FT-857D or something else? (new HAM)

[KD0TLI]

Not to start the Ford/Chevy thing here but I'm really interested in everyone's opinion.

For a new ham on a budget, and can only spring for one good radio.... I was thinking rather than get my old FT-101E rebuilt --and I mean REBUILT,  maybe I should just consider using that money and just get one good radio that I can do lots with. 

I hear alot about the FT-897D - the versatility and portability are very attractive.

Any opinions  ?

[AJ4RW]

The FT-897d is a wonderful radio for my use, the best I could find.  Bought mine new in 2009.  The club just had a SE last weekend and the FT897d saw plenty of use and performed flawlessly.  I also use it when I go to various coastal islands around northern Florida and southern Georgia.  Plus use it at home for digital.  If I was a repeater nut I could set it up for the local repeaters also.  There's a lot of radios on the market in the moderate price range, but for what I wanted/needed it serves the purpose well.  I love mine!
Randy

[KB3LIX]

I love mine.
Been using it for six years and done lotsa
DXing and contests.

For the $$$, lots of features for a small price.

The key is, "for the $$$"...There are always trade offs
between high end and low end equipment.

NOTE:
One thing I do NOT LIKE, but due to price it is enevitable.
You must learn to use the menus to setup all the functions
and switch between menus to turn on filters, toggle VFO-A & VFO-B,
turn attenuator, preamp, NB etc on and off.
Can be labor intensive. I get messed up all the time, but
after some use, it becomes easier.

Also, the display is not that large and the switches that are there
(band, mode, dsp enable, rit enable, etc) are not back-lit.

One thing I really like is the Digital Input jack on the rear panel
and the fact it has a dedicated DIGITAL mode.
You can set levels in the digi mode and NOT have
to mess with digital input via the microphone connector.
I can switch from phone to digital in seconds.
No cables to plug in, no levels to change, no need to turn
off processor or other functions, just verify the digi mode you
want (options are: RTTY-L, RTTY-U, PSK31-L, PSK31-H, USER-L
& USER-H) The different modes change the sideband automatically.

I also didn't have to buy a digital interface (Like a RigBlaster)
I made a simple cable for a few $$$ to intetrface my laptop
to the radio input.