Hello to all.
I am curious how users of the Icom IC746 Pro manage the PL tones. That is
the one thing that I haven't been able to handle with the IC706 MkII
G. Hence, my '706 gets used on HF, but not VHF/UHF where PL is required in
my area. Sort of defeats the purpose of buying the radio.
For Kevin, I'm curious about your comments on the TS2000 vs. the
TS480S. What weaknesses did you see in the TS2000S receiver? Although I
wasn't crazy about the idea of the separate control head for the TS480S
because the last thing I want in the station is another cable, that is
something I would overlook in the interest of getting a good performing
radio, but at the same time I view the interconnecting cable as something
else to go bad after a little while, like microphone connectors, headphone
cables, etc.
The only reason I have kept my sights on the TS2000S is the 2 meter and 70
cm coverage, and the near impossibility of purchasing good all mode VHF/UHF
radios anymore. Have you looked for them lately? The Icom IC910H is about
the only thing out there, and at a price where you could pretty much buy a
Kenwood TS2000S. If I could still buy radios like the Kenwood TR751A, or
the TS711 and TS811 at a reasonable price, then I would probably follow the
old adage of keeping my HF radios on HF only, and my VHF stuff on VHF
only. Generally, in my experience, the "one size fits all" radios usually
compromize the receiver performance big time, and it is usually in the
intermod department on 2 meters and 70 cm. I am curious to see if this is
what Kevin found on the '2000. It is certainly true with my Icom IC706
MkII G. The '706 is nearly unusable on 160 meters because of broadcast
intermod, and it suffers greatly from intermode on 2 meters as well. Bear
in mind that I live inside the city of Rochester, NY, so someone who lived
25 or 30 miles out would probably have much different results. But I find
that the Kenwood TS690S, which is not a DC to daylight radio, does not show
any of the intermod problems on 160 meters [A plug for your radio, Butch!].
My last question is for Anthony. I was curious about your comments about
Icom vs. Kenwood, because I have had the opposite experience unless you get
up into Icom's more expensive radios. While my Icom IC735 was a first rate
radio, I have been quite disappointed with the '706, and I honestly have
not found the Icom IC271H or the IC471H to be anywhere near as good in the
receiver performance end of things as my Kenwood TR751A or the Kenwood
TS780, or the Kenwood TS790A. Guess you can tell that I've owned a bunch
of these radios over the last 25 years. Anyway, I am of the belief that it
is usually the receiver that makes the radio. Almost anyone can build a
decent transmitter section, but it is the receiver that separates the men
from the boys or the ladies from the girls.
When I look at a radio, I am looking at three things primarily--is the
sensitivity such that the signal to noise ratio of weak signals is better
than on most other radios, are there signals there that don't belong there
(either from intermod or images), and is the selectivity reasonable (or are
there optional filters to make the selectivity reasonable)? If I can get a
receiver to meet those three criteria, I am usually pretty happy with the
radio. By the way, in my opinion, the '706 comes up short on two out of
the three--sensitivity and intermod.
That ought to give you folks something to chew on. I'll be curious to hear
your thoughts, especially from Kevin and Anthony who sound like they have
had the opportunity to experience and compare some of these radios.
73, de Lou K2LKK
Louis Kim Kline
A.R.S. K2LKK
Home e-mail: [log in to unmask]
Work e-mail: [log in to unmask]
Work Telephone: (585) 697-5753
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