What is the best 6M radio nowadays?

[VK4XA]

Hi everyone,
I'm going to open a can of worms here and ask the question:
What is the best current model HF/6M transceiver under AU$3000.00? (With the emphasis on 6M performance)
My reason for asking?
I am in the market for a new radio and I want:
100 watts output on HF + 6M at least.
Have a decent (excellent) receiver on 6M
And those are my only requirements.

Have at it!

[VK6OX]

There are many that satisfy your requirements.

Do the research (like the rest of us have done) and decide which rig provides what you want (price/performance/extras etc.).
You have a large choice from Kenwood, Yaesu and Icom....don't discount the Yank stuff either.

When all is said and done, unless you are a serious you beaut top-of-the-line better than anyone else, been-there-done-that 100 times 6m guru, any of the current rigs will more than suffice.

Antennas are the way to go to maximise the vagaries of this most frustrating and challenging band!! Rigs are secondary.

Good luck in your searches!

[VK4TS]

FT950 or FT2000 with a SDR fitted - eg IF2000 plus LP PAN...check the specs and you will be impressed - otherwise look at the Flex Series..

[VK4GHZ]

I'm going to open a can of worms...

Unfortunately your budget falls short of a new IC-7600.
So you'll have to slum it with the mid-range offerings from Kenwood or Yaesu.

Being relatively new, it might be a few years before the 7600 appears on the second hand market, priced accordingly.

[VK2XQ]

With modern technology better than we have ever seen you will find that most of the top three (Yaesu, Kenwood, Icom) HF/50MHz combos are all quite good, it narrows down to personal preferences in the end and how much you are actually prepared to spend. I looked at the Kenwood TS-590 and the Yaesu FT-650 combo's but settled for the FT-2000D after speaking with those who actually run them (VK30T etc), and thus decided the few extra dollars spent was worth it in the long run.

As Andy mentioned, your transceiver is only as good as the antenna it's connected to, a $12,000 radio will not deliver the goods coupled to a crappy antenna and feedline. Also you have to weight up your mode options too, CW or Fone, or both? What filters does it have on offer as standard? Are they enough? Where are you setting up? Mobile now and again plus base, base or mobile only? Some of the big base only sets have more features and more comfortable access to dials and buttons thatn their smaller brethern too.

It's never easy picking a new radio these days, patience, and as Adam mentioned, keep an eye on the secondhand market too.

Good luck and spend those dollars wisely!

73 de Jack D. Haden VK2XQ (QF-56ne)

[VK4CRO]

an Elecraft with 6m preamp is the way to go ! Best after sales and warranty service with performance
ciao Ron

[ZL1RS]

Antennas are the way to go to maximise the vagaries of this most frustrating and challenging band!! Rigs are secondary.

Amen to that! It is all in the antenna ... spend the money/invest the time there first (same applies to any band). I don't work any more/better/further DX on 6m with my $4000 IC-7600 than I did with my $1200 IC-706MK2G ... but the 7600 sure is much nicer to use

Some current HF+6m "YaeComWood" rigs around that $2-3000 price bracket are independently compared here:
http://www.ab4oj.com/dl/ic7410_ts590_ft950_analysis.pdf

Independent receiver specification comparisons for all manner of rigs are here:
http://www.sherweng.com/table.html
The Kenwood TS-590 looks good until you realise that the receiver function on 6m is "up conversion" so the strong signal performance falls down below the Yaesu and Icoms compared above.

One would have to look at the Elecraft K3 as well. Excellent receiver specs but I just didn't like the "feel" of it. The K3 NEEDS a preamp on 6m otherwise you may as well be using a crystal set!

73

[VK4DU]

- otherwise look at the Flex Series..

They are interesting....people seem to either hate them or swear by them.

I have an RF-Space professional NET-SDR receiver - you get 20K performance for 2K. It works on my LAN - the radio of the future, for sure.

The spectrum scope is a really useful feature.

The new Flex 6000 looks to be the duck's guts...I would be waiting for a while, though.

[VK2AXL]

I'm also looking for a rig with SSB/CW/FM on 6m and 2m. But I'm looking in the sub $1000 bracket.

I have heard good things about the FT847 and will grab one if I see one for the right price.

Other than that, options are FT897/857 or IC706. How do these radios compare with the market in general? I have heard bad things about reciever performance in all of them. Is the FT897 really as poor as they say? Or are its bad reviews just because it doesnt live up to the expectations of people who spend $5000 on rigs?

Anyone give some advice to those of us who cant afford IC7600s or K3s.

[VK4XA]

I'm also looking for a rig with SSB/CW/FM on 6m and 2m. But I'm looking in the sub $1000 bracket.

I have heard good things about the FT847 and will grab one if I see one for the right price.

Other than that, options are FT897/857 or IC706. How do these radios compare with the market in general? I have heard bad things about reciever performance in all of them. Is the FT897 really as poor as they say? Or are its bad reviews just because it doesnt live up to the expectations of people who spend $5000 on rigs?

Anyone give some advice to those of us who cant afford IC7600s or K3s.

As a past owner of 2 x FT847's I can say that they are pretty good on 6m and up, their HF performance is not as good but it is adequate for rag chewing on HF.
Hell, I even entered a contest with mine and won! (Gary VK4FD and myself in the first VK Shires contest, Multi-2 Rover category)
So they aren't too bad. (Just so long as you don't have any strong stations on the band near you, then the receiver (and your ears) will suffer.)
I have also owned an FT897 too, it was, without doubt, the WORST radio I have ever had!
You'd be wise to stay well away.
The FT857 is virtually identical to the 897 in its design and implementation so I'd be staying away from it too, its performance is just as bad.
In fact the only good (and I use that term loosely) 897/857 I have ever heard was the one owned by Wayne VK4ARW, he spent nearly 8 hours over a period of 2 days getting it to spec with a spectrum analyser and other test gear, it was so bad.
Likewise, I have never heard an Icom 706 of any flavour that sounded decent on the air or in use by me, they do the same as Yaesu, the radio's are made in china and there's not a single meter that goes near em at the factory, the result is that they are universally crappy.

[VK4XA]

Well,
My 6M antenna has pretty much been been decided upon, it will be either a 6 or a 7 element LFA Yagi.
Now all I have to do is to find a rig to match up with the antennas performance.
Listening to my own advice, maybe I should go out and maybe look for another FT847 too!
Or maybe a K3 with a 6M pre-amp which will give me the HF performance needed for contesting and with the addition of the pre-amp, decent 6M performance as well.

[VK4XA]

Well,
My 6M antenna has pretty much been been decided upon, it will be either a 6 or a 7 element LFA Yagi.
Now all I have to do is to find a rig to match up with the antennas performance.
Listening to my own advice, maybe I should go out and maybe look for another FT847 too! (Pity it's not a 'current' radio)
Or maybe a K3 with a 6M pre-amp which will give me the HF performance needed for contesting and with the addition of the pre-amp, decent 6M performance as well.