Yaesu FT-897D (HF/VHF/UHF All Mode Tranciever)

[Dennis David]

OK so the money is now officially burning a hole in my pocket. Do I buy an Icom IC-7000 or stick with a dual bander like a FTM-350. How well will the IC-7000 work in 2 meters? Will I be giving anything up in perfoermance to a dedicated rig? On HF the idea is to rag chew. I am not into contesting. I will have the radio in the vehicle but that's not to say I will be doing much talking going mobile. Mostly I will set up and talk at night under the stars kind of what you would do with a shortwave but now also transmitting.

I used it regularly in the past to do the OAUSA nets (admittedly at 50 watts)

What is meant by this?

Dennis

[xtatik]

Dennis,
As I mentioned earlier, many experienced hams view the 7000 as being over-stuffed for a mobile. Mobile is mobile, and the mobile environment is a crappy place to work weak stations. And so, many of the subtle filter features on the 7000 are wasted to the noisy mobile environment. Add to that, the fact you'll likely be using a compromised (meaning crappy, regardless of type or brand) mobile antenna and it's easy to conclude that it just doesn't make sense to pay for these features for use in these operating conditions. IMO, the best affordable, common sense rig for mobile use (for the moment) is the 857d. Truth is, it's a bit over cooked, and has more features than needed for this environment as well.
Neither the 857d or 7000 will show diminished characteristics on FM, at least nothing humanly audible at either end. They will both perform every bit as well as a dedicated FM dualbander and having HF, both will afford way more communication flexibility than the FTM-350.
Contesting and DXing features on radios (filtering, in most cases) only serve to enhance the rag-chew fun as well. The more important question is where you'll do the bulk of your operating......in home or in vehicle? Because, at home is where the true challenges can be met on HF. A quiet environment, using full-sized, resonant antennas will allow you to seek out DX or play in contests. This is the environment where all the subtle filter types and steps can make the difference in pulling a very weak signal out of the noise.

[DaveK]

OK so the money is now officially burning a hole in my pocket. Do I buy an Icom IC-7000 or stick with a dual bander like a FTM-350. How well will the IC-7000 work in 2 meters? Will I be giving anything up in perfoermance to a dedicated rig? On HF the idea is to rag chew. I am not into contesting. I will have the radio in the vehicle but that's not to say I will be doing much talking going mobile. Mostly I will set up and talk at night under the stars kind of what you would do with a shortwave but now also transmitting.

I used it regularly in the past to do the OAUSA nets (admittedly at 50 watts)

What is meant by this?

Dennis

Dennis:

The 50 watt comment was just a reference to the fact that it was not much of a measurement of a radio's capabilities when communicating with a repeater that was only 80 miles away. It's capabilities on 146 and 440 are more than adequate. It is not a dual bander, however. If you are only looking for a VHF/UHF radio, then it could be a waste of money to go with the 7000.

I am not an expert on other radios, so I will let the Yaesu and Kenwood guys weigh in here to give you their experience. As far as the 7000 is concerned I will mention the following. I've owned the radio for over two years now and it has not suffered a single failure nor required any maintenance. It has been on countless trips and been subjected to endless clouds of dust and dirt. It, along with it's dash companion, a Yaesu 8800, have been jarred, bumped and jostled over almost every kind of trail, the worst of which are the washboard and rocky ones.

It has allowed me to have a portal to the world through its HF capabilities. For me, this has meant the ability to work the Airmail program. Admittedly, I am not a rag-chewer or a contester (except Field Day) and what this has meant, in terms of radio selection, is that I am not interested in contacts much beyond this continent. What I care about is an ability to make contacts in all of the USA, Canada, and some of the Caribbean and Pacific Islands. For emergency and remote communications, with Airmail, the Radio has worked flawlessly. You can match this radio with HF antennas to use while mobile, if that is your desire. You can match a more efficient HF antenna, like a scorpion, for remote field use, if that is your choice. If you travel into remote areas, especially if you are beyond the reach of cell phones and VHF/UHF repeaters, you are well advised to be HF capable. The FT-350 will not give you this ability.

It will cost a bit more than some of the other mobiles, but it's filters and capabilities, more than make it's price competitive.

[Dennis David]

Thanks guys. In the short term it will be used mostly at home. If I take it on the road the mobile part is more like portable where any HF work would be done once I set up camp and not when I am driving I would think. The main concern I would have would be if this rig would be too much of a compromise if I use it for VHF/UHF 75% of the time but from what I'm hearing that won't be the case. The talk of filters and the fact that they won't be of much use in a mobile environment makes total sense. My vision is sitting under the starts and talking to people in distant places.