Thursday, April 11, 2013

Good Inexpensive Used HF rigs

Given a limited budget, I've been looking carefully at used HF rigs. Here's a list of potential candidates that I've been looking at, hopefully I'll find a good radio among them at a good price. These have come from a variety of sources, mostly my Ham Radio Club, but there have been a few others as well. Hopefully I can help some of those in the same predicament that I am in.


Yaesu FT-450 -  This is a recently discontinued model which has most of the features of the modern radios. Cost for a used radio costs around $700. This covers the 6M bands. Generally good reviews. Lots of dials to access features.

Yaesu FT-950 - This is a somewhat higher end model from the FT-450, and also discontinued. Also includes 6m. Cost around $1000 used. Generally good reviews. Lots of dials to access features.

Icom IC-746 - HF plus 6m, 2m. Generally modern radio. Recently discontinued. Generally good reviews. Cost around $800. Lots of dials to access features.

Icom IC-756 - HF plus 6m, generally modern radio. Recently discontinued. Good reviews. Costs around $1000. Lots of filter features included. Lots of dials to access features.

Icom IC-735 -  This is an older radio, around 20 years or so. It has generally good reviews, but a few weaknesses reported. It is often recommended to control via a computer. Costs around $350. Lots of dials to access features.

Kenwood TS-570D - This is maybe 10 years old, but generally a good radio. Might include 6m, if the upgrade is purchased. Generally good reviews. Not in production. Costs around $650. Lots of dials to access features.

Icom IC-706 - This is an all band receiver, 160-70cm, exclusive of 1.25m. This is a menu driven device, with relatively few dials. It is very compact. Cost around $700. Good reviews in general.

Yaesu FT-840 - Older, fewer digital features. Lots of knobs to control things. Generally good reviews. Not in production, about 20 years old.



I'm not sure what I'll end up with, there are definitely some good choices among these. Hopefully I'll get it figured out soon, so I can get on the HF airwaves!

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