<p dir="ltr">I find that my wife is highly motivated by SAVING MONEY. Sales are catnip for her. I suspect that the recent tariffs will cause dislocation and price uncertainty in the ham gear market. Getting something used or currently in stock in the US will help you keep ahead of the inevitable price increases. Tell your wife you need to move fast on these acquisitions so that you will be SAVING MONEY!</p>
<p dir="ltr">Best of luck <br>
Chris <br>
W2BPL<br>
</p>
<div data-smartmail="gmail_signature">Sent from my phone.</div><br><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Tue, May 13, 2025, 7:54\u202fPM Richard Heckbert via bars <<a href="mailto:bars@w1hh.org">bars@w1hh.org</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Hi all,<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Some of you may remember I posted a while ago that I was looking for a primary rig. Based on recommendations and budget I had settled on either an ICOM-7300 or a Yaesu FT-991A. I had heard a lot of great
things about both but I was leaning toward the Yaesu as it could do VHF (2m) as well. My Explorer QRZ-1 HT with a SignalStick antenna struggles to be heard a lot of times on the weekly net so I wanted something that might make those contacts a little less
frustrating.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">After asking around, especially on Reddit, I found most people used at least two rigs, one for HF and another for VHF (2m). The logic was with a shack-in-the-box you could only monitor one at a time, you
had a single point of failure and depending on model you had to deal with antenna issues when switching bands. There also was some talk the Yaesu\u2019s menus took some getting used to and all-in-one radios were a bit of a compromise but single use radios were
more suited for their intended function.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">So, I finally decided on a slightly used ICOM-7300. It belonged to a now SK who bought it just before he got sick and passed so it\u2019s in like new condition. It also came with a nice power supply and an antenna
tuner and I got it for a good price. Hopefully it will be here fairly soon.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Which leaves me with still needing the 2nd half of my shack. Something that at least does 2m. People have mentioned various radios like the Anytone AT-778UV as well as TYT TH-9800 (I know, back to the shack-in-a-box)
or a Yaesu FT-150 or 300. Something a bit more powerful than my 5w HT.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">What does everyone use for VHF and getting on the weekly net? Do most people have multiple rigs? Any recommendations for fairly inexpensive can\u2019t-miss rigs?<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Also, any suggestions for a quick antenna until I can put something more permanent, more larger, more taller, more longer, more expensive, etc. up? Indoors or attic would be ok for now.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Lastly, and this part is key! Any good arguments I can borrow to explain to my wife why I still need a radio even though I just bought one? I believe her exact words were \u201cThank goodness, now I don\u2019t have
to hear you talk about which radio to get anymore!\u201d Yeah, about that . . . <u></u>
<u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Thanks as always for the great advice I\u2019ve gotten here.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Rick<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">W1OLU<u></u><u></u></span></p>
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