The best radio you have ever owned?

[VK2XQ]

Everyone loves a certain brand or model of radio, and almost everyone, hates a certain brand or model of radio, what is your favourite and why?

Like cars, there are the ones that seemingly run for ever and seldom give us trouble, then there are others you had wished you had never purchased in the first place, always something going wrong with the heap of shite, off air more times than on air.

What is the key to a good radio in the first place? Is it how we look after and treat the appliance in question?

In the "olden" days I bought my first radio from DSE and it was a black faced Yaesu FT-200 in mid 1970's I think, I perked it up, put in some decent 6KD6 tubes and "pumped" a few other things up, worked flawlessly until I sold it and traded up to the FT-101E series then the FT-901D (had digital display and drift problems from the word go). All the tube gear worked pretty well and I had no big issues, however, the arrival of solid state sets was not all that far around the corner.

One of my favourite sets was the Kenwood TS-690S HF/50MHz bought new from Rudi at Emtronics in Sydney, lovely little radio which served me well, although it seemed to attract rust and dry joints when exposed to salt air in the Pacific islands. After two years on Tarawa Atoll the exterior started to rust despite me covering it and wiping it down daily, then the dry joints started...

The biggest junk box I ever owned was in the 1980's, a Yaesu FT-ONE base station, it too disliked the Pacific and rusted rapidly while I was on Nauru, then there was the never ending problems encountered with the switch mode power supply.

Next biggest lemon was a Yaesu FT-980 base station that I bought new in the late 1980's I think, it always had frequency drift problems, especially after warming up and some of the digital display lights would go on the blink, only to return to normal after a decent cabinet thump with my fist. The receiver was crappy and it also had problems establishing and maintaining full SSB output power, it had a few little visits back to DSE at North Ryde for a few "minor" issues, sticking switches was a ongoing problem with this lemon too.

Best radio would have to be my just failed Icom IC-736 HF/50MHz base radio, I bought this radio secondhand from Adam VK4GHZ when he was still residing in the "deep south" around 15 or more years ago, for reliability it was the best radio I have every owned, and performance was great too. It was dropped accidentally at the airport in Kosrae shattering the front face screen but it still worked! It worked right until I came back to Australia and had the face replaced. It died before Christmas, the power supply chucked it in big time, however, that radio had been to probably eight DXCC countries (T30, 3D2, T20, V63, XY0, C21, T33 plus a couple of others) and gave a few thousand, yes a few thousand, a contact on HF plus 50MHz.

Next best would have to be my trusty Yaesu FT-1000D HF radio, 200 watts all bands, big lunk of a thing but great on CW, my favourite mode. It was purchased back in November 1991 brand new from DSE, I bought a second FT-1000D in Japan the following year but sold it off about 10 years later, it never gave an ounce of trouble. The sole FT-1000D still sits on my desk today and has not missed a beat, has not been opened up since new and thus has provided excellent service and satisfaction for neary 22 years now. The only issue I had was when I took it to Western Kiribati in 1994 for one year, the radio didn't rust or play up, but the SP-5 External Speaker rusted to buggery.

Now, to replace the IC-736, I have a Yaesu FT-2000D, still getting used to it, now, if I get at least 15 years trouble free operating from this radio I will be more than happy.

Over to you lads...

[VK2JH]

Hi Jack,

Interesting reading. Like the cars that I buy, I usually buy few and keep them nearly forever. My first radio was the Icon IC22A, a wonderful xtal locked 2m rig that just went and went and, I am sure, would still fire up if I turned it on today. My big and expensive purchase in the mid 70's from DSE was the FT101E, followed by a 2nd hand FT650B transverter. What a great pair, however the mode switch on the 101 now is intermittent and I am too lazy to fix it. In the early 80's I bought from DSE the wonderful FT757, solid state HF transceiver; simple to operate, sounded good and had a good rx, probably my favourite. Along came the FT480R all mode 2m rig, still goes ok and a Icom IC490A, a very expensive 70cm all mode; both purchased to do the satellite thing, but never got there. Still have them all!!!

My favourite rx, the 1940's RCA AR88D and LF..... have three waiting to come on and listen again!

With a desire to do proper 2m and 70cm sideband came a 2nd hand FT847; good on VHF/UHF, but very poor selectivity on HF..... shame that Yaesu didn't leave out the HF and add 23cm..... that would have been excellent. Apart from the common power switch burnout, there has been no real problems, but it would be nice to have it come on frequency when switched on and not have it "warm up".

I added the FT857D to my car and, with the ATAS120A auto antenna, it has been good, even with the Landcruiser diesel horrific noise problems (tempered down with some ferrites). Shame the ATAS does not go down to 80m and forget about the 2m and 70cm bands.

A FT817D was being offered at a special price new, so I grabbed one. I have not used it much, but they do make great IF's for transverters.

My retirement gift to myself was the FT2000D, a great rig, no problems, but like like many computer programs, it has many features that require finding and experimenting with. There have been a number of free sofware and firmware upgrades, which has been terrific. I added a Winradio DC to daylight SDR and it is an intersting piece of kit.

A recent purchase of a FT990 required some repairs, can't really report on it yet.

So, with most of my rigs living in nice environments, I have never had a real lemon. So, nothing exciting. Why Yaesu? Probably because DSE sold them and they were easy to check over in the shops in the early days.

Cheers

John
VK4JHC/VK2JH (ex VK2ZMT in those great 52meg days)
QG62EQ
Mount Hallen 4312

[VK2GOM]

Hi Jack,

I feel it's a case of the radio might seem good at the time, but once something better comes along you realise the shortfalls of the previous radio.

My first HF rig when first licensed was an FT101ZD. It seemed quite a radio at the time, and I had a lot of fun with it. The slight drift didn't seem to matter, and it was fun to tune up those 6146's every time you QSY'd

Then over the years, I had a TS130S which was a lot smaller and compact than the FT101ZD. Had that few years, then bought a TS940S which showed what a good (at the time!) receiver really sounded like.

Then I had an IC746, with filters, that was an improvement again on the TS940S (and much smaller!).

I have had a few portable/mobile HF radios over the years too including the FT857 and FT817 (two of). Both are good, but the receivers can be a little 'hot' and difficult to tame at times. But for all those bands in one small box, can't complain.

I would say though my best radio to date is my current radio, an IC7600. The receiver is superb, and has many tools to combat the various forms of QRM I get here.

I think it's generally true the later the radio, the better they are - but not always! It pays to read the reviews.

73 - Rob VK2GOM / GW0MOH

[VK2XQ]

I think the best selling radio of all time would have to be the Yaesu FT-757GX series as John VK2JH mentioned, it was the best thing since sliced bread at the time, all the DXpeditions were running them and Yaesu sold thousands of them. Very reliable and many ops experienced years of trouble free operating from the FT-757GX.

In the 1980's I was fortunate enough to visit the Yaesu factory at Koriyama and watch the FT-757GX being made from start to finish, fascinating stuff. As John said, they were and still are a top radio and many are still in use today.

I took a secondhand TS-940S (in near brand new condition) in the early 1990's to Western Kiribati for Tekena T30DC, like the problems I had with my TS-690S on Tarawa, poor Tekena started having big problems with dry joints and rust some eight or nine months after I landed it on the island for him.

Remember the old days when American sets were the go in Australia? Hallicrafters, Heath-Kit, TenTec are some of the names I recall, then the Japanese gear started arriving in the mid 1970's with Yaesu being imported by DSE and then others, Kenwood and Icom soon followed and then a newbie called Alinco arrived on the scene, many treated the Alinco with suspicion but they sold quite a few, never had one though.

[VK4TS]

No Question FT1000D - Favourite rig - I prefer Yaesu -

Currently using an FT2000 with the LP Pan adapter - but still hold the FT1000D and MP...a FT950 is probably the best 10/6 metre rig around - great high band receiver -best Value for money on new or second hand market.

[VK2GOM]

Interesting on the FT757GX... a friend back in GW had an FT902DM for years, then decided it was time to upgrade; sold it, and bought an FT757GX. After about a day, he regretted the move, and insisted the 902DM was a far superior radio!

Nothing worse than selling a radio, then regretting it after using what you thought was going to be an improvement

73 - Rob VK2GOM / GW0MOH

[VK4GHZ]

Interesting on the FT757GX... a friend back in GW had an FT902DM for years, then decided it was time to upgrade; sold it, and bought an FT757GX. After about a day, he regretted the move, and insisted the 902DM was a far superior radio!

Nothing worse than selling a radio, then regretting it after using what you thought was going to be an improvement

73 - Rob VK2GOM / GW0MOH

I wasn't going to get involved in this topic, because of the expected one-eyed prejudices (and potential s**t fights that ultimately follow), but I agree with Rob 100%.
I too owned an FT-757GX (purchased from DSE, new), and after a short while, realised it was a piece of horrible plasticy crap!
But Yaesu were going through a "phase" in the early/mid 1990's, which became very clear once we were already in that phase.
Their stuff was absolute junk at this time, and they must have realised this, as Yaesu had an amazing turn around in the naughties, which is a credit to them.
I remember the 757 blew a driver transistor in a metal TO39 can.
At least it was very easy to do your own component level repairs back then.

In the last 36 years, I've had Kenwood, Icom, Yaesu, Standard, Alinco, and Wouxun;
TS-520, TS-660, TS-440, TS680, TS-480
IC-22S, IC-725, IC-275A, IC-575A, IC-475A, IC-229, IC-449, IC-706, IC-756, IC-7600, IC-R1500, IC-910
FT-757GX, FT-290R, FT-747, FT-50R, FT-100, FT-8100, FT-817
C-528
DR-435, DR-135
KG-UV1DP, KG-UV6D
Wow, they add up over the years!

The most fun rig: TS-660. Working KH6 on 6m on 10W into a 5/8 GP.
The shitiest rigs: FT-757GX, DR-135, DR-435.

We all have our own preferences and nobody else will convince us otherwise, right.
Sticking to one brand, although admirable, indicates an inability to remain objective, and think laterally, IMO.
-- Controversy --

It's also important to remember: there is no such thing as THE perfect transceiver.

And BTW Jack, been rummaging through some old memorabilia here, and that 736 was posted to you on 31/12/1996.
16 years ago.

Edit: forgot the good ol' 290R!

[VK2XQ]

Whilst I was on Ponape as V63JH I remember Father Cav V63JC had an Icom IC-751A HF base station, despite being in a radio shack above the ocean cliffs since new this radio was flawless, not a spot of rust anywhere and Father Cav was very active on a daily basis and reported not a spot of bother with the radio.

Many years ago I remember Rudi at Emtronics was selling JRC transceivers and the HF/50MHz took my eye at the time, was going to buy one but decided on the Kenwood TS-690S. The JRC had a mixed reputation and I don't think the company in Japan is in business anymore, seldom work anyone using a JRC, they didn't seem to gain a foothold in the market here.

16 years ago eh Adam? The best DXpedition radio set I have ever owned, like a dollar for every station worked on HF and six via that radio, simple and efficient was the IC-736.

[VK4TS]

MEMORY TEST

TS520, FT101E, FT7,IC551D,IC551,IC251,FT227R,FT200,IC720,TS820S,TS180S,FT757,TS430,FT101E,FT102,TS430S,FT102,FT1000D,
FT920,IC725,TS680,FT990,FT1000MP,FT857D,FT2000,FT950,FT2000

But Jack you asked for the favourite - For a HF Rig FT1000D - For a 10N6 ? FT950 -Simple but very effective...

[VK2XQ]

The FT-1000D is the best HF set I have ever owned Trent and it is still going strong and trouble free, I looked at the FT-1000MP and thought it looked tacky and cheap and nasty, many of them gave the owners trouble too.

The old FT-101E was the go too, had the full station, SP-101, FV-101, YC-601B, YO-101, FL-2100B hooked to the straight key and a Shure 444D desk mike which I still have today. Bought mine from Greg Whiter at GFS Electronic Imports in Mitcham VIC, always good service and great prices back then. Also old faithful Osker Blok SWR-200 meter, the good old days when tube gear ruled...

[VK2AAH]

Not one person has mentioned the FT401? Now there was a very interesting radio!

First amateur radio for me was a FT290R- like many others sourced from Dick Smiths in the days he was the Electronic Dick.
I haven't used enough different types of radios to offer an educated opinion but I'm happy with my IC7000.

And while we are reminiscing....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbCr15KkBxY



Happy Australia Day!

Cheers,


Richard
VK2AAH

[VK2JH]

FT757GX crap, must have been the later 757GX II, not the original mid eighties model

Oh, and raising a young family, with an average wage back then, certainly curtailed the buying, not like today with all that spare cash about!!

Cheers,

John
VK4JHC/VK2JH
QG62EQ

[VK2VHF]

My list is not as big a list as some but I am working on it!

HF - IC718, FT897d, IC746pro, IC7000, IC9100

VHF/UHF mobile - FM900, FT7800r, FT290mk2

HT - VX1r, VX3r, VX5r

My first radio (IC718) holds the best memories (like my first girlfriend!). It was a simple radio that gave me the magic feeling of my first HF DX contact.

Otherwise all the radios have been good.

[VK3TEX]

Worst radio ever owned was the Yaesu FT757GX2. This was the biggest piece of unreliable junk made. Worked very well for the first five years then had many problems thereafter. Drifting vco's, dry joint's and other problems...

Best one, and i still have it is the Icom 765 bought from Emtronics in Melbourne in 1991. Had a few issues with it, but they were minor and easily fixed. Still the best RX that i own. Use it as a backup rig to the IC 7700 which i use as the main rig. Had the 7700 for 5 years now and has worked well but it still has to prove itself. In some ways the RX on the 765 is better than the 7700. But the 7700 has the scope which i just LOVE....

I also have the Kenwood TS 2000, had it for 10 years no problems.

Another little rig which was bullet proof was the FT1500 2m by Yaesu, but sold it when i stopped mobiling. That little rig was very solidly built...

Cheers, Les, VK3TEX.

[VK4GHZ]

I still have this from the late 70's.
As an impressionable teenager in a pre cellular phone/internet world, this Yaesu catalogue pressed all the right buttons.



I'm surprised the pages aren't still stuck together.

I don't recall Icom or Kenwood having anything so memorable.
It probably cost a small fortune at the time to print, but would have contributed to Yaesu becoming very popular.


And while we're reminiscing, from the library...

[VK4CZ]

And no CB Actions Adam? Careful some of the bikini girls may need censorship!!

To add to the nostalgia...

First issue 1977

[VK4CZ]

And from 1976

A great source of amusement!

[VK4TI]

I still have this from the late 70's.
As an impressionable teenager in a pre cellular phone/internet world, this Yaesu catalogue pressed all the right buttons.



I'm surprised the pages aren't still stuck together.

I don't recall Icom or Kenwood having anything so memorable.
It probably cost a small fortune at the time to print, but would have contributed to Yaesu becoming very popular.


And while we're reminiscing, from the library...

Ages ago I scored a KWM 380 cheap , after some work was a wonderful radio and wish I still had it , replaced it with a series of FT301d"s and 301s with the fl110 amp all followed by a bottle amp at various stages , had several Ten Tec radios and rather like them including the baby Argonaut , Currently some jap stuff which is way to small . I like the feel of the base units and swing of the controls like the 101E/zd series and Collins vfo units

[VK2ZRH]

I have to nominate The Gold Dust Twins - the Collins KWS-1 transmitter and 75A4 receiver.

Collins KWS-1

Collins 75A4

I have to say, though, that this was the best rig I never owned. They were on the station inventory at Casey, Antarctica, when I worked there over 1970-71, doing geophysical surveying of the Phillip Law Ice Dome over that time. I believe that the KWS-1 and 75A4 were shipped down to the Wilkes Base in 1956, built by the US Navy for the 1957-58 International Geophysical Year. Wilkes is north of Casey, across Vincennes Bay.

The other amateur at Casey that year was Heinz VK5GR (SK), who secured the callsign AX0GR. In return for refurbishing the KWS-1/75A4 and getting it working, he allowed me free reign as 2nd op.

The KWS-1 was rated at 1 kW and ran a pair of 4CX250B bottles in parallel. Neither the PMG, nor the Australian Antarctic Division at the time were concerned about the rig's rating. Indeed, the AAD's communications engineer (Doug VK3??) encouraged us to use it.

Both were built like brick outhouses. Although they'd seen "better days", they performed flawlessly. I installed them in my pokey office in the main building line.

AX0GR, Casey 1970-71

The arrow shows the rough location of my office. This picture was taken from the east side of the station, during spring or summer (no snow cover). The lattice mast in the foreground held the crossed-deltas of the ionosonde, running 10 kW, sweeping 1-30 MHz, 50 Hz pulse rate, once every 15 minutes and 3 times on the hour. The 75A4 always recovered serenely after each sounding Despite the station's 10 kW Collins and 3 kW Redifon HF communications transmitters powering antennas only a few 100 metres away, the 75A4 never had any breakthrough.

Nostalgia ain't what it used to be.

73, Roger Harrison VK2ZRH

[VK6WAX]

Can't quite match the lists posted above but I do like the only radio I've been fortunate to possess, my FRG-7 (yes, no tx, long story). Bought straight from the shiny showcase of DSE Perth. Soon to be joined by an Elecraft K2.

As an aside, that's an interesting cover headline "Spectrum Anarchy - all you need is money?" - not much has changed.

Cheers
Andrew
vk6wax