I think i was looking to see peoples thoughts on additional features...
Depends on your operating preferences. I still use a 207H
as my VHF/UHF radio in the house - it does everything I
need for simplex and repeater operation.
Let’s look at other features available in some of the newer rigs:
there are my personal opinions and observations. Before
anyone says that certain bells and whistles are important, have
them explain how they use it and the benefits it provides, then
see if that applies to your preferred operating style.
MULTIMODE (SSB / CW etc.):
What do you use VHF for? For just chatting to locals, FM is
more convenient, better voice quality, less background noise,
and far more users. Weak signal operation typically involves
higher gain antennas (horizontally polarized), and listening
for / working signals near the noise floor, unless you hit one
of the irregular tropo or other openings. It’s a very different
way of operating: great if you enjoy the technical challenge
of trying to improve your station to work further distances,
but not for everyone.
HF:
I prefer not to use the same rig for HF and local chat. That
way I can use both at once, like chatting on CW while
monitoring the local repeater, or having a local give me
feedback on my audio quality, listening to me on HF
and replying on 2m as I make adjustments. The
combination of a good HF transceiver and a basic VHF /
UHF FM rig (or 2m only, as I rarely use UHF) provides
better performance and lower cost than many
“shack-in-a-box” rigs.
DIGITAL:
Several of the locals splashed cash on the last version,
but now it is virtually unused, as it is incompatible with
products from other manufacturers. Some folks are
excited about it, while others of us spend enough time
on the internet already and don’t need to add a voice
mode to it. I’d rather wait until there is a standardized
implementation available from multiple sources, rather
than a sales gimmick to lock you into a particular
manufacturer.
CROSS-BAND REPEAT
I’ve had rigs capable of this for 15 years, and never had
a use for it. Yes, it might be useful if you want to chat
with your buddies while working in the yard when an HT
isn’t adequate to hit the repeater, or similar situations.
Personally, I’m not that much of a slave to my radio.
If you do get a rig for this purpose, make sure it has
some method to ID transmissions on both bands to keep
it legal.
BANDSCOPE
FM operation is channelized according to the local band
plan, and modern FM rigs can scan the whole band to
find activity, or just those channels of interest. A bandscope
is of more use on SSB / CW, where signals might pop up
on any frequency.
DUAL RECEIVE
This is something I use for a specific purpose: transmitter
hunts with multiple hidden transmitters on different frequencies.
It lets me hunt one transmitter while listening for another
that is too weak to hear from the start. If you want to keep
track of activity on different frequencies at the same time,
this may be useful. Otherwise, the scan function is often
sufficient for monitoring multiple frequencies.
I’ll let others describe what features they find useful in what
circumstances, because some of their operating styles may
be more like your own. But in general, the 207H is still a
functional radio and there isn’t much reason to upgrade,
unless you have specific applications that require other
features.