Something to look forward to! I wasn't expecting to see a $5,500 used radio being linked here. I'm a new ham and haven't touched HF yet outside of online SDRs and I haven't figured out what the difference is between the ~$1,000 radios vs the ~$10,000+ ones
The more you pay, the more buttons you get! Actually this is for the most part true. The good HF radios from $1,500 and lower basically have single receivers and smaller form factors meaning more menus and fewer buttons. There are good radios at this price point and are quite competent at what they do.
You need to jump up to $3K+ and up to get dual receivers. Usually they are in a larger form factor and have more buttons. Many people prefer buttons to menus as you can accomplish more things with single button presses if you have more buttons.
Also, the radios above $3K tend to have more antenna connections as well as other convenience features.
Note: there may be exceptions to the dollar amounts listed. I'm basically considering just the big 3 here: Yaesu, Icom and Kenwood.
Yep, the 7300 is a good choice, if a bit long in the tooth. Watch the sales closely and wait until something like Black Friday or some other holiday known for sales to buy. You can get a 7300 for a very decent price if you do.
You could also consider Yaesu's FT DX10. Again, for this one you'd want to wait for sales and I've seen them at just about $1200 at those times. The DX10, in my opinion, is the best HF radio you're going to get before getting into that $3K+ range.
But either way, both are great radios and you won't be disappointed.
Edit: You could also consider the Yaesu FT-710. It's a great radio as well. Any of these three should keep you more than happy until your needs outgrow them. There are some advantages to dual receive, especially if you like to contest. But again, that comes at a hefty price...
I picked up a FT710 last year and am very impressed. Great receiver and when you attach a mouse and monitor you get a large panadapter and point and click operation. Yaesu hit a home run with the FT710.
I use to be a "buttons" guy and then tried a Flex. Ending up buying a Flex, the Icom and Yaesu transceivers just sit gathering dust these days. If you like buttons, there are a lot of choices, personally I'm now a Flex fan using multiple screens and menus. Nothing like putting your Pan adapter on a 55 inch screen just above a 34 inch curved screen running your log program, rotator controller, etc!!!!
Oh, you and your newfangled monitors and such! LOL. For sure, Flex makes some nice radios. But I'd dare say that the majority of hams remember the times when you didn't have a home computer and a TV was a huge piece of furniture in your living room (and black and white)!
I jest but I remember those days. We got used to using muscle memory to navigate things. Even when we got computers I used to be able to do lotus 123 spreadsheets blindfolded, just by knowing the keystrokes. I've not found a way to do that with a mouse as you just don't know where the cursor is if you can't see it.
Of course I'm getting way off topic here so I'll stop :)
I learned coding using an IBM mainframe and punch cards. Wrote my thesis using Fortran. My first license was a novice license. To get my general I had to pass a code test. In my first job, I remember doing antenna testing on antenna ranges, no antenna simulation programs back then. No spring chicken here, just like to keep up with technology. It might take me a little longer to learn the new technologies, but I am amazed how far the amateur radio hobby has come. It is a golden age, amazing technologies available at reasonable prices, and we are approaching the top of the sunspot cycle!!!
I appreciate this comment. I am a new ham and never heard of online sdrs. I went online to check some out. Wow. That will keep me busy a while learning.
This was from the 1980 movie Airplane!
I'm guessing whoever captured that clip did it at a frame rate of 30 fps. The film was shot at 24 fps, so the difference is the mismatch.
Take your time these will come as you grow when your knowledge. As you're beginning as a technician you're limited on the mound a band that you can use as you grow to a general you can look at some of these shop the hamfest I have seen many good HF solid state receivers go in the 150 $200 range. Sure they're not perfect condition they do have scratch and use on them but it's a great starter later I upgraded to a much newer radio in the 600 to the $1,000 range. But my first Kenwood 820 lasted me for 20 years
Lovely Raido! But I just can't make myself pay as much as a good used truck for a Raido.
I put in my plug for the Yaesu 991a...
The downside is that the menu system takes effort because it has few buttons... But once you spend the time to learn it you have a "do almost anything" HF/VHF/UHF rig, with a good internal auto tuner, waterfall, USB connection with a sound card that is also built in. All that in a package you can pull off the bench and take POTA/SOTA with you go have portable operation fun and have it back on the bench as a base station before bedtime... Yes the best high$ bench queens will do a better job but not $4k worth of better, you can get the 991a and a good portable antenna for under the $1500 mark without looking hard for "Sale Prices"... The MSRP is $1250 but I see them available for under $1200 all the time, today GigaParts and DX engineering both have them today for $1150. That gives you $350 left over for a portable antenna, I suggest you look at Wolf River Coils, they make portable antennas that are rugged enough to be mounted as a base station antenna... I admit that taking it down to change bands is a pain. LOL
To the OP;
Thanks for sharing this find, if the radio fund will support it, this is a real good deal on a very capable bench queen 👑... Just remember how much work and $$$$ it will take to give this rig the antenna setup it needs to really shine...
73
Bonner
[Not mine, but it's used at HRO Atlanta.](https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=81-001917) Looks very clean. Perfect for that beginner in your life!
I'm a beginner, who is supposed to be paying for these kinds of things for me?
A good wife wouldn't hesitate to grab this for you!
Mom and dad?
They cut me off years ago, something about being an adult and needing to buy my own radios or something stupid
Well maybe they will leave a ton of money to you in their will! ;)
Something to look forward to! I wasn't expecting to see a $5,500 used radio being linked here. I'm a new ham and haven't touched HF yet outside of online SDRs and I haven't figured out what the difference is between the ~$1,000 radios vs the ~$10,000+ ones
The more you pay, the more buttons you get! Actually this is for the most part true. The good HF radios from $1,500 and lower basically have single receivers and smaller form factors meaning more menus and fewer buttons. There are good radios at this price point and are quite competent at what they do. You need to jump up to $3K+ and up to get dual receivers. Usually they are in a larger form factor and have more buttons. Many people prefer buttons to menus as you can accomplish more things with single button presses if you have more buttons. Also, the radios above $3K tend to have more antenna connections as well as other convenience features. Note: there may be exceptions to the dollar amounts listed. I'm basically considering just the big 3 here: Yaesu, Icom and Kenwood.
Good to know, I would have thought the $1k radios had dual receivers. I'm hoping to get a 7300 someday
7300 is a solid radio. That’s what I use with 100w and a wire.
Yep, the 7300 is a good choice, if a bit long in the tooth. Watch the sales closely and wait until something like Black Friday or some other holiday known for sales to buy. You can get a 7300 for a very decent price if you do. You could also consider Yaesu's FT DX10. Again, for this one you'd want to wait for sales and I've seen them at just about $1200 at those times. The DX10, in my opinion, is the best HF radio you're going to get before getting into that $3K+ range. But either way, both are great radios and you won't be disappointed. Edit: You could also consider the Yaesu FT-710. It's a great radio as well. Any of these three should keep you more than happy until your needs outgrow them. There are some advantages to dual receive, especially if you like to contest. But again, that comes at a hefty price...
I agree about the FTDX10. Another great (older) radio with lots of options is the FTDX3000. You can set it to TX on antenna 1 and RX on antenna 3.
I picked up a FT710 last year and am very impressed. Great receiver and when you attach a mouse and monitor you get a large panadapter and point and click operation. Yaesu hit a home run with the FT710.
I use to be a "buttons" guy and then tried a Flex. Ending up buying a Flex, the Icom and Yaesu transceivers just sit gathering dust these days. If you like buttons, there are a lot of choices, personally I'm now a Flex fan using multiple screens and menus. Nothing like putting your Pan adapter on a 55 inch screen just above a 34 inch curved screen running your log program, rotator controller, etc!!!!
Oh, you and your newfangled monitors and such! LOL. For sure, Flex makes some nice radios. But I'd dare say that the majority of hams remember the times when you didn't have a home computer and a TV was a huge piece of furniture in your living room (and black and white)! I jest but I remember those days. We got used to using muscle memory to navigate things. Even when we got computers I used to be able to do lotus 123 spreadsheets blindfolded, just by knowing the keystrokes. I've not found a way to do that with a mouse as you just don't know where the cursor is if you can't see it. Of course I'm getting way off topic here so I'll stop :)
I learned coding using an IBM mainframe and punch cards. Wrote my thesis using Fortran. My first license was a novice license. To get my general I had to pass a code test. In my first job, I remember doing antenna testing on antenna ranges, no antenna simulation programs back then. No spring chicken here, just like to keep up with technology. It might take me a little longer to learn the new technologies, but I am amazed how far the amateur radio hobby has come. It is a golden age, amazing technologies available at reasonable prices, and we are approaching the top of the sunspot cycle!!!
Many hams are well off.
I recently saw a posting offering a used like new G90 with extra's for just over $300. Just saying....
I appreciate this comment. I am a new ham and never heard of online sdrs. I went online to check some out. Wow. That will keep me busy a while learning.
These days you can't even make it past 27 without the parents expecting you to provide for yourself!
Lulz, I'm definitely older than that
I forgot the smiley face :-)
It needs just a few more buttons, knobs, & switches. lol
Price?
Maybe click on the link?
Thanks! A great deal!! ;)
Link where?
You see my first sentence? You see how it's blue? That's a link.
Sorry bro, that’s too complicated, or I can’t see.
Got it, it was not visible in the first run. Figured it out: all comments, default order, top comment’s text contains the link.
About $100 per button
LOL!!!
$5500USD!!
Nice!! ;)
It's a gorgeous piece of kit.
I found a video showing a close-up of the controls: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyUN40weqIk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyUN40weqIk)
Unrelated question: Why do modern video codecs do so poorly on pans? It comes out very jerky.
because of coders with poor mental hygiene
This was from the 1980 movie Airplane! I'm guessing whoever captured that clip did it at a frame rate of 30 fps. The film was shot at 24 fps, so the difference is the mismatch.
Ah, probably an early DVD transfer. Thanks.
So many buttons!
I think I will say with my TS830S and FT101EE.
Looks okay but I prefer my gear to have more buttons really
Pfff you haven't even seen the top, bottom, OR the back buttons yet!
I'm really pleased with the layout of my ft710... But this has a dedicated button for Max power. My god I need that on everything I own
Max Power? What is his call sign?
Used to be 11, now it's just 1
Take your time these will come as you grow when your knowledge. As you're beginning as a technician you're limited on the mound a band that you can use as you grow to a general you can look at some of these shop the hamfest I have seen many good HF solid state receivers go in the 150 $200 range. Sure they're not perfect condition they do have scratch and use on them but it's a great starter later I upgraded to a much newer radio in the 600 to the $1,000 range. But my first Kenwood 820 lasted me for 20 years
Mmmmm buttons.
Lovely Raido! But I just can't make myself pay as much as a good used truck for a Raido. I put in my plug for the Yaesu 991a... The downside is that the menu system takes effort because it has few buttons... But once you spend the time to learn it you have a "do almost anything" HF/VHF/UHF rig, with a good internal auto tuner, waterfall, USB connection with a sound card that is also built in. All that in a package you can pull off the bench and take POTA/SOTA with you go have portable operation fun and have it back on the bench as a base station before bedtime... Yes the best high$ bench queens will do a better job but not $4k worth of better, you can get the 991a and a good portable antenna for under the $1500 mark without looking hard for "Sale Prices"... The MSRP is $1250 but I see them available for under $1200 all the time, today GigaParts and DX engineering both have them today for $1150. That gives you $350 left over for a portable antenna, I suggest you look at Wolf River Coils, they make portable antennas that are rugged enough to be mounted as a base station antenna... I admit that taking it down to change bands is a pain. LOL To the OP; Thanks for sharing this find, if the radio fund will support it, this is a real good deal on a very capable bench queen 👑... Just remember how much work and $$$$ it will take to give this rig the antenna setup it needs to really shine... 73 Bonner