When you are just starting out on 6 meters and you don´t want to spend a lot of money go with the Ranger 5054.I had one of these for three years and worked many grids from the mobile and a 1/4 antenna with 25 watts.The audio is good from the radio as well but changing mic´s requires getting a special plug for the unit.
Be careful of the older rigs such as Icom,etc.they are getting upwards of 25 years and parts are a charm to get to do any repairs,..they may look cute,but....
Spending $150-300 for a good used one should be about right.
As for activity,on April 22 I worked 267 stations in a pile up that lasted 5 hours,mind you I have a large 7 elemenet yagi on a 41´boom but you can have a blast on 6 with a 2 element yagi and 10-25 watts,( I used an old Icom in ´77-79 for my first time on 6 and that was with 10 watts and an old WIlson yagi).As the previous writer stated,you don´t have to go BIG... at first,and keep in mind that the band is not always open and that you can spend many hours listening to Ssssssssss.
However you want to go just have fun with it buddy!!!

73´s
Glenn

Hi Rody,
I have a similar ¨small car¨,it is a Ford Ikon and I have my FT-857D mounted in the trunk behind the back seat on a cross support bar with the power cables running to the battery.The run to the motorized antenna is only 6ft.I have pictures but can´t load them for you to see,if you give me your email I can forward my install to you so you have an idea.

Cheers,
Glenn

Well,no one has given you a direct answer to this question,if you want a comparison I can give you some information.
I had the MKIIG and on 6 mtrs with my yagi pointed at the ch 2 TV station the receiver was overloaded with intermod to the point I could not hear incoming DX.

I have since bought a FT-897D and it is world´s apart in receiver performance,since living in Mexico they don´t have the cleanest broadcast systems here.

My yagi produces 12dBd and using single conversion radios on 6 meters is not a good idea (both the MKII and the 897 are double conversion),hence the 897 is a good choice for what ever type of operating you may do.
I suggest buying the 2.3Khz ssb filter as this would be a good idea for crowded band conditions.

I´m a casual operater and have had the 746PRO but for my needs the 897 is just fine, I plan on buying a 857D for my car since the receivers are virtually the same.

If you decide on a 7000 wait for the 5th generation.

73´s
Glenn

Russ,
any of the old Turner mic´s work really well on these radios (sidekick,+3 etc).
I had the Sidekick on my last 746 and the audio was outstanding.
Simple to wire,with no problems.

Glenn

I have a general question for everyone out there.
I have a 617-6B 6 meter yagi at the top of my tower, what I would like to do is place my 8 element log periodic below the 6 meter antenna.
What is the minimum/average distance to stack these antennas without interaction to the 6 meter antenna?

I have gone through all of the antenna books and there is no helpful information.

Any responses to this problem would be helpful.

Glenn,XE1/VE3OQC