Beginner Base Station

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Any recommendations for a beginner HAM base station? Considering at the Yaesu FT-450D. Price point is good, willing to spend a bit more though. Thanks for the advise!
 
Icom 7300 seems to be the standard these days, beginner on up, at a good price. that with a decent dipole you’d be cruising. personally I have a Yaesu FTDX 3000, another solid radio but a bit more money.
 
I believe the Yaesu 450 is a decent performer but per MCB, you might consider stepping up a bit to include something with a waterfall spectrum display. For me anyway, it really helps to show what’s happening across the bands and keeps me from straying outside of my General privledges into Extra territory. YouTube up some videos of the rigs you’re interested in.
 
Icom 7300 seems to be the standard these days, beginner on up, at a good price. that with a decent dipole you’d be cruising. personally I have a Yaesu FTDX 3000, another solid radio but a bit more money.

Yea I'm thinking the ICOM 7300 now. Not much more than the FT-450D and reviews are almost all positive. Thanks!
 
Our house has a metal roof. Would a vertical VHF/UHF base antenna on a magnetic mount be feasible?
 
Our house has a metal roof. Would a vertical VHF/UHF base antenna on a magnetic mount be feasible?

Most mag-base antennas won’t offer the same performance as a purpose-built base antenna, and unless you have a flat spot on your roof, the antenna will not be in the orientation it was intended for (vertical).

That being said, there’s no reason it wouldn’t work. It just might not work well, or as well as other options.

ETA: that’s assuming, too, that your roof is magnetic.
 
The 450D is $3-500 less than the 7300. If the OP thinks the 450D is a good price point, I doubt he’s in the market for a 7300.
 
After rebate the 7300 is currently only a $200 difference between the 450D.

Well damn - I didn’t know there was a rebate out there. My apologies.

My wife surprised me with a Yaesu FT-991A, but I was looking at that and the Icom 7300. Now I’m just waiting for a couple of antennas that should be here Saturday and then I will what happens.
 
I am using this...only I don't really go on it much. I mostly listen.

 
Well damn - I didn’t know there was a rebate out there. My apologies.

My wife surprised me with a Yaesu FT-991A, but I was looking at that and the Icom 7300. Now I’m just waiting for a couple of antennas that should be here Saturday and then I will what happens.

I have been really torn on the 991A... All my other gear is Icom, but I really want a shack in a box that I can unplug and throw in the RV for camping trips (vs having multiple radio clutter in our small travel trailer). Ive played with both the 7300 and the 991A at HRO, but some real world feedback from a NES member is always appreciated. Enjoy!
 
I have been really torn on the 991A... All my other gear is Icom, but I really want a shack in a box that I can unplug and throw in the RV for camping trips (vs having multiple radio clutter in our small travel trailer). Ive played with both the 7300 and the 991A at HRO, but some real world feedback from a NES member is always appreciated. Enjoy!

My antennas should be here this weekend, so I’ll do what I can on Saturday, and if I can catch a few breaks in the weather on Sunday, I’ll do some more. I’m a novice as well, so I don’t know that what I share will be helpful, but I’ll do my best! I’d love to play with a 7300 at some point too.
 
Well damn - I didn’t know there was a rebate out there. My apologies.

My wife surprised me with a Yaesu FT-991A, but I was looking at that and the Icom 7300. Now I’m just waiting for a couple of antennas that should be here Saturday and then I will what happens.
That's a good wife and she knows that may be the better of the two. Let me make one suggestion with a rig like that, get some dummy loads for the outputs that you won't use.
 
Check out the Dave Casler reference station videos on YouTube. Lot of good info there for setting up a beginner station.
 
Last Spring I was in the market to upgrade my station. I was torn between the Icom IC-7300 and the Kenwood TS-590SG. I went with the 590 but it was really a flip of the coin. One of the main reasons I went with the 590 is because most of my HF transceivers over the years have been Kenwoods and all the auxiliary gear I had worked with them (I still own and operate three TS-850s). It was basically plug and play when I brought the 590 home. That being said, the 7300 is no slouch either for the money.
 
Last Spring I was in the market to upgrade my station. I was torn between the Icom IC-7300 and the Kenwood TS-590SG. I went with the 590 but it was really a flip of the coin. One of the main reasons I went with the 590 is because most of my HF transceivers over the years have been Kenwoods and all the auxiliary gear I had worked with them (I still own and operate three TS-850s). It was basically plug and play when I brought the 590 home. That being said, the 7300 is no slouch either for the money.
They are nice rigs, myself I'd lean towards the Yeasu FT 991A if I already didn't have enough coverage.
 
Dupe thread

Obiden's swamp that put him in place will be banning this topic, for non off-shore use, so why waste your time and money?

 
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I have been really torn on the 991A... All my other gear is Icom, but I really want a shack in a box that I can unplug and throw in the RV for camping trips (vs having multiple radio clutter in our small travel trailer). Ive played with both the 7300 and the 991A at HRO, but some real world feedback from a NES member is always appreciated. Enjoy!
Belatedly, a few very abstract points made with no consideration for the specific radios involved:
  • Radios packaged up in grab'n'go boxes are a very attractive way to minimize clutter.
  • Operating operators who expect to do intense contesting (or DXing) on HF want radios with the most physical knobs (and nowadays biggest screens?) possible - they can't compete using radios whose steady-state operation (not mere setup) require incessant scrolling through menus. If you're just expecting to dink around, that not an issue. But if you're going for protracted, sophisticated operation, be sure that selecting a radio that fits in a box does not constrain your capabilities.
  • A radio whose design allows a good operating interface to a laptop may obviate some of the above concerns. Not piggybacking on a PC for digital modes, but tuning, logging, and whatnot. Beware that a fancy looking PC interface is still not a perfect substitute for real knobs and buttons under the most intense conditions.
Some of the above may be obsolete thinking.

Obiden's swamp that put him in place will be banning this topic, for non off-shore use, so why waste your time and money?

[rolleyes]
 
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