[1000mp] possible 1000MP upgrade

[Jerry Spring]

Funny you should mention this as I am experiencing
some problems with my MP.  I bought it 2 years ago
from the original owner, who took excellent care of
it.  I never did the roofing filter mod as I like to
do AM broadcast band SWLing every now and then.  About
a year ago it developed the famous cold solder joint
in the VCO PLL board.  I tried the standard fixes with
the soldering iron and ended up buying a replacement
board for $250 from Yaesu.  It worked fine until last
weekend in the NAQP SSB contest.  While in
mid-transmission on 40m the output goes to zero.  I
get zero on CW too, but all other bands work fine.  In
fact, switching between bands or turning the radio off
and on sometimes gets it to work on 40m for a few
minutes and then it has zero output.  There is still
ALC voltage and the second receiver S-meter registers
a signal when transmitting SSB, but there is no output
(on my external Bird and on VFO-A S-meter).  I tried
transmitting on VFO-B with same results.  The last
couple of nights I have had no problems transmitting
on 40m, but I know the problem will show up again,
when I least want it.  SO... I've been thinking about
upgrading to something else too.  And since I don't
have an amp (not for city use around here), I was
thinking I should get something that can deliver up to
200W.  This will cover all of the Low Power contests I
ever hope to do.  If I stick with Yaesu, then I should
probably consider a used MK V 200W, or perhaps
upgrading to the FT-2000D for big money.  The reviews
on eHam.net of the FT-2000 are all over the place -
from better than the Icom pro III to worse than a
piece of junk.  Many of the reviews seem like they
were well thought out and not just a reaction from
some dummy.  Our local club bought two FT-2000s, so I
guess I should go and try them out.  I can see that
this is not an easy decision as no one knows how long
to expect the new rigs to last.  Of course, I have no
idea how long I will last, either!  There is always
something nice about a new rig, but I don't want one
if it doesn't improve on what I already got.  Thanks.

Jerry
VE6CNU


--- Alex Malyava <alex.k2bb at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi all,
> 
> slow time at work made me think about possible
> upgrade of my '96 1000MP to
> some newer model like Mark V Field or even 200W Mark
> V.
> 
> Checking EBay listings I found that each step gonna
> cost several hundred
> bucks. Roughly saying they are sold for about
> $1100...$1300...$1600 -
> depends on model, condition and moon phase.
> 
> I remember an article in QST regarding new, at that
> time, 756 Pro III. The
> very first sentence was:
> . . ."Is the IC-756PROIII really $800 better than
> the PROII?"
> 
> It is kinda funny to ask that question when Yaesu
> stopped the manufacturing
> of "Marks" two years ago and use the word "new" in
> it, but anyway - what's
> new or different for me in "Marks" an whether it
> makes any sense to upgrade?
> 
> So far I know that the Field has 100W instead of
> 200W and internal power
> supply.
> 
> Well, what's new in Mark V itself?
> I know that it has VRF and IDBT, but I have no idea
> how it works in reality
> and whether it makes 1000MP any better.
> I hope that it has newer and better DSP, but who
> knows :)
> 
> The fact that I am upgrading 10+ years old radio
> with something "just" a few
> years old might be worse paying for.
> 
> O, by the way, what about those new FT-2000 or even
> FT-950?
> 
> 
> Alex K2BB
>
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