I would ste3er clear of the 440's, not because they were bad but you can't 
easily find the speech boards for them any more, if memory serves.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gerry Leary" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, December 14, 2011 9:49 PM
Subject: Re: Best Beginner HF Transceiver


> One radio that isn't bad is the old Kenwood TS440sat.  It has direct
> frequency input, you can put a speech synthesizer in it and get Frequency
> and Mode, and a lot of the functions are directly accessible with out 
> menus.
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Steve" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Wednesday, December 14, 2011 11:49 AM
> Subject: Re: Best Beginner HF Transceiver
>
>
>> David,
>>
>> I haven't chimed in on this much yet.  Obviously, everybody wants to 
>> spend
>> as little as possible.  Your message below gives me some guidance.
>>
>> As others have said, the best rigs in terms of accessibility are Kenwood,
>> Icom, Eilcraft, and Yaesu pretty much in that order, although the older
>> Eilcraft did have an optional accessory to output readings in CW.  The
>> newer
>> Kenwood 480 and 590 speak everything; the Kenwood Ts-2000 speaks almost
>> everything except for actual power output and mike levels, although the
>> knob
>> you use to adjust them has detents that beep at the high and low end. 
>> For
>> example, on my rig, if I want about 60 watts drive for my linear amp, I 
>> go
>> to max and then turn the detented multichannel knob back about 8 clicks.
>>
>> The TS-2000 is your best option for an all-in-one rig; it runs all modes
>> on
>> 160 through 440, with the exception of the 220MHz band.  There are 
>> several
>> of us who can help with that rig.  It has a sub-receiver that runs 
>> VHF/UHF
>> FM so you can work HF and monitor your favorite repeater.  It has the
>> capability to work satellite.
>>
>> Icom also makes rigs that run Hf and VHF, but not as comprehensive.  The
>> higher end rigs from Kenwood and Icom, like the TS-590, only run up
>> through
>> six meters 54MHz.  Just about every new rig has built-in tuners, and
>> several
>> have built-in keyer.
>>
>> If you bought a lower-end rig, I think that sooner or later, you might
>> want
>> additional features like better filtering, noise reduction, and
>> selectivity.
>> You could save a few bucks if you bought something used that is in very
>> good
>> condition.
>>
>> Steve, K8SP
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "David thurmond" <[log in to unmask]>
>> To: <[log in to unmask]>
>> Sent: Wednesday, December 14, 2011 8:13 AM
>> Subject: Best Beginner HF Transceiver
>>
>>
>>> All,
>>>
>>> Thanks for your feedback regarding transceiver choices.  I should have
>>> given a few more specifics.  First off, I would prefer not to break
>>> the bank if possible.  If I try to spend $2000 on a new rig, my stuff
>>> might end up out on the front lawn, and I might need to get an
>>> attorney. :)  I would like to find a rig that might not necessarily be
>>> full of features in favor of one that is either accessible with speech
>>> or else is easy enough to operate without it for a totally blind ham.
>>>
>>> The Kenwood 480 is an awesome-sounding rig, but if I have to wait to
>>> save up to buy one, I might never get on the air.  At the same time, I
>>> would hate to cheap out and buy something that is so basic that I will
>>> be tired of using it after six months and end up buying something else
>>> anyway.
>>>
>>> I am very interested in CW, and of course in DXing as well, so I am
>>> primarily interested in the HF bands, but if I could get something
>>> with VHF capabilities also for a little more money, I am certainly not
>>> going to turn it down.
>>>
>>> Operating with low power would be perfectly fine with me, as I am
>>> probably going to end up using some sort of stealth antenna due to the
>>> small size of my property and the fact that I'm right in the middle of
>>> a busy suburb.  No need for a "big guns" sort of station with a
>>> 200-foot tower...I just want something modest with enough features to
>>> get me started without breaking the bank.
>>>
>>> The speech output options of the Kenwood and ICom rigs sound very
>>> attractive, as I don't want to run my rig exclusively through my
>>> laptop.  But since I have not even been on the air yet, perhaps this
>>> is not really as important as I think it is.  I certainly need to be
>>> sure I am not operating out-of-band, and I need to be able to know
>>> what kind of signal I am getting.  Beyond that, I really do not have
>>> the experience to know what is important for me to operate, and what
>>> is really just an awesome feature that would be nice to have, but not
>>> critical.
>>>
>>> Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
>>>
>>> David Thurmond, KK4ADV