Whats the best bang for your buck?

[Fry]

I'm looking for a best bang for the buck am/ssb radio for base use. Using a separate linear is not an issue but if I can get a powerhouse for the right price I'd do that as well. Any and all suggestions will be greatly appreicated.

[MDYoungblood]

Hi Fry,
I personally am leaning toward getting a RCI 2995DX from one of the sponsor's with all the bells and whistles. They have mods that I like.

Greg

[dirtyjob]

which sponsor im also interested in picking up that same rig

[hilltop 439]

For the best bang for your buck a RCI 2950 is the way to go. It's not much of a power house but they really sound clean over the air. One thing to think about is when you get into the high powered radios is they tend to get very hot with long ragchews and heat is a killer for the Mosfets that power them.
Think this way if your big high powered radio pops a final do to heat your out a radio till it gets fixed. But if you buy a lower power radio and feed a external amplifier the radio will run cool and last twice as long and you will not have to worry about excesive heat building up in your radio and cooking it. It's not a matter of if but when . At least if the amp blows you still have a radio or vise a versa. Beside you will get more power at an idol with an external amplifier than a big power house radio at full tilt not to mention the difference in audio quallity heard at the other end.

[MDYoungblood]

Hey dirtyjob,
Look at "RadioActive's" site, I like the 10 turn clarifier and some other mods they do. Plus if you are or going amateur you will have a 10 & 12 meter radio. Their radios aren't cheap tho and you get a discount for being a CBRT member. As far as the mosfets go, anything that you run full tilt all the time will not last, and that goes for just about everything these days.
73's

Greg

[Ohio_359]

High power radios are not the problem, "techs" trying to squeeze every last watt out of them are the problem.

[MDYoungblood]

Your right! Run it mild and not wild. Most repairs made on my equipment was because of age, not abuse.

Greg

[Fry]

I like the RCI 2950, would one of our sponsors modify this for 11 meter? Can I just assume it to be done or do I have to ask?

[King Mudduck]

I like the RCI 2950, would one of our sponsors modify this for 11 meter? Can I just assume it to be done or do I have to ask?

Easy mod for 11 meters.You cant beat a "NEW" 2950DX,2970DX or a 2995DX unless you buy a true ham rig like Icom or Yaesu. If you want to talk SSB then a well tuned RCI is the way to go!

But a little about radio setup...Just incase you dont already know.

Make sure you get a NEW RCI! The older RCI's can be hard to find parts for and are most of the time used up plus the newer RCI radios have the improved board design and are more stable on SSB and have a better receive. Setup for a SSB radio means tuned to be clean (no clipped mod limiter or swing kits or any of those BS mods),no spreading the little copper coils in the rear of the radios apart, Tuning the receiver to be sensitive but not to much,the bias must be set correctly,modulation should be kept at 100% and make sure that the radio is completely on Freq! Spend a little more on setup and you will be way more satisfied with your radio,trust me on this one!

Why do all of this?

The cleaner your radio sounds and as close to on frequency as possible means that more people on 27.385LSB and 27.555USB will talk to you. Set up correctly means that you will hear those far off stations and they in turn will hear you, so you can make that across the big pond contact. If your radio sounds like some one with a monkey wrench tuned it then very few people will want to talk to you,no matter how much power you run! SSB is not the same as AM,its about a clean sound more so that big power and swinging meters.


Not trying to be a know it all,just trying to help. 73's from 285 in South West VA!