Tom knows much of this, but some others may find it interesting.

The Scout covers 160 through 10 meters, ham bands only. The 555 is a 
50 watt output model, and the 556 is a 5 watt version. There is no 
internal antenna tuner or voice readout option.

You change bands by way of a separate plug in module for each band, 
with only one module in the radio at a time. The modules are about the 
size of some ink jet cartridges.

This band module approach meant that people could choose to buy only 
the band modules they planned to use, which is what most Scout owners 
did. So, if I knew I wasn't going to operate on 160 or 12 meters, I 
very likely would not buy those modules.

That, of course now means that since the radio and its modules are no 
longer in production, certain modules, such as 160 and 12 meters, are 
somewhat rare, and bring a good price for the seller. Finding a Scout 
with a complete set of modules all at the same time is almost unheard 
of. So, the more band modules you have with the Scout, the higher the 
resale value.

I have never operated a Scout, but have at least 3 friends who either 
own or have owned them. All 3 friends like them.

I have encountered more of them on CW than on SSB, but every one I 
ever heard sounded good.

Because of their 50 watt transmitter power level and relatively low 
receiver current drain, they make good rigs to use as a battery or 
solar powered HF station.

On a somewhat related subject, Scott mentioned the SCAF filter. SCAF 
stands for switched capacitance audio filter. That basically means 
that the audio bandwidth of the filter is changed by switching among a 
bank of capacitors. This approach works very well for a CW filter.


Mike Duke, K5XU
American Council of Blind Radio Amateurs

Mike Duke, K5XU
American Council of Blind Radio Amateurs