Potential First Ham Rig - guidance needed

VTHunter

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I've had my ham radio license for a few years now and have only used a couple of handhelds and repeaters. I never bought a full rig, because I don't know much about them and they can be big bank. Also, every time I ask people who 'know radios', I get conflicting feedback (no pun). One person will say it's a good rig and the next hates it and says it is a waste of money. This is the same on eHam.net . So, who to trust? NES, of course...

Recently, a local net swap featured a 'TenTec Paragon Model 585 Transceiver' for a couple hundred dollars. It is solid state with the full filter set. It seemed like a fair option to me.

So, to the NES braintrust, does anyone have familiarity with this unit? Thoughts?

Thank you. VTHunter
 
TenTec always made good stuff, that you can work on if necessary.. Consider if you can get the money back if/when you sell it and consider it an experiment to get your feet wet(ter) on HF.

Good luck!

For others, the ARRL DX SSB contest is on until Sunday, if you have an HF rig you can make some quick contacts on HF (Possibly some stuff on 10 meters mid-day today and sun)

You give 599 and state and only work DX (not other US) and the DX sends their power level K / KW / 100, for examples.
 
If your goal right now is to just be able to get on the air and your budget is low (but you intend to step up to something better in the future), then IMHO, I suggest that you first do more research on that model in terms of "reviews".

If the reviews look decent, then by all means give it an experimental go. Many, many hams regularly try out inexpensive (lower cost) gear, just to see how they work. Because of that, you'll see many decent (and surprised/impressed) ham write-ups on lower-cost models.

The above being said, it would still be good to have a goal of getting a good mid-level transceiver for HF and the same for a 144/440 rig.

For my first transceivers, I went with 2 kenwood TM-V71A (1 for the home station, and 1 for the truck). Its good to stick with same models to allow easier memory use if you have multiple stations you want to set-up. For my HF rig I went with the Icom 7300.

But for the wife's SUV, I went with a lower cost 144/440 set-up that had some pretty decent reviews.

Anyways, that's my 2 cents.
 
Ten Tec is good stuff but old technolage. This would be a good start for a first radio if the price is low and in your buget, however you will grow out of this radio. The best thing to do is get on the air if this fits what you can purchase then purchase the radio. This radio will never be an investment but most radios aren't. Contact me if you want to discuss this further.
N1HM
 
I have read favorable comments about the 7300. However, it is somewhat pricey - new at least.
check on QRZ.com...when you sign up, you can access the "for sale" section. Pretty much not a day goes by that I don't see an Icom 7300 for sale in the $850 region
 
Ten Tec well made and as good as any radio or better but it's old stuff. If I was looking to buy new I'd strongly consider the Yaesu ftdx 10, it's rank # 3 by Sherwood for performance. If your looking for a good used all around rig consider a Yaesu FT 847 it does far more than you probably will ever do and by the I have one sitting here waiting for a new owner because it's not my main rig.
 
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