Pentagon Radio Volunteers Move to New Office (M.A.R.S. moves in)

American Forces Press Service ^ | Jim Garamone

[Bobalu]

Exactly the right attitude...having the capability ain’t against the rules.

[Cindy]

THREAT BUMP.

[Cindy]

Uh, make that THREAD BUMP.

[Clinging Bitterly]

That sonofabitch. I never saw that ad before, great!

When I was a kid I had a 5R10A - which is a lot like the S-38D but without the BFO. Looking back I don't know why they made one like that, the only diff I can tell is a switch and a couple wires. Thin margins I suppose - it was definitely their entry level receiver. I had a home made external BFO for it, built by a neighbor who was a Ham.

That was a five tube AC/DC design. No matter what it seemed like something on the outside was hot - I usually let the antenna be the hot part, but you know old house wiring wasn't always polarized right and I always had to check. I didn't need no steenkin ground. Hooked up to a couple hundred feet of old speaker magnet wire strung up the back hill and I was tuned in to the world. Of course the Radio Moscow station at Vladivostok was always the strongest thing on the air but I also listened to the 40M Ham band quite a lot.

[mylife]

Nope. I just never seem to have the time to get over there.

I swear I will get it done before the year is through.

[mylife]

Very cool

[mylife]

The reason I'm working on portable stuff these days.

I plan to start off with portable

[Clinging Bitterly]

You have to just do it. And be sure and take the General exam after you pass the Technician, because you just never know. IMO it isn’t that difficult (I don’t think it has changed a lot since ‘82).

[Clinging Bitterly]

And the features included in even the entry level stuff are amazing compared to days gone by. Nice, because I don't think a person ought to have a lot of money tied up in something they want to be lugging around in all kinds of environments.

I'm still trying to decide exactly what I want in a new rig. For the money Yaesu seems to have the best prices but they are somewhat more menu driven than the Icoms. I have been looking hard at the FT-897D because I like the internal battery capability. But recently the FT-450 has caught my eye. It only goes up to 6M and does not take internal batteries, it's cheaper than the 897D and it is built more rugged in a cast aluminum chassis. Not having 2M/440 won't be a loss to me, I have rigs for those bands coming out my ears. They are FM only but really, for practical local comms a FM HT and a good antenna is all you need.

[mylife]

I really really want the Icom 7000 but the FT-897D may actually be more useful for less money.

[Clinging Bitterly]

One thing to keep in mind, and it's another reason I'm drifting toward the FT-450 - I like to operate HF and monitor VHF at the same time. The all band rigs in this price range don't have dual receive so you can't do that.

Features, they are so many and varied, and it sure makes it hard to decide.

The 897D is a convenient package and I may yet go that way, but there is more HF radio in the 450 including more capable IF DSP, more direct front panel control buttons, and more display features. One of those and a good full 5W dual band HT and you'd be outfitted pretty well (and you're gonna end up getting a HT anyway).