I’ve been in the market for a new rig for several years now, patiently waiting until the various manufacturers came out with their latest generation of rigs. I’m tired of waiting and want to have something new in my shack, in part to alleviate some of the boredom due to the Covid lockdown situation here.
Some rigs I’ve considered:
Icom 7610: This rig used to be at the top of my shortlist due to its price, performance, and features, but the persistent display issues that have plagued it have soured me on the 7610.
Kenwood TS-890: Lack of a second receiver makes this one a non-starter for me.
Elecraft K4: This looks to be a nice rig, and Elecraft has great customer service, but it’s not available now (I didn’t get on the waiting list soon enough, and don’t want to wait a few more months). I’ve also never been a fan of the build quality of Elecraft rigs—the main PCB forms the backbone of the rig and everything else bolts onto it. By comparison, Japanese rigs use a solid, die cast aluminum chassis. I’ve never been a fan of the knobs, especially the main VFO knob, on Elecraft rigs either.
That leaves the FTdx-101MP. Are there any “gotchas” with this rig? Power overshoots, display issues, nasty firmware bugs, etc? I’ve been satisfied generally with the FTdx-5000 I’ve had for the last seven years, but it did have annoying issues with its three OLED displays, and I’m hoping the 101 doesn’t have a similar Achilles heel.