"TOP TEN HAM RIGS"

I know that I've owned and operated more CB's that most (about 4 decades worth of rigs), but it wasn't until recently that I started writing down the various ham rigs that I've owned and operated.

Coming up with a TOP TEN list is hard to do, so I took the easy way out - my top ten list is in no order of preference - it's just a list of my 10 favorites Ham Rigs! Let's see what I came up with:

1. Yaesu FT-101 (101,B,E,EE,EX)


2. Heathkit HW-5400


3. Yaesu FT-890at


4. Kenwood TS-850at


5. Heathkit HW-9? QRP


6. Yaesu FT-817ND


7. ICOM IC-725


8. ICOM IC-751A


9. Yaesu FT-901DM


10. Yaesu FT-650

(with honorable mentions going to the Kenwood TS-711a, and Kenwood TS-480S)

I also realized there are some rigs, for one reason or the other, that I've never operated, like the Kenwood 520/530, 820/830 or any of the Drake line. I don't know why it never came to be - it just didn't. As you can see, I much prefer the older rigs vs. new, and this continues up to the present.




Sometimes the simplest, were the best (like the ICOM IC-725). That rig was built like a tank and could take a lot of rough handling. The one I had was "Butt Ugly", and I sold it twice and bought it back twice...the 3rd time, well let's just say that the new owner appreciated it's ugly charm as much as I did, and 725's tend to run in the mid $250 range (not a bad start for the newbie ham)

[ed.-The IC-725 is a solid-state, general coverage transceiver]

WOODY