[Icom] 706 MkII or TS-50 for Mobile HF?

George, W5YR [email protected]
Fri, 24 Jan 2003 22:41:01 -0600


With any mobile rig, I have found that a key parameter is how easy it
is to operate the radio with a minimum of attention away from the
road. Lots of little button and stacks of clever menus are acceptable
in a fixed station setup, perhaps, but for mobile operation, they can
be deadly.

73/72, George
Amateur Radio W5YR -  the Yellow Rose of Texas
In the 57th year and it just keeps getting better!
Fairview, TX 30 mi NE of Dallas in Collin county EM13qe
K2 #489  IC-765 #2349 IC-756 PRO  #2121 IC-756 PRO2 #3235

----- Original Message -----
From: "John O. Newell" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, January 24, 2003 8:31 PM
Subject: Re: [Icom] 706 MkII or TS-50 for Mobile HF?


> > The IC-706 Mk II is discontinued
>
> Yup...part of the interest in the MkII/not G is what looks
> like a favorable balance among price, required bands, and
> performance.  I did read the ARRL reviews, and noted their
> text comments and quantitative results across the three
> flavors of the 706.  The G does seem to offer some further
> improvements...but the lab numbers don't always translate
> into real world differences!
>
> It would be revealing to hear from someone either that "I
> had the MkII and bought a G and couldn't believe the
> difference" or "I had a Mk II and traded it for a TS-50 and
> couldn't believe the difference" or something like that.
> Having read all the ARRL reviews and all (ugh! <g>) the eHam
> comments (well, some only got skimmed!), I don't think I'm
> going to hear any of that...probably just get confirmation
> that it's a close call on the air, that there are big
> differences in the control interface, and that the KW
> doesn't have the detachable faceplate!
>
> Someone prove me wrong? <ggg>
>
> 73
> John
> KB1FPM
>