Having obtained my general class license, I've been seriously looking at an HF radio and I have to say I'm rather lost. I'm a beginner HAM and I'm concerned I'll buy something and then regret it (at least to the extent that I could have bought something with many more features for just a bit more $$).
On the recommendation of George here on mud, I've been looking at the Yaesu FT-857 and FT-897 radios. After a lot of reading on eham.net I've also been looking at the Icom IC-7000 but it sounds like the IC-7200 could be approved and available any day now (or so the story goes for the past year +).
In the end, I really like the idea of cross band repeat (I plan to buy a hand-held sometime this summer); I also like the ability to listen to one frequency while scanning another band, and the ability to receive so many commercial and public service bands rather than add a dedicated scanner (basically all the features that led me to the 8900 initially). However, it seems foolish not to buy something with the widest possible band coverage that my license allows - and that means the all-band radios, which will satisfy the scanner-like ability to monitor commercial and public service bands, but it appears I will lose cross-band repeat and dual receive in order to gain the full HF spectrum.
So, any recommendations other than what I am already considering? And what's the vote between these?
I have a friend that will happily buy my 8900 which has never been out of the box, so that's at least out of the financial equation. On that note, I'd originally hoped to keep the cost under $500 but that now seems unrealistic once a quality antenna is added. Which reminds me, I still have no idea which way to go regarding antenna(s) for the rig. My preference is for a single antenna which seems possible with the 8900 (though the reviews on the quad antennas are mixed); whereas the all-band FT-857/897 and the IC-7000 seem to require at least two antennas and possibly at a higher cost (I'm looking at the Atlas-120 and the Tarheel II plus ???? for the other bands).
I don't have space or need for more than one rig in my vehicle(s), but I guess I could keep and install the 8900 in my FZJ80 and then buy and install one of the all-band rigs in the 'family truckster' Yukon XL for those long family road trips (though I'd rather just buy one radio and move it between vehicles given that I really only drive the Yukon for family trips and the 80 only see abut 8k miles annually).
Better still, I could move the all-band radio from the Yukon to the house for use as a base station - but that just leads to more time and money for a base antenna (not to mention the research time to determine which base antenna to go with . . .
).
You can see how this all just gets out of control - its almost as bad as determining which tire to buy or which lift to install or . . . .. I must have an undiagnosed mental condition.
Any advice is appreciated.
On the recommendation of George here on mud, I've been looking at the Yaesu FT-857 and FT-897 radios. After a lot of reading on eham.net I've also been looking at the Icom IC-7000 but it sounds like the IC-7200 could be approved and available any day now (or so the story goes for the past year +).
In the end, I really like the idea of cross band repeat (I plan to buy a hand-held sometime this summer); I also like the ability to listen to one frequency while scanning another band, and the ability to receive so many commercial and public service bands rather than add a dedicated scanner (basically all the features that led me to the 8900 initially). However, it seems foolish not to buy something with the widest possible band coverage that my license allows - and that means the all-band radios, which will satisfy the scanner-like ability to monitor commercial and public service bands, but it appears I will lose cross-band repeat and dual receive in order to gain the full HF spectrum.
So, any recommendations other than what I am already considering? And what's the vote between these?
I have a friend that will happily buy my 8900 which has never been out of the box, so that's at least out of the financial equation. On that note, I'd originally hoped to keep the cost under $500 but that now seems unrealistic once a quality antenna is added. Which reminds me, I still have no idea which way to go regarding antenna(s) for the rig. My preference is for a single antenna which seems possible with the 8900 (though the reviews on the quad antennas are mixed); whereas the all-band FT-857/897 and the IC-7000 seem to require at least two antennas and possibly at a higher cost (I'm looking at the Atlas-120 and the Tarheel II plus ???? for the other bands).
I don't have space or need for more than one rig in my vehicle(s), but I guess I could keep and install the 8900 in my FZJ80 and then buy and install one of the all-band rigs in the 'family truckster' Yukon XL for those long family road trips (though I'd rather just buy one radio and move it between vehicles given that I really only drive the Yukon for family trips and the 80 only see abut 8k miles annually).
Better still, I could move the all-band radio from the Yukon to the house for use as a base station - but that just leads to more time and money for a base antenna (not to mention the research time to determine which base antenna to go with . . .
).You can see how this all just gets out of control - its almost as bad as determining which tire to buy or which lift to install or . . . .. I must have an undiagnosed mental condition.
Any advice is appreciated.
