New Radio!

[jackrabbit]

I got a Yaesu FT-950 from HRO in Atlanta.

Here's how it went....

Step 1:
Unbox the radio (was triple boxed)

Step 2:
Open Radio up and make a solder bridge (adds TX capability on non-amateur bands I.E. 11 meters!)

Step 3:
Turn Radio on and stare with a tear in my eye

Step 4:
Unplug radio due to freak lightning storm

Step 5:
Look through manual

Step 6:
Reconnect radio after storm

Step 7:
About midnight last night, I got to actually talk on the radio!

[jackrabbit]

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[silverstreak]

Nice looking Rig,how does it sound on AM?

[drdx]

Nice radio. I think that's one of the bigger bargains on hf rigs, after the entry level units. The 950 to me has everything the big ones do that are important and at a decent price. And, though I'm not a technician, I always put on my fake technician hat and modify my own hf rigs. There is just something of a warm feeling liberating a new ham rig into the real world, letting it release its superior performance into the best band around. In its original form, it is a chained updog with just a small cage to move around in, and the addition of a jumper or the simple removal of a diode sets it free. Then, it is a free to roam wolf, a "LOBO" on the prowl for nature's DX. Man, I'm kinda poetic for a Wedndesday.

-drdx

[jackrabbit]

as i just got it yesterday and havent had time to fully test everything...it seems to get good reports on AM. The sound quality of the speaker is superior. I am going to make an adaptor to run my echomax 2000 on it to give me a little echo and roger beep. The radio has a built in EQ and processor that i havent enabled yet. I will give a better review later on but so far it is absolute excellence. Which is not good new for my DX2517...

[drdx]

Well, the difference there is that the galaxy is a cap pistol compared to the finely crafted weapon-like qualities the 950 offers. It is all a matter of perspective. A cb on its intended band gets the job done. You CAN take a BB gun a kill something but if you absolutely positively need to make the kill, accept no substitute, and get an hf rig. Both have their strengths. HF rigs often do poorly on AM but shine on SSB. CB's are loud and ratty on AM as many prefer but don't offer near the features that even the most basic hf rig does. Both have their place. For the money spent on your 950 I can put together a nice kw+++ mobile for cb am but it is still just a cb, am being its strong area, on this one lonely band, waiting on upper end hf skip to happen, where the 950 can work the world from nothing to 30mhz or whatever (maybe they do vhf too, i forget) just not with the power.

Let us know how it does on AM to complete strangers. Friends close up will give you good reviews, strangers will shoot you straight. Tell them it is a kraco if they ask. No one wants everyone to know that someone actually spends that kinda money to talk on cb. I do but please keep it on the down low.


-drdx

[jackrabbit]

Well, the difference there is that the galaxy is a cap pistol compared to the finely crafted weapon-like qualities the 950 offers. It is all a matter of perspective. A cb on its intended band gets the job done. You CAN take a BB gun a kill something but if you absolutely positively need to make the kill, accept no substitute, and get an hf rig. Both have their strengths. HF rigs often do poorly on AM but shine on SSB. CB's are loud and ratty on AM as many prefer but don't offer near the features that even the most basic hf rig does. Both have their place. For the money spent on your 950 I can put together a nice kw+++ mobile for cb am but it is still just a cb, am being its strong area, on this one lonely band, waiting on upper end hf skip to happen, where the 950 can work the world from nothing to 30mhz or whatever (maybe they do vhf too, i forget) just not with the power.

Let us know how it does on AM to complete strangers. Friends close up will give you good reviews, strangers will shoot you straight. Tell them it is a kraco if they ask. No one wants everyone to know that someone actually spends that kinda money to talk on cb. I do but please keep it on the down low.


-drdx

the 950 has a 30kHz-56mHz range. I thoroughly understand the differences in a CB (or export radio) and a true HF rig. I previously owned a Yaesu FT-897D as well which had a 30kHz-440mHz range. Like you said they each have their ups and downs. I had just forgotten about the quality of a Yeasu product. I do have my license so this rig was not bought soley for 11 meter use ( i originally only did the mod so i could use it on 38lsb and 27.555usb but decided to let it take over). I dont really like telling people what it is, because they all assume i have more money than sense running that kind of radio on the CB band. Truth be told i had been trying to win the radio from gigaparts.com's sweepstakes for over a year. I ended up getting a small settlement from a class action suit that i was involved in. Which was just enough to buy the radio i had been drooling over!

[Sporty Mike]

Let us know how it does on AM to complete strangers. Friends close up will give you good reviews, strangers will shoot you straight. Tell them it is a kraco if they ask.


-drdx[/quote]
So true..........tell 'em it's a Kraco.....LOL...I love it.


Mike