Does a radio like this exist?

[KB9ICO]

Hi,
Let me say first and foremost, I have had my novice since 1992. That means
I passed the 5 WPM cw element.
Fast foward to today. I have been out of the hobby since 1998. Within the last month,
I studied for, and passed the Tech. and General exams. I am now putting at least an hour
per night into Gordon Wests' Extra manual. I suck at math so i am not sure that this will
ever be passed, however, seeing most of the DXpeds. using the Extra portion of many bands
will be a good incentive.

My question may be foolish, and I think it is, but you know what they say....
My current rig is a Kenwood TS-680s. New to me, ancient to others.
I would like to know if anyone makes a rig with no CW, no CW filters, perhaps no FM,
ie, a SSB HF rig that is high in quality, but doesn't charge me for expensive components
I don't plan on ever using. Also, no internal tuning unit, or 6 meters.

What I would need is full 100 watts out, a nice ssb filter included, good quality, warantee,
and   good receive/selectivity and good audio out.

In other words, I want to put my money into high quality components I WILL use and no money into high quality components I WON'T use.

I doubt such a radio exists, but I wanted to ask about 3000 experts before I deceided, on my own, that such a rig does not exist!

Thakns,
John
KB9ICO

[W8JX]

The support of CW in a SSB rig really does add any cost to it. Stock CW filter uses SSB filtering. A optional CW filter can usually be used for AFSK digital too. As far as 6m support, pretty much all new HF rigs support it too. As far as built in tuner, it is more of a asset than a waste of money because modern SS rig are sensitive to SWR and even a moderate SWR or 2 to 1 or so which would be no problem for a old TS530 or the like will cause SS rig to cut back output power considerably. Also while I have never owned a 680, I have owned its counter part, a 140 and it is still a decent rig. I still use one for a mobile rig.

[WB6BYU]

The additional cost of adding CW to an SSB rig is minimal - a few transistors and an extra
position on the switch.  I doubt the difference is worth $10, and that is more than made
up for in the increased number of rigs they sell by having it available, even if most people
don't use it for anything more than adjusting an antenna tuner.  The only expensive item
would be a CW filter, which is often optional.  Other than that, the rig actually can sell
for less if it includes CW it increases the market more than it adds to the cost.

Making a CW rig without SSB is a different matter, which is why you see some CW-only
rigs.

There are many modern rigs that are available without a built-in tuner and that are
perfectly capable on SSB, where the CW filter is an optional extra (but you can still
operate CW using the SSB filter.)  Something like the IC-718 is a popular rig, and even
some of the higher end rigs may be suitable for you.

But adding CW, or even 6m, really doesn't increase the cost by all that much.

[N6AJR]

What was said above is true.  The folks who make radios find a way to make them to cover as many folks as possible.  The larger the potential base for purchase, the larger the opportunity to sell a radio.

I have several rigs in the shack, and the cheepest radio I have right now id an Icom 740 that I think I have all of $300 in it. Some of my rigs I paid over $3500 for, but  like they say you get what you pay for.  Its like a car, back in the day, I may not have used an ashtray in my car but some folks did, so all cars got ashtrays.  now a days you can't even order them in a car. 

So I say ask around , find a local club, check eBay and find a good used rig that meets your needs.  good luck, have fun, and welcome home from another retread, first licensed in 1978, drifted away in 1980's and started again in 2001.  Lots of new toys out there, join a local club and do some visiting.  see all the new stuff.

[K8AC]

Check out the Swan 350.  I suspect there were other Swan SSB transceivers without CW as well.  Oh wait - they're out of business.  Wonder why?

[WB2WIK]

With modern rigs, most all functionality is provided by DSP and the only difference between one mode and another is the software; I'd be surprised if adding CW, for example, costs a penny.  In many rigs all the filtering is DSP also, so again, adding "narrow CW filtering" is just a few more lines of code.

If you like SSB mostly and don't care about anything else, I'd shoot for a rig that is known to have excellent modulation characteristics, and not all that comes from the microphone.  Rigs really do vary a lot in how they sound on the air, and if I was 100% SSB I'd want the best sounding rig I could find.  To me, "best" would be natural sounding with minimal distortion and a reasonably high average to peak ratio, provided by RF speech processing or similar (something that adds "punch" without adding distortion).  One way to reduce distortion caused in the output stage is to run high power devices with a lot of headroom, but at much reduced power.

[KB9ICO]

OK, great! I had no idea that CW was pretty much a virtually
no cost add on, so thanks for that info!
As far as modulation/power, It sounds akin to buying a higher power
tube audio amp than you need, in order to avoid "clipping" and keeping
the signal as clean as possible.

Thanks again,
John

[KQ6Q]

Not only does CW not cost in a rig - check out the Elecraft K2 - the basic rig is CW, and there's a low cost add-on module to give it SSB capability!
The old SBE-33 and SBE-34 were SSB only, with CW through an add-on adapter. They're out of business. Try working on your CW - you're missing some satisfying operating. Tune in W1AW code practice broadcasts, and copy on your PC in NotePad or Wordpad. You'll be amazed.
and you can operate without disturbing the family or soundproofing a room!

Fred, KQ6q

[KB9ICO]

thanks fred, i'll give it a shot. are there certain freqs where 5 wpm guys hang out?

[WB2WIK]

thanks fred, i'll give it a shot. are there certain freqs where 5 wpm guys hang out?

There actually are some:

http://www.skccgroup.com/opfreq.php

[K7KBN]

"Does a radio like this exist?"

It will when you build it! 

[KB9ICO]

 

[W4PAH]

thanks fred, i'll give it a shot. are there certain freqs where 5 wpm guys hang out?

I'd check out 7.05 to 7.06 and 7.11 to 7.125 or so. There are usually slower folks there. If not, give a CQ call and wait for a reply. Have fun!

[W7ETA]

Consider looking at receiver performance, especially if you like chasing DX.

Since many, most RARE!! countries get on the air via DXpedetions, and they typically run split, having dual receive might give you and advantage over people using single receivers.

To vastly simplify, you can't work 'em if you don't know where they are listening; and, if you can't hear the station the Dx just worked, you don not know where to transmit.

Also, my perception is that the receiver performance that benefits reception on the higher bands is not the best for the low bands?

At one time, Sherwood Engineering would publish the performance of receivers they had tested.

If I was looking for another rig, I would also be looking at ones with very clean transmitted signals.

73
Bob

[KB9ICO]

Thanks, my Kenwood ts-680s does work split, thats how I got t32c.
However, I also got them in my truck w/ 1 VFO and some quick fingers.
What do you guys think of the Alinco 70th and the new srt{or  is that the
challanger}? anyway, do they have a reputation for reliability or are they
priced fairly low for a reason?