[Rover] All-in-one radio versus seperate rdaios?

[Phil Lefever]

>This might have been hashed out in the past but I missed it so humor me,
>
>I am looking at getting my but in gear and finally getting my rover project
>moving forward but was deliberating over the radios to be used. Mainly
>should I go with something like the FT-100D for 3 bands in one radio or
>since the rigors of a rover/mobile setup can be harsh would it also make
>sense to go with a little older radios one per band and save the FT-100D for
>the safety of the house?
>
>I understand the FT-100D is a rugged radio, but one of my concerns is that
>if one of the three VHF bands die, I will have to send the whole radio in
>for repairs whereas a seperate radio per band would I only lose that band
>while reparing or replacement if needed.

With newer modern radios reliability is very good. Unless something
strange happens, or one of us humans gets things wrong I wouldn't
fear a failure. Even if failure happens remember this is only an
amateur radio contest, hot a life or death situation ;)

The advantage to a 100D or 706 is that you get the lowest price
per band. Also it is a compact and feature laden radio. They are
small and will fit well in ANY vehicle. If you are looking for
simplicity and bang for the buck look no farther.

As for separate transverters for each band. These will cost more,
figure at least $300 a band. They take up a lot more room, have lots
of external wiring and will still need a decent IF radio to drive
them (the 100D or 706 make great IF radios). The advantage is that
the transverter route is more flexible and will offer the highest
performance especially in regards to the receivers. If you use one
IF radio to drive all the transverters then you still have the
possibility of that radio failing and causing you to lose all.

If I wanted to make a decent rover station easily and cheaply I'd
buy a 706MkIIG and add a DEM 222 transverter to it. Now you are
ready for the lower 4 bands for right around $1000. You can add
additional bands with more transverters as the mood strikes you!

73

Phil





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