A good beginner HF transceiver rig

[WRXR255]

Pretty much what it says in the title.  I have a robust SW, MW with Upper and Lower side bands receiver, but looking into the radio side of TXing there.

I know this is a GMRS centric Forum, as why I just plopped it down in the Misc. area, but I suspect some of you out there might have something to offer in this area for someone looking to expand into that spectrum as well.

[marcspaz]

In my opinion, the Icom IC-7300 or the Yaesu FT-991a are your two best options. The 7300 has better receive sensitivity and a better display but the 991a has 2m and 70cm. 

[WRQC527]

3 hours ago, WRXR255 said:

Pretty much what it says in the title.  I have a robust SW, MW with Upper and Lower side bands receiver, but looking into the radio side of TXing there.

I know this is a GMRS centric Forum, as why I just plopped it down in the Misc. area, but I suspect some of you out there might have something to offer in this area for someone looking to expand into that spectrum as well.

I'm partial to my Yaesu FT-891. It doesn't do 2 meters or 70 cm, which is fine with me. I have other radios for that. But in my humble opinion, it's the best deal out there for a hundred watt HF/6 meter radio. Also, a friend of mine loves his Xiegu G-90. Cheaper, not as many watts, but you get a built-in tuner, which the FT-891 doesn't have. 

[marcspaz]

1 hour ago, WRQC527 said:

Yaesu FT-891

 

I didn't even consider that, which is bad, given I have one in the Jeep. That is a rock star radio as far as just simply communicating goes. Audio filters are really good too, and it has the ability to switch an amp as well as run digital modes.

 

I suppose because it's a no frills mobile, I didn't think of it as a base station, but it can definitely be used as an affordable option. 

[WRYS709]

The 7300 has a built in sound card allowing for easy use of digital modes, such as FT8

[SteveShannon]

12 hours ago, marcspaz said:

In my opinion, the Icom IC-7300 or the Yaesu FT-991a are your two best options. The 7300 has better receive sensitivity and a better display but the 991a has 2m and 70cm. 

Two of my friends have the FT-991.  I’ve spent some time helping one of them.  I have the FTDX10 and an FT-891. For a beginner wanting a  single full power radio that does HF, VHF, and UHF, the FT-991 and the Icom IC-7100 are about the only games in town.  An IC-705 with an amplifier would be another all band option. Gigaparts recently had an overstock sale selling the IC-7100 without mentioning its name. It was about $300 off.

If I were advising someone to get an HF radio on a bit of a budget, I would recommend the Yaesu FT-710.  If you put stock in the Sherwood Report It’s got a better receiver than anything from Icom. It definitely has a great display, improved ergonomics compared to the ftdx10 (which I have) and can be had on sale from time to time for about $800. It doesn’t do 2 meters and 70 centimeters like the ft-991, but I would probably prefer a second radio for that anyway for the flexibility.  
 

There a many older radios out there, but once you’ve used a newer radio with a nice high resolution display of the nearby spectrum showing where there’s activity you’ll be spoiled.  The IC-7300, FT-710, and the FTDx10 have really nice scopes on a touch screen, so when you see a peak you want to explore a quick poke and final tuning and you’re there. The 991 has a spectrum scope too, but it’s much smaller and I don’t believe you can touch it to tune.

The IC-7300 also has a built in SWR sweep function that none of the Yaesu radios have. In fact the 7300 has the ability to be switched to emergency mode, which reduces the RF output to about 50 watts, but allows you to use the built in antenna match for a relatively high SWR antenna (much higher than the 3.0:1 SWR which can usually be tuned). 

Each has its unique advantages.  

[Davichko5650]

12 hours ago, WRXR255 said:

Pretty much what it says in the title.  I have a robust SW, MW with Upper and Lower side bands receiver, but looking into the radio side of TXing there.

I know this is a GMRS centric Forum, as why I just plopped it down in the Misc. area, but I suspect some of you out there might have something to offer in this area for someone looking to expand into that spectrum as well.

You did say "beginner in the Thread title, but any HF rig can be used by a beginner or an expert!  But to look at basic, no frills rigs, one still in production is the Icom 718. Has DSP, but no many bells and whistles. Lacks 6 meters. Can't recall off hand if it does FM for 10 meters. Have seen a few at our monthly (non POTA) Hams in the Park gatherings here in the Twin Cities, and am impressed in the RX and TX from this solid rig.

Used, you'll be looking at things like the Yaesu FT-450D. Very excellent rigs for beginner and expert alike. It's the mainstay of my Shack and even were I to upgrade, it's never leaving!  Internal Tuner, DSP, 6 meters, all modes. A soldier on digital modes.  Other used, late model rigs to look for are the Icom 706G MkII.

If you're looking to operate mobile, my hands down recommend is the Yaesu FT-891.  Have had mine in the truck just over a year now, and it's a solid performer. Lacks an internal tuner (moot point as I run the ATAS-120A tunable antenna) and is a bit menu driven, but the rx/tx results are very good.  Older rigs in the mobile area will be things like The Icom 7100 (still in production?, I'm not a Icom guy) or Yaesu FT 857 - 897 - 818 - 818.

Hope this helps,

 

Dave  WRJG283/ N0TXW

[WRQC527]

8 hours ago, marcspaz said:

a base station

Since I'm in a condo with no option for a permanent antenna, I have it in a go box along with an MFJ-945e manual tuner and an FTM7250. It runs off a 35 ah AGM battery on a maintainer. At home it identifies as a base station with a temporary antenna, but next weekend it will run on solar and identify as a field station. 

[WRXR255]

Thanks for all the insight and great ideas all of you.

Its given me a good list of radios to compare and contrast for what i am looking for and research for a bit.

[SteveShannon]

9 minutes ago, WRXR255 said:

Thanks for all the insight and great ideas all of you.

Its given me a good list of radios to compare and contrast for what i am looking for and research for a bit.

Ham Radio Outlet has several radios set up for people to try. You might enjoy test driving some radios. 
The IC-7300 probably has more YouTube videos explaining its features and operation than any other radio. It’s a great beginner radio. 
The Yaesu FT-710 is a direct competitor of the IC-7300, but more recently released. Pricing for the 710 is better than the 7300.  Both have direct conversion front ends. That’s not a bad thing despite what some hams would say. 
Traditional radios were superheterodyne and analog from the antenna to the speaker. Direct conversion radios go from the antenna to an analog to digital converter and then do everything digitally until converting back to analog and delivering to the speaker. 
The FTDx10 is a hybrid with the HF handled in the analog domain before being converted to a much lower frequency where it goes through an analog to digital conversion. All signal processing is done in digital before converting back to analog and sent to the speaker. 

 

[Davichko5650]

13 hours ago, SteveShannon said:

The IC-7300 probably has more YouTube videos explaining its features and operation than any other radio. It’s a great beginner radio. 


 

Around here we call it "The People's Radio"!!!   Have used a couple out in the field on occasion. Good radio, but not sure it's enough for a long time Yaesu guy to look at adding one to the stable.

[marcspaz]

4 hours ago, Davichko5650 said:

Around here we call it "The People's Radio"!!!   Have used a couple out in the field on occasion. Good radio, but not sure it's enough for a long time Yaesu guy to look at adding one to the stable.

 

Just do what I did and buy both!  LOL

[Davichko5650]

Just now, marcspaz said:

 

Just do what I did and buy both!  LOL

I would, but I need $$$ for new guitars and guns....!