I had to smile when I read this. Define keeper. There are many reasons why we keep radios. In my shack my oldest transceiver is a Trio TR-7010 from 1976, bought new on hire purchase (remember that?). I still use it for 2m meteor scatter. A few years back I bought an Eddystone 840c for nostalgic reasons. Neither will ever be sold unless I’m absolutely scratching for funds… well, not until I’m gone from this world.
A keeper is what we individually deem it to be. I’ve got 6 transceivers on my shack bench plus the Eddystone. I use all of them, though admittedly I am considering reducing it to 5.. SOTA-wiise I have 2 transceivers. I use both of them. The only rig I would add is a KX2, but do I need it to add to my KX3. Surely not!
Agree with this. I don’t have a QTH shack, and likely never will, so not a big priority for me personally in my decision-making.
The 891 does enough for me, minus 270. I wouldn’t mind adding an amp to the KX2 perhaps.
The lack of tuner for the 891 can also be a hassle (I have an ATU for it but it’s more to carry out /P). Since getting the RHM-12 it isn’t an issue in my experience when running a check with an analyser, or take a resonant wire antenna. The KX2 I have has the internal ATU so no problems there.
If I were to get something else it would probably be a 705 (and add an amp for optional QRO) or whatever revision of the FTX1 Optima appears in future. Also developing a serious interest in little pocket radios like the QMX, Venus, Mountain Topper and handhelds.
No great hurry. Meanwhile I’m immersing myself in trying to learn more about the radios I already have, radio operating in general, building up CW skills, 3D printing, antenna building and drowning my soul in the wonderful world of 270 all mode vintage radios!
It’s funny but I’ve never really lusted over a lot of commercial rigs. When I was first interested in amateur radio, back in the 90s, I liked the look of the Yaesu 1000MP and the Physics teacher who ran the school radio club had one. I did want an FT1000MP at that time!
A quarter of a century later and the only commercial HF rig I’ve ever bought is my FT-817, which I bought new in 2001.
I was interested in the KX3 when they came out,but I never got one, and it’s probably almost impossible to get one now.
The new Yaesu and Icom portable rigs don’t do anything for me at all. I’m a bit interested in the FT710, I think that’s ticking most of my boxes for now.
The used market for “old” Elecraft rigs is quite lively, I see lots of K2s (not KX2s) and KX3s for sale. As for their prices… the difference of asking between US and EU sales is incredible.
Something that has exceptional performance and usability for its time and was a must have of its day. Some are classics to seek out because you couldn’t afford them in the day. Some modern sets have such performance they should be on the list to acquire soon. But it’s more than just RF performance… they should be effortlessly simple to operate and sound good… more on this later.
Drake T4 / R4 combo
FT-1000MP MkV Field (not for the 200W PA but the 75W Class A PA)
TS-850
FT-902DM
FT-817 with filters
K2 (well built and calibrated ones)
Current stuff to keep
TS-590
TS-890
FT-710
FTdx101
IC-7300
KX3
KX2
K3
It’s a keeper because it’s still capable of a decent performance despite being nearly 50 years old. And you know I spent 27 years looking for a good one after I stupidly sold mine in the late 90s. Especially if no spanner monkeys have been at them. It gives 7-8W nice watts, any more and there’s sprogs everywhere. But more because it and then the IC-202 were indicative of the changes coming. Days of people using FT-101E+SSM Europa transverters or AM Cambridges with a QQv3-10 converted to slope detection and some kind of fm mod to the xtal were obviously the old way and their time was over. They signalled the mass arrival of Japanese blackboxes and easy VHF/UHF operation never mind HF.
And that changes things as a 7300 or 710 are much less convenient used portable. It’s why I said if space is not an issue. The 705 has a better RX looking at the figures than a KX2 but having used both the KX2 sounds nicer. It may simply be there’s a lot of typical Japanese receiver noise and hiss in the loudspeaker. Listening to the KX2 is easier. I have both and I’d still buy both again.
A very old design that is rather naff in performance and use.
Oh yes, the poster boy for VHF and up covering 6/2/70/23, But they’re horrible in use. For a start after 45mins listening to the noisy racket that comes out the speaker you are prepared to stab,kill, maim and murder anyone because your head is ringing. And every FT-736 I’ve used (many) you can hear your own TX as a horrible distorted muffled noise in the background. But that takes your mind off the hiss.
We have a number of IC-9700 used for contesting and their RF performance on 70/23 is not as good as one of the hot-rodded 736s we have. Just you look like the guy out of Munch’s “The Scream” when you have been using a 736. We also have a Kuhne 2m transverter fed with a fully optioned K3. I guess that is about £5500 of radio and boy does it show. When the Kuhne is available you have to crowbar people off the 2m contest station. And on the other radios after 1hr they want alcohol and a rest. Says it all.
IC271H is good, IC-275H is better. Amazingly FT-225RD+Mutek is still a good system. Not sure how a TS-711 holds up now as they 40yrs old.
I still want a TM-255E even though I have a TR-7010, FT-290MK1, an Elecraft KVX-144 transverter and an unbuilt G4DDK Anglian III transverter kit. I’ve just acquired an IC-202, 290Mk1 and 790MkII. The 790 will be used for pumping 13/3cm and maybe 47GHz for non-SOTA use. The 290 and my old 290 will be parts swapped to make a mint 290 and a less-mint 290 which will be other sold. And the 202… given a good clean and refurb and sit on the shelf after wanting one for 35 years.
@EI3LH Ian, just to point out as you may not yet have noticed… The coaxial power plug for the 290 (and 690/790) is wired backwards to all other ham radio coaxial powe plugs. i.e. 290 has +ve on the outside and everyone else has it on the inside. Make sure you label your 290 power cables and put the label right at the plug so that when you go to insert it you can clear see a warning saying “290 ONLY!!!”
Even with the KH1 firmware 1.25, the sidetone quality on the KH1 still sounds like a buzzer. Call me picky, but anything less that the sinusoidal sidetone on the KX2 would ruin my CW pleasure.
Couldn’t resist the majesty of Yaesu’s mighty 2m all mode beaut eh? A wise purchase!
Duly noted. Thanks for the heads up.
I posted my 290 and 2010 away this week to the EI Yaesu wellness and relaxation spa for some tlc. It’ll likely be a number of weeks before I get it back (the fella taking care of my Yaesu is working on another Yaesu at the minute) but looking forward to that day.
I could’ve sent it back to the shop for a refund, granted, but it works (sort of) and has so many mods done that with a quick tickle from an iron it should be back to its regal best and firing plasma cannons full of 2 meter CW goodness across EI to nobody whatsoever because no sod wants to do 2m CW here (…yet ).
Doesn’t the FTX suffer from something along those lines too?
…wouldn’t mind one of those all modes Yaesu made for 6 and 70 now I think about it. Did they ever make one solely for 4?
Commercial non-UK made 4m equipment is a relatively modern idea. In the UK there was lo-band AM/FM PMR conversions (Pye Westminster et al.) and home brew transverters used with HF equipment for SSB. Later on Microwave Modules produced 28MHz > 70MHz and 144MHz > 70MHz transverters which produced 10W out and BNOS produced a 10W->100W 70MHz PA.
Some people modified Yaseu’s FTV-901 6m transverter option for 4m. Yaesu’s FT-847 “Earth Station”, an early DC-Daylight radio, could be modified to operate on 70MHz, some examples were better than others. This was a first because most radios of the day had their 1st IF on 70.x MHz making 4m operation impossible but the 847’s 1st IF was far enough from 70MHz for it to be viable. There were some articles published, maybe 1999-2001 vintage on taking an old Kenwood TS-700 (2m all mode 10W base station) and doing extensive mods to bring it down to 70MHz.
It wasn’t like today were you can simply select 4m on your IC-7300 menu.
Pretty well as they were designed to have a high level of performance back then. I’ve got one and the matching 70cm TS-811E as well…. bought them from a certain well known person called Chris. Those that know will know. He was moving on to really top notch SDR kit and asked me to keep the pair together.
I was just watching the German (or Austrian?) guy fixing one on YouTube. It looks reasonably fixable without too much magic equipment. The only worry is how much unobtanium was used should you need chip replacements. (PLL or IF units etc.) You don’t see scrap TS-x11s on the market nor scrap IC-x71/x75s for use as spares.
Probably because they so rarely go wrong. I actually had a 711 before I bought the pair. Not being one to keep two of anything electronic, I advertised it and could have sold it many times over.
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