[CW] Radio Recommendations Requested

[Ken Brown]

Hi all,

I am kicking around the idea of buying a new radio. Last time we (me and 
K6FK) took a trip to the mainland, I brought a dual band 2M/70cM FM rig 
along. I was of great utility on the road. It occurs to me that a lot of 
the recent do it all JA produced rigs are not much bigger than the 
VHF/UHF rig I used last time AND they also have HF capability. Next time 
we take a trip to the mainland it would be nice to have MF/HF/VHF/UHF 
capability. Perhaps I'll attempt an HF mag mount antenna, or perhaps 
I'll only operate HF when stationary, using a wire in a tree and a tuner.

I would like to hear some of your impressions of the performance and 
ease of operation of some of the current small rigs. At home on HF CW I 
use a Ten-Tec Omni VI. I really like the QSK and the receiver 
performance of the Omni VI. I also like ease of getting to the pertinent 
controls on the full sized radio. I realize in a miniature rig there are 
going to be some things that are not going to be quite as nice as with 
the full sized rig, yet I want to know from your impressions what the 
pro and cons are for  the various rigs available.

Here are my requirements:

I want to have MF/HF/VHF/UHF all in one box, so that I can use repeaters 
while on the road, and while camped  make so CW QSOs. (there will be a 
microphone for the FM operation anyway, so I might even use HF SSB too)

I want QSOs to be easy to make. I want 100 watts on HF. I don't want to 
settle for 10 watts.

I want at least some semblance of QSK capability. I don't expect it to 
be as good as my Omni VI.

I don't want to have to carry a separate keyer, so there needs to be a 
built-in keyer.

I want some narrow filter options.

The Icom IC-7000 looks like a real nice rig. I understand that it does 
not have any optional filter slots, relying solely on IF DSP filtering. 
I wonder if I would be satisfied with that. Can anyone comment on using 
the IC-7000 to pull a weak signal from a band with a bunch of strong 
signals all inside the wide roofing filter of the IC-7000?

The Yaesu FT-857D does not have as pretty a face as the IC-7000, though 
it does have space for an optional narrow filter. There are 2.3kHz, 500 
Hz and 300 Hz filters available. I guess you have to choose only one, 
'cause there's only space for one.

The Yaesu FT-897D seems to have pretty much the same capabilities as the 
857, with the additional capability of having an internal battery or 
power supply. It is a bit larger than the 857, I guess. I wonder if the 
controls are easier to use than on the 857.

The Icom IC-706 has been around for a while. Is is still a current product?

I'd like to hear from any of you who have these rigs, regarding their CW 
functionality. Are the controls convenient for CW? Or are the controls 
needed for CW operation hidden deep in multi-level menus? Are there some 
other rigs that I should be considering?

Thanks in advance for your comments.

Ken N6KB