HF Radios---No Idea!

Hi All,

I've been looking at HF transceivers these last few days, and simply can't work out what's good, what's not, and what would be a good purchase for an M7?  The latest Icom and Yaesu are both glorious, however there are many more radios out there, either new, or second hand, which could suit my needs, so please do let me know your thoughts?

Many thanks,

Simon.

Hi Simon 

Shack or mobile ?  or both ? 

Top of my list would be the icom 7300 , around £1100 new or £700 ish second hand , it’s such an easy rig to use and has wonderful TX and RX 

Yaesu 450  no longer available new but can be found for around £400 second hand 
Kenwood TS 50  £300 ish 
Alinco dx70  cracking starter rig 

Plenty of others out there but for me this would be my shopping list for a first HF rig 


Good luck in your search , take your time 


Craig CT Admin

I have several well far too many radios.
Old ish one i have is a Yaesu ftdx1200 nice radio but i find it a bit big.
Also have the ft991a the icom 7300 and new yesterday came the yaesu ftdx10.
The 991a is a shack in a box hf-uhf-vhf so does it all and works well.
The icom ic-7300 is an hf radio and very popular works well with good reports.
Yesterdays arrival the ftdx10 well love it so far and the receive is fantastic but also got good reports on it but i am still learning to drive it lol.
A lot of it comes down to your budget and what bands you want to use.

Some great input already given there Simon and helpfully so.


Just don't fall into the, "Yeah Yaesu, Kenwood is cr*p", or, "Icom 'cos Yaesu is cr*p", sort of arguments or even the 'Chinese cr*p' nonsense!

I'd just say be very wary on second hand sales even if it appears to be a bargain and would rather pay a little bit more from a dealer knowing you have some recourse should it not work. (Some try to ask for as much as a dealer's price but obviously without any warranty!)

As for 'bargains', I was given (for free) my old Yaesu FT757gx in good faith from a dear old friend. Damn thing was deaf as a door post, the VFO knob wobbled all over the place and didn't work properly, plus a multitude of other faults that reared their ugly heads!!! 
Luckily having some electronic skills I was able to slowly but surely fix the faults and restore her to perfect condition, but it took me the best part of a year and that was mostly due to tracking down spares! 

I'm still grateful to him though, could've landed up buying the same 'junk' for a few hundred silly pounds off a well known auction site and not had the skills to fix it.


There's bound to as many radios advised to buy as there are radio models out there and cause you more confusion, but slowly work through what you want or need from a radio and pick one. Slow yourself up too, don't be clicking that 'buy now' in excitement or sticking it on the 'never-never' and regret it afterwards.

I wish you luck in your search.


As for me, I've started lusting over other 'older' radios that might need fixing up.....'cos I've fixed the 757 now and enjoyed it so much I want to do something similar again!

Some of us, like Alan mentions, can't seem to stop and land up with more radios than we actually need. Others will always be changing theirs in that quest for the next 'best thing'.

TheReverend wrote:

Hi All,

I've been looking at HF transceivers these last few days, and simply can't work out what's good, what's not, and what would be a good purchase for an M7?  The latest Icom and Yaesu are both glorious, however there are many more radios out there, either new, or second hand, which could suit my needs, so please do let me know your thoughts?

Many thanks,

Simon.

Start with defining what you want (or think you want), then we can help you more.

Do you want home, mobile, or portable?
Are you a contester, DXer, ragchewer, ?
Budget?  You can spend from a few hundred to well over ten thousand....

One piece of advice I would say is don't get hung up on being a foundation license, as this limits your choice and you can grow into a radio even if you don't need it day 1 with a 10w limit.

Also, join a Radio Club, they will have a shack established and a range of radios and antennas, probably much bigger than you'll be able to buy initially, you can operate these radios up to 400 Watts (where permissible) using the Radio Club Callsign, my local club is GX3SRT for example.

You'll also make a few new friends in the hobby, and if the club is anything like Salop Amateur Radio Society, the club is based at somewhere with a bar, toilets, meeting rooms, and a dedicated shack, and you'd be able to take advantage of calibration nights, and also meet people who are radio engineers that might be persuaded to repair any faults or at least advise you on what to buy (and more importantly what not to buy) with your budget.

Anyone interested in SARS, we meet on a Thursday at 8pm at the Telepost Club, Railway Lane, Shrewsbury.  We had someone come from Llandrindod Wells last week to join us, over an hours trip each way.

If you are into Radio, or looking to get further into Amateur Radio, then you're welcome to come check us out.  Make sure we're actually meeting there by checking the Club Calendar, as we do Fox Hunts (Direction Finding), and visit other radio clubs or technical sites as club events, as well as hold social events at other locations, such as hosted by club members (BBQ's etc).  We hold Electronics Construction Competitions, enter National Competitions as a Club, and do enter the RSGB National VHF Field Day.

We have lecturers give talks and practical demonstrations, from electronics construction, to computer controls of radios for Digital Communications, even demos on building remote receivers via the Internet.

So something for everyone, from CB to Qualified Radio Engineering and Electronics, practical use to holding a BBQ or Christmas Dinner.  Attend what you want, no pressure.

http://www.salopradiosociety.org/

Remember that there is also the other end of the scale from the big expensive rig scenarios....

Search out DL2MAN, Manuel Klaerig and his (tr)uSDX software defined radio transceiver.

Not up everyone's street for sure and they've been some awful Chinese/unscrupulous clones but an avenue worthy of exploration nonetheless.

Also don't forget about brands such as Xiegu, etc. I know our Neal, (SanguG), does a rather marvellous job with his little G90.


Just popping in that one for the balance.

Icom 7300 is the best bang per buck in the used market. The Kenwood TS590S is a rock solid radio capable of contesting which can now be had for £500.  Both use USB connections which makes doing digital modes a doddle.

Thanks Gents,

There’s some really great advice there.  I’m enjoying being an M7 and, looking at the RSGB handbook for the Intermediate, I’m likely to stay an M7 for a while yet!!  However, I’d like to have the capability to listen-in to as many bands and modes as possible.

I looked at the combined home base/portable option initially, and it boiled-down to the FT991a because I wanted 2m and 70cm in there as well….that initial urge to spend has now passed, and was the reason I started off with the CRT Electro, very much as a ‘proof of concept’.  The other reason was that I really wanted the option to connect an HF set to a computer monitor when at home and share the waterfall display, and I couldn’t find any evidence that the FT991a could do this.

A very, very interesting point has been raised by Wayne (Wireless), which is ‘joining a club’.  I’ve been listening to the local Swindon 2m/70cm repeaters for a few months now, whether at home or out and about portable.  Being able to access those repeaters properly has been my primary focus in moving from using a UV-5r at home with a mag-mount on a baking tray, to the CRT Electro with an antenna in the loft set-up I have now.  My new set-up however has meant that I can now access and join in with the nets on both the Swindon and Newbury 2m repeaters from home….and there-in lies the question.  I’m absolutely equidistant by car between the meeting points for both clubs and, as such, I haven’t made a decision to join either (or both?) of them yet!!  The Swindon club meets weekly on a Thursday evening, whereby the Newbury club meets monthly on a Wednesday evening according to their website.  True to form, I currently work every Wednesday evening, and Thursday is my day off!!  Any thoughts on this would be gratefully received!

Thanks again,

Simon.

The ft-991a is so easy to connect to a computer as it only needs an old type printer USB a to b cable.
Then pick your software and see the display on the big screen lol.
If you do go that way remember to get the USB driver from Yaesu website and install them before plugging the usb cable in.
The Icom ic-7300 and the Yeasu ftdx10 have the same usb plus there could be many others with it but i have the 3 radios and can say for sure.
The fdx10 can connect directly to a monitor and looks fantastic on a big screen plus it has 2 usb ports for mouse and keyboard so you can see a station on the waterfall anc click the mouse pointer on it and you are there only problem with this radio is the price.

Thanks gents,

I'm attracted to a Yaesu because I watched a YT video which demonstrated the filtering capabilities of the home base, which was amazing, however I don't know if this is the same for the portable rigs, any ideas please?

Many thanks,

Simon.

TheReverend wrote:

Thanks gents,

I'm attracted to a Yaesu because I watched a YT video which demonstrated the filtering capabilities of the home base, which was amazing, however I don't know if this is the same for the portable rigs, any ideas please?

Many thanks,

Simon.

Completely different between several of their radios...the portable ones like the older 857's and 817/818's have very basic filtering, and add-on filters, the newer mobiles like my 891 have advanced DSP type noise reduction that puts older radios to shame, but no advanced filtering, and the newer hybrid radios like the FTDX10 and FTDX101 have very advanced and highly customisable filtering.

Same with iCom - any of the newer SDR radios have incredible filtering, and are easy to use.  The older ones, not so much unless you were looking at the very high end radios, which you're not.

Thanks gents....I'm now drooling over the FTDX10!!

Drooled for months over the ftdx10 but finialey got one on Tuesday.(Station commanders orders she wanted us to stay an extra night in Blackpool so i could go to the rally and buy one)..
Love it and plugged into a monitor and a mouse connected you can change settings and also click on a peek/signal and your there.
The receive is as good as the reviews say slightly better than the ic-7300 and ft991a.
The DNR noise reduction is very good as well.

7300 all day long

Just had the icom7300 very good radio
Got yeasu ft10 dx it’s ok 
Also got yeasu 450d it’s ok too 

Ft10 and yeasu 450 pick up and get out the same at 20miles on ssb so I would how much you got 450 d is cheap and does a good job

icom 7300 for me... all depends how much you want to spend as a starter radio..

Icom 7300 is the best bang per buck new or used. And for millennials and younger more used to operating stuff touch screen is going to be easy to pick up.

At the bottom end of the spectrum Yeasu FT840 is a solid basic no frills radio you can buy under £400 and there are a couple kicking about for sale at the moment

Thanks for the reminder chaps.
Got a 7300 boxed up must get it out to test picture and sell.
Keeping the one on the desk that's staying staying a while.
How could i forget that.

Hi Gents,

And now they go and release the FT-710!!??!!  Looks like a lovely piece of kit, and I had a quick look at it a couple of weeks ago....it feels slightly 'cheaper' than the DX10, but I suppose that's to be expected?  It did everything I wanted, however the chap at the shop was bigging-up a portable Icom for some reason, so I slid my wallet back in my pocket and moved on...!

TheReverend wrote:

Hi Gents,

And now they go and release the FT-710!!??!!  Looks like a lovely piece of kit, and I had a quick look at it a couple of weeks ago....it feels slightly 'cheaper' than the DX10, but I suppose that's to be expected?  It did everything I wanted, however the chap at the shop was bigging-up a portable Icom for some reason, so I slid my wallet back in my pocket and moved on...!

Comes back to what you want it for....there's nothing wrong with an IC-705 if that's what he was going on about, but it is a 10w all-in-one radio, whereas the 710 and DX10 are 100w base station radios.

I would never buy a 10w radio as my first or only radio (and I do have a couple) because they are just a bit limiting, especially as you've said you'll do intermediate at some point, whcih is 50w limit, isn't it?

7300, 710, DX10...can't really go wrong with any of them, and the 710 (at least here) is very attractively priced against the 7300, whereas the DX10 is a fair bit more.

FT-710 looks to be a dx-10 value version.
Filtering is cut down and one or two other things cut back on.

yeah 7300 all day long

The title of this thread appealed to me, so i thought i'd hijack it . Just need your thoughts. With my still to get license i'm allowed to work 40-20-10m with 100W and 2m and 70cm with 25W.
- I'll be working from home, and would like to work DX.
- I allready own a AT5555, which i operate on CB and can easily be converted back to 10m.
- From the Dutch RFDX radio group some members adviced to use separate HF and VHF/UHF radios.
- Suppose for HF i can use one antenna combined with an ATU and the same for 2m/70cm, but have an offer for a Yaesu FT897 combined with a ATAS 120 (750€ for both), which would cover all bands i'm allowed to.

Your thoughts and recommendations please.

73
Karel

The 897+ ATAS 120 sounds a good deal.