with them as a second receiver.

[PA5COR]

All comes down to personal choice and interests in what bands to work.
I went from the FT 847 and Collins filters to work H.F and 6 and 2/70 to the fT 2000 - D and just dabble on H.F. now.
Still running the Heathkit SB - 1000 though.

[WA4GSD]

I'm actually looking to expand the equipment,slightly...

Current shack...

IC706MKIIG, considering a 7300 and then make the 706 the go-kit rig, but may also consider a Yaesu rig of some sort.
However, desk is used by XYL also and space is currently limited so not sure yet.
Also want to get a dedicated 2m rig for the shack, have a ft8900r in the truck and may get another one for the shack since I can't get the 8800 any longer.

[KD8TUT]

Not sure I could pair it down to a single manufacturer.... comfortably anyway.

If I could only keep one thing- my Apache Labs ANAN 100D.

[K7SGJ]

My spark gap transmitter and galena receiver.

[WX7P]

I'm good with what I've got for now. An Icom IC-756 Pro III, Yaesu sp-980 speaker, Amp Supply LK-500ZB HF amp, Nye Viking MB-V-A and the Icom 7496Pro for 6/2 meters.

None of the stuff really matches any of the other but they all work great.

Chasing the ham radio dragon just leads to debt.

[KG4CGC]

I'm good with what I've got for now. An Icom IC-756 Pro III, Yaesu sp-980 speaker, Amp Supply LK-500ZB HF amp, Nye Viking MB-V-A and the Icom 7496Pro for 6/2 meters.

None of the stuff really matches any of the other but they all work great.

Chasing the ham radio dragon just leads to debt.

I was chasing the noise floor. Then I was like, meh.

[ETA]: Most stuff sounds about the same out of the box on the air (TX). Yeah, there are differences in voice bandwidth in setting/menus and god forbid, Knobs and Buttons. Desk style mics and all that make a difference too but, out of the box, most rigs sound pretty close. I mean yeah, you know when an Icom is on the air vs a Kenwood but I was always, always chasing that low noise receiver because all I wanted to hear was what I wanted to hear and it wasn't static, hiss, noise from things other than intentional radio signals.
Different brands had different ways of handling noise. Some were more elegant and simple, like Ten Tec. Yeah, I'm still a TT fanboi but only for the older stuff now. It was simple. Pepperidge Farm simple.
The Woodpecker is back.

[PA5COR]

Rather as investing in the latest new fangled transceiver you better invest in your antenna farm ( if possible).
More gain can be had from that as the latest gizmo in the never ending transceiver war.
I just have 3 main transceivers, the FT 847 with Collins filters as spare, the FT 100 used now for 2/70 local repeaters and contacts, and the FT 2000 - D main transceiver. ( and a bunch 2/70 hand helds, Kenwood Icom and Chinese )
There are better transceivers out there, but living on the edge of the town i have S3 noise on 160 on the vertical, S2 on 80 and from 40 and up S0.
I've done all i can to reduce the noise here, put up 3000 feet of ground radials on a plot of 300 x 25 feet of land and sneaked some of that radials around the plot to enlarge the area.
The FD-4 with coil works from 160 - 10, there is an additional old IMAX 2000 used for 10 - 17.
I use an discone for 2/70 at 35 feet above ground and that suits me fine.
But as said, it's personal, depending on your location, wishes which bands to use, money you want to invest, and other personal interests.
I'm the old fashioned guy that still wants a large box with knobs in front of me, rather as a computer screen.
Reason i also rebuild the Heathkit SB-1000 because i still like the tube stuff i started with....

40 years back when i started most was homebrew, no money just lots of electronic parts from old transceivers to build in something usefull.
In our army dump market prices were low, so you got good value for money scrounging around and cannibalizing parts to use.
Since i was using 2/70 mostly in SSB then that was the way to go, build a all mode 2 meter transceiver and from there go with transverter to 70/23.
I only can say i had just as much fun with the rickety stuff i build then as the most dedicated factory transceiver of today.
Times change...

[WA4GSD]

Chasing the ham radio dragon just leads to debt.



It's not a hobby if it doesn't generate debt.

[PA5COR]

I must be doing something wrong then, i have no debt, just a savings account several thousand euro's on that fully paid up creditcard,
Car is paid for everything i own is paid for, no outstanding bills.
I rather live on the safe side, and want to have enough money to survive at least 6 months without income, which won't happen.
Must be the Lutheran Reformed way i was raised.
If i want something i save up for it, then haggle the largest discount i can get, paying cash.

[K7SGJ]

To be honest, I really don't have a favorite rig. I really like my TS530 with every accessory they had for it, but I like to rotate the things around. I have the Low Power rigs from Yaesu and Icom that are fun when camping/hiking, and they each have their plus's and minus's. The one I use most these days is the FT-857 since it's in the truck. Actually, I haven't been able to get on the air in several months, but hope to rectumfy that in the next month or two.

[N8YX]

I really like my TS530 with every accessory they had for it, but I like to rotate the things around.
Same here. Eventually I'd like to find another TS-830S and accompanying accessories to go with the AT-230 that's been kicking around here for years. Maybe a '530SP too.

Want to start an argument on a vintage/boatanchor forum? Throw out the argument of which is better - the Yaesu FT-90x or the TS-830S. :lol:

Another couple of favorites: TS-660 + PS-7A + VOX-4 (try finding one!) and a TS-130V + PS-7A + DFC-230 + AT-130. Those - along with a TM-221/TM-321/TM-421 (and a TM-521 if I can locate a nice example) will eventually become my 'shack-in-the-box'.

This fall I'm going to tear down my middle operating position and set up the FT-901DM plus peripherals. I've going to try to get it to work in "VFO Transceive" mode with one of my R-820s, as they both use a 5.0-5.5MHz VFO. The '901 has been modified to control muting of the '820 - just need to build up connection cables for the two of them and verify the operation.

Incidentally, that R-820 was converted to receive everything BUT its original amateur segments - although I have a spare PLL/VCO Assembly which can be swapped in and return the operation to "stock". So it's not going to be a useful counterpart to the Yaesu except as a remote VFO. I do have other R-820s which cover all the amateur bands (including WARC) so I may pair one of them with the '901 on occasion.

[WØTKX]

My Flex 3K or my TS-850SAT.

Well, I dunno. Probably my FT-847. Because it does HF OK, not great. And I'd miss VHF/UHF as well.

It is my real Swiss Army Knife radio.

[N8YX]

It is my real Swiss Army Knife radio.

I guess that's why I keep going back to a couple of different ensembles I own - particularly the FT-90x and FT-980. With the accompanying monitor scope, RTTY/CW reader/keyer, transverter and antenna tuner I can access all HF bands, all VHF/UHF bands through 432 MHZ...play RTTY/ASCII...work repeaters on 10, 6 and 2...and with the '980, it's a general coverage RX as well.

Both rigs use 8.9875MHz filters in their IF, so I can keep a common set of filters on hand. It also means that IF-specific peripherals (i.e., the YO-901's panadapter) will work with both transceivers.

Kenwood's 820 lineup is almost as flexible...sadly, no AM or FM TX and no FM RX (R-820).

I wish Drake would have offered a monitor scope/panadapter for their 7-line setup.

[WØTKX]

I actually have two FT-857's, and while they do everything the FT-847 does... A little differently.

The FT-847 is noticeably better on VHF/UHF. And I do like to play there.

I have not used the FT-857's in about a year. :shocked:

[WX7P]

Miata Mobile? I'd like to see a big 80m whip on the green machine.

[WZ7U]

It would give new meaning to being an RC car!

[WØTKX]

Miata Mobile? I'd like to see a big 80m whip on the green machine.

Oh, hellnoes!

BTW, the Acura got donated to KUVO, one of the best public radio jazz stations, ever.
At almost 270k miles, it was still running, but it was time.

The daily driver is a 1999 "Blackberry Purple" Saturn SL2. It's a better commuter.
No radio in it yet, but one of these days. I prefer listening to NPR and Jazz.

:geek:

[WX7P]

Giggity.

The Death Ride machine is gone? Damn.

My Camry now has 273,000. I'm going to drive it into the ground. The next major repair needed will drive the stake into the vampire. I wish I had the red Sebring back. I could use it here.


I don't have HF in the car either. I drive to CA a lot to tend to my parents and interestingly, I spend a lot of time driving with the radio off. The wide open spaces of northern Oregon are a good place to clear your head. I always drive through there around sunrise. It's beautiful.

I do the XM radio in traffic.

[WØTKX]

Yea, the Sebring was pretty cool. Really. Kind of a modern mob boss convertible. :mrgreen:

The white Miata has a bad peeling paint issue, and is fugly. I'm driving it a little, figuring out what to do.
It is a bit more fun than the green Miata, has MazdaSpeed tranny and suspension mods.

The green one is parked. For most of this year, just to preserve it. I put 20k miles on it in two years.

The Saturn is a little boring, but I actually get 37-38 mpg with it. Of course, I still have the Previa Van.