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NEW: Mobile Antenna Testing Results Part 1

Updates:

Oct 2004: finishing up the mobile antenna shootout

July 2004: Added antenna testing and more photos

June 2004:
Laptop crash so I decided to completely redo the site..

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Some pieces of gear that I once used and have sold. Not that any of them were poor pieces of equipment: just that they did not meet my needs.

The TM742AD was a nice radio: 3 bands in one unit. Easy to use, I liked being able to operate this as 3 distinct radios. I did the modification for the heat sink, hoping to prevent the commonly reported failure of the final stage on the board. But the lack of alpha display was more of a problem then I expected. I also wanted to use PC control and a TNC which were not supported on the radio. When I purchased the TS-B2000, this radio was redundant and I sold it.  Since I selling it, I miss having the 220 Mtz.

ICOM IC706: I had the original flavor of the radio: without 440M. I liked the radio but this original version had some problems for me. The display was difficult to read probably in part since I did not have a good mount for the head. Use on 2M was difficult as settings are buried in deep menus. The TS-B2000 was a better choice for me since I had the room to install it in the new truck.

Icom PCR1000 was a great radio. This is a little box that is controlled by a PC over a serial port. Wide coverage with SSB support it is great fun to travel with. I practiced code, listened to amateur QSOs, listened to foreign broadcast stations. IT was a bit weird to use the computer to control it, but I got used to it.

But I wanted to go HF portable. When I bought the FT817 and the FT857, the PCR1000 became redundant so I sold it. More information can be picked up at :http://www.icomreceivers.com/ (nice site!)

Yeasu FT-817: When I first started looking to go portable I purchased an FT-817. Very nice radio! I made a number of contacts with it but I am not one for QRP work. I am more interested in making contacts than fighting to get everylast mw out.. so I decided to go for the FT857 for a bit more power.

Links

• http://www.perconcorp.com/icom/ Percon frequency listing
• http://www.panix.com/clay/scanning/ nice introduction to scanning
• http://www.scannersunlimited.com/ a vendor
• http://www.bearcatscanners.us/ Uniden Scanners: A manufacture
• http://www.rigpix.com/ RigPix: lots of pictures of older radios!

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Copyright 2004 by Philip P. Thompson, All rights reserved.