Well whether or not I got a new radio or not with the last upgrade, my 1500 is still the best bang for the buck out there! I've actually forgotten what it was like to have to listen to the crummy substandard RX's that the Japanese companies put in their low end rigs! I've owned a lot of the "big threes" low end and medium range rigs over the years and during my years in the retail end of the ham radio biz, I got to play with a lot of their high end stuff as well. My little 1500 sounds as good or better than the high end Japanese radios I remember. Oops....fanboy alert! I guess the moral is that if you make a good rig you will have fanboys...and girls....
As I've said many times though,enjoy what you like, no one forces you to buy any particular brand of radio. There are some guys out there who get their kicks refurbishing old Heathkits, Hallicrafters and Collins. No my cup of tea but if that's what they like I'm certainly not going to constantly try to shout down and belittle them on a public forum.
73,
Michael, W4HIJ
That is exactly how I feel. If a person enjoys what they use then more power to them.
And I really do like my 1500. And like you, feel that it is one of the best "bang for the buck"
radios out there. I have two radios that I can say the receivers in them are comparable with
the 1500, one the Yaesu FT-1000MP MKV and the other a TenTec Jupiter. The Jupiter has
a larger range of filtering built-in than the MKV. But, the MK V with the addition of other filters
really shines on receive. And it has dual, independent receivers. BUT, only has a single (CW)
extra filter slot for the second receiver. What I really like about the 1500 is the receiver and the
filtering. People having not used one think the term "Brick Wall" filtering is a marketing thing.
BUT, it really is just that, brick wall. The only thing that it will not handle, and no other radio
available to the Amateur community can do either, is reject a signal inside of the passband.
Not talking about notching out a tuner upper, but, another phone signal. (like in a contest where one station is trying to talk over another) If someone were to ever make a radio that was able to
do that, it would cost a fortune. It could possibly be done with Digital Voice. (if all signals were
Digital Voice) Then software could be written that could choose one over the other.
But, that would probably be much too expensive to the average user. That's when I do what I
have done in the past and use the filter between my ears and attempt (not always 100% successful)to hear the station I want to hear and ignore the rest. Not easy, but, it can be done.
(ask any rare DX station about that!)
As for belittling people on public forums for their choice of equipment, it's not just in Amateur radio forums that happens. I used to be into woodworking and some of those forums can be just
as brutal if you are not using name brand equipment to produce something. Post a photo of a project and not mention equipment use to make it and you'll get all kinds of positive comments. But, add that you did it with a low cost table saw, then you'll be told how your work would be
better if you used a top of the line cabinet saw. People being people seems to be the norm in
most forums and people don't want to think a person could make something as good as they did without spending a ton of money for the best of the best.
Personally, I'm glad there are choices in equipment in Amateur radio. And think it's great we have as many as we do. Besides all that, it is rare that the person on the other end of a QSO can
tell what radio you are using. (if it's set up properly) Using the three radios I mentioned, I have
had people that know me on the air, ask which radio I'm on. I say, guess, and they rarely get it
right. The only clue is with the 1500 and the fact that my signal strength is not as strong as the
other two. Audio quality etc. no difference. (I take the time to set up my radios as best as I can get them) And there have been more than one time when I have been running the 1500 when
someone in the group I talk to, said I was not running the 1500 because my signal strength was
59+ ! Propagation is the big equalizer in that case!
james
WD5GWY
