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[KD2YDY]

I am new to the Hobby and not very knowledgeable on Mobile/Base Transceivers. I am Technician License now and will soon be General Class. I have a budget of around $1200.00.
  What would you all recommend for an all Band/Frequency Transceiver that would fit into my budget?
Thank You,
KD2YDY
Butch

[WA9AFM]

Take a look at the Yaesu FT-991A.  Friend of mine is a retired USAF comm/electronics guy, he's quite pleased with his unit.  Does 'DC to daylight' quite nicely.

[KD6VXI]

Yeasu owns this category.

The FT857 is hard to beat.  If you get the D model it has DSP and 60 meters factory.  The Non D model you will have to perform the MARS mod on for 60 meters.

Otherwise it does all bands from 160 meters to 70 cm except 220.  Hard to beat it.

If used at a fixed station, Ham Radio Deluxe  is a nice addition for rig control.

--Shane
KP2/KD6VXI

[K1KIM]

The FT-991A with it's live waterfall is a far cry from the FT-857D in my opinion.

It also won't fit into your budget when adding a good power supply if used as a base as I expect you are considering.

A newly licensed operator trying to use either radio will find it to be a bit daunting, especially while driving.

Bear in mind that the Yaesu menu on the 991 is a bid cumbersome and complex. Folder after folder type stuff that takes getting used to.

The IC-7300 is far easier to navigate, but will not give you the VHF/UHF bands.

Get an opportunity to "try out" all the radios you are considering. What fits others might not be what you are comfortable with.

[KK2DOG]

I'm a big Icom guy so it pains me to say this but I vote for a Yaesu FT-991A as well.
Or an Icom IC-7000 if you're going mobile.

[KQ4KK]

What ever you get, make sure it will do 100 watts out on HF.
DC to Daylight, look at the current ICOM 7100 for around $800.

[G4AON]

Butch, rather than thinking of the radio, decide what job do you want the radio to do. You are posting in the mobile forum, do you want to drive around operating the radio? If so, one with a small detachable head would be far better than a desktop radio.

Equally, do you want a radio to take out portable to hill tops for VHF contests, or one to operate from a nearby park? In which case a mobile with detachable head may not be important.

Many hams prefer to use a separate VHF/UHF radio, perhaps to listen for locals while operating HF. A cheap FM mobile set may suffice for that.

Smaller “shack in a box” radios can become tedious to operate. One of the easiest to operate and nicer to use HF/6m radios is the hugely popular IC-7300. There are plenty available on the second hand market that leaves you money to spend on a dual band 2m/70cm mobile.

Careful buying of second hand radio equipment means you can sell it later for little loss. A radio to fit in a vehicle, or lug around to operate portable, doesn’t need to be brand new and shiny.

For 6m and 4m hill top contests I use an IC-7300 powered from a lithium iron phosphate battery of 68 Ah. An alternative would be a less expensive sealed lead acid battery. For 2m/70cm/23cm contests I use the very similar IC-9700. The Icom powers directly my mast head preamps for 70/23. Also, the 9700 is in daily use from home on 2m SSB to ragchew with locals out to around 80 miles.

A radio for HF/6 that I previously used “car portable” in 6m contests was a Kenwood TS-480sat. That is a superb radio that sells for little on the second user market. Check out the Kenwood “In depth” manual for it. The ‘480 has illuminated buttons, runs 100W “key down” without overheating, has a good internal keyer and is designed for mobile use. The head unit is a dream to use in a car.

Let us know how you get on.

73 Dave

[KD2YDY]

Thank you all.
 I am leaning towards the Icom 7300 for a Base and a 2/70 meter for a mobile. I have researched the 7300, but I will also now look at the others, you folks have suggested.

[N1IG]

another option is the IC7100.  It does HF/VHF/UHF and can be found used for a decent price.

there's one on QRZ right now for $750

https://forums.qrz.com/index.php?threads/icom-ic-7100-hf-vhf-uhf-all-mode.786024/

YMMV

[K1KIM]

The only comment I have about buying used from an "UNKNOWN" seller, is that the discount sometimes comes with "teeth".

Caveat Emptor

[KG4RUL]

Now, start thinking on antenna systems.  You will note I said systems.  That includes:
The antennas themselves
Mounting the antennas (tower, mast, etc.)
Feedlines (and a means to get them into your home)
Surge protection
Impedance matching if needed

[K1KIM]

Now, start thinking on antenna systems.  You will note I said systems.  That includes:
The antennas themselves
Mounting the antennas (tower, mast, etc.)
Feedlines (and a means to get them into your home)
Surge protection
Impedance matching if needed

As a new ham, let's not intimidate him too much

A simple multiband antenna can be constructed for almost pennies. An endfed elevated from the house near the shack room will require minimal feedline.

Maybe in the beginning just pick one or two bands to work with a resonant antenna.

Lightening protection and proper grounding is a must though.

YDY..... read, read and read as many books on antennas and grounding as you can. ARRL has some good ones.

Good luck. Just take small bites. It's easier to digest that way!

If you are considering the IC-7300, Ham Cured Smoke IC-7300 A to Z on You Tube is a wealth of info about that radio.

[HAMHOCK75]

I currently own a Yaesu FT00D ( predecessor of the FT857D ), the FT897D ( the FT857D in a slightly larger box to accommodate two battery packs for portable operation with output power limited to 20 watts rather than full output of 100 watts to preserve battery life. It will put out 100 watts if not on internal battery power. I also have both the IC-7100 and IC-7300.

If I could keep only one of these, it would be the 7100, it has coverage from 160M to 70cm with all modes including in the VHF and UHF spectrum. I sometimes use SSB on 2M for direct contacts. It can do more than the 7300 in a smaller package with a current price of about $830.

https://www.gigaparts.com/icom-ic-7100.html?msclkid=ec5454e7e6f71786749335989e359c7f&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=*ICOM%20-%20JumpFly&utm_term=icom%20ic%207100&utm_content=IC-7100

The advantage of the 7300 is its real time waterfall display which is a pleasure to use when tuning CW signals. Touch screen, touch screen, autotune and the CW signal is tuned to the same tone as the sidetone automatically. No use of the tuning dial is needed at all. Obviously, all band activity is visible in a glance. This is a consequence of its rf direct sampling system.

Both 7100 and 7300 can do digital modes like FT8 without any further hardware. But unlike the older Yaesu rigs, they have IF DSP which means not having to buy any additional filters for CW, AM, or FT8. FT8 has a wider bandwidth than the typical rig with a 2.4 kHz crystal filter, more like 3 kHz. This is easy to program with either the 7100 or 7300.

Probably what is not so obvious is that the power amplifiers of the these rigs are capable of handling almost continuous modes like FT8 at full output power. Unlike  some older rigs. where the power had to be cut back to 50%. The temperature gauges in both move very little during my FT8 sessions.

I currently devote the 7300 exclusively to HF CW/FT8 in the shack. The 7100 to SSB, VHF, UHF. The FT100D mobile with a 40M to 70cm ATAS100 screwdriver antenna.

I have not tried the FT991A but look forward to it.

P.S. The FT857D was discontinued in the later part of  2019. The FT897D in 2014. Collins stopped making mechanical filters that are used in the 455 kHZ IF's.


 

[KD2YDY]

Such great information, thanks.

[K0UA]

Look at the ergonomics and ease of use of the 7300 and 991a. In my opinion there are no easier to use rigs than the current crop of Icom's. I have owned and still own, several Yeasu rigs, and in my opinion, That still holds true.

But in my mind the Icom 7300 and the 991a, don't really compete with each other all that much as the 7300 is NOT a "shack in a box" and the 991a is. Of course with "shack in a box" comes all of the downsides of a rig that is a "shack in a box".