Your shack photo.

[gil]

Hello,

Time to show off your installation  8)



I know, i need a new desk! But it has followed me through many moves and I am weirdly attached to it.  Visible on the right is my Elecraft K2 on top of my Icom IC-271A all mode 2m rig. I have never transmitted on the Icom, but I listen to local traffic. On the desk, right side, is my Ham-Key paddle. The Mac mini is running Fldigi.  On top of the K2 is an MFJ-921 VHF tuner. The weird tube thing visible between the radios and the lamp is a Slim Jim 2m antenna I made out of soldered copper tubing. Fountain pen aficionados will appreciate the Mont Blanc pen. The K2 power supply is a small Astron. You can all see that I do have an FCC license, taped to the blinds! Below the license, a list of local repeaters..

My antenna is a PAR end-fed dipole 40/20/10, which goes from ground level up to a tree branch 40ft. up. The K2 ATU tunes it on 80 and 30m, but I get RF back in my room...

Gil.

[raybiker73]

Here's my put-together-from-used-stuff shack. The desk is a $49.99 El Cheapo model from Big Lots. I built the hutch and shelves with some leftovers a friend was throwing out after a shelving project. The only things purchased as new were the MacBook Pro in 2009, the iPad in 2011 and the Jetstream power supply a few months ago. The papers are copies I made of an old Postal Telegraph form which I use to copy CW, although I just use a cheap Tottemo Kantankun pencil from the Japanese gift shop, no Montblanc Meisterstuck here :-). Other than wanting to add a portable QRP/CW rig, and maybe someday an all-band portable like an FT-817ND, I have everything I need for everything I want to do. My 2-meter antenna is a bargain-basement model from Jetstream that works really well, and my HF antenna is a 102' dipole designed like the "W5GI Mystery Antenna."

MacBook Pro running MacLogger DX
iPad running WaveGuide
Power Supply: Jetstream JTPS30M
HF Rig: Icom IC-7200 (factory refurb from HamStation)
Auto Tuner: LDG IT-100 (used, from QRZ sale forum)
Manual Tuner: MFJ-949E (used, from eHam ads needed coils re-soldered, and a new light jack)
VHF Rig: Kenwood TM-241A (eBay special, just needed cleaned up)
QRP Rig: Heathkit HW-8 (eBay, needed cleaned and aligned, and a new power cord made)
QRP DSP unit: Radio Shack DSP-40 (eBay, had to make a new power adapter)
Code practice oscillator: Heathkit HD-16 (eBay, had to replace batt. connector and both pots)
Straight Key: J-38 (eBay, made by Lionel, which is cool because I also do model trains)
Bug: Vibroplex Original (eBay, needed to be "reconstructed" and cleaned)
Mic: Astatic D-104 (eBay, new cable and connector, new element from W2ENY)
Headphones: WWII-era Utah headphones (eBay, still working on these)
HT: Yaesu VX-7R (used, factory refurb/repack)
SWL Radio: Grundig Satellit 750 (factory refurb)

[Gambrinus]

I haven't seen a D-104 in over 30 years

[RadioRay]

That 7200 is an excellent rig!  It's what I had installed on the sailboat and YES I know about 'type acceptance' for radios & would NEVER voilate these really important rules from 1928...  but it worked very very well... We needed money when we moved ashore (some things never change...) so I sold it.  :'(  I think that I bought a toaster, or a poodle grooming kit.  Nothing quite as useful and cool as an HF transceiver - that's for sure...   ( ha ha )


>RadioRay ..._ ._

[raybiker73]

I absolutely love my IC-7200. I agonized for a long time over what rig to start with - I think I read every review, studied every spec chart and downloaded every user manual for every HF rig on the market. What finally tipped the scale for me was a combination of price and features. It doesn't have 2m/440 like a couple of the Yaesu radios, but it does have 6M, and the internal filtering was a big selling point as well. Add to that that it actually has a USB port on it so that I don't have to mess around with some kind of connection device, and it was the clear winner.

[gil]

Hello Ray,

Did you compare the 7200 to the FT-897D? If so, what made the difference?

Gil.

[raybiker73]

Well, the price was about the same, and the Yaesu has 2m/440, but in the end it would have ended up costing a lot more. The biggest thing with the Icom 7200 is the built-in filtering. A friend who's been helping me out as sort of an Elmer is very much into CW, and he knew I was interested as well. He pointed out that while the IC-7200 has really great filtering built right into it, the 897D uses separate Collins SSB and CW filters that cost about $175 each. Also, the 7200 has a USB port built right into it. All I had to do was plug in a cable and download a Mac driver, and it was ready to go. With the 897D, I'd have to have an external device like a SignaLink USB or a Rigblaster or some other kind of serial-to-USB converter, which would have added another $100 or so to the bill. So although it doesn't have 2m/440, the feature set of the Icom really surpassed the feature set of the 897 for me, especially for the price.

EDIT: I just checked the Universal Radio website, and the Collins filters for the 897D (500Hz CW and 2.3kHz SSB) are $189.95 each.

[RadioRay]

The 7200 out of the box have all the filtering that I would ever need and I am picky...  The DSP is in the intermediate frequency, so it's very effeective.  The ability to vary the received bandwidth from 8,00 donwn to 50 Hz is significant.  It had the best sounding general coverage recevier I've listened to,including the legendary Grundig 800 Satellit.   The audio on shortwave broadcast was superb.

The USB direct connection (no interface unit required) is absolutely the best way to go for digital.

I specialize in CW, which is why Went with the Elecraft rig, but the 7200 is what I recommend to someone looking for an HF rig in general. The problem that I found with do-all rigs is thatunless you're spending a LOT of money, the prefomance is generally a little bit lacking.  Not a lot, mind you.  I loved my old 857 and 706, but when I'd listen on VHF using the 756 right next to them - I'd literally have easy copy of VHF repeated which were just barely discernable on the 857 and 706 on the same antenna. 

Yup - and the 7200 is built almost mil-spec tough.  Very very well made, milled chasis and etc.  You could probably fight your way out of a bar with it. 


>de RadioRay ..._ ._

[raybiker73]

Very true on the toughness. I think I could drive nails with this rig. And you're also right about the general coverage receiver. I have a Grundig Satellit 750 (not quite as good as the 800, but a fine rig), and it has been relegated to being mostly a shelf decoration now. The 7200 is my go-to unit for everything.

[RadioRay]

Good - I had a TS-590s for a while and while for communcations work it was really superb, the shortwave listening always sounded harsh - I really cannot describe it well , but the 7200 has fine audio, which is amazing for a stock speaker in a communciations receiver. The T/R switching is fast enough for PACTOR III.

>>>  One point that I want to make though - I absolutely understand the desire for one rig to cover HF, VHF,UHF in the prepper's box.  I understand it.  The reason that I don't do that in addition to the thoughts above, is that I ///back when I did VHF// often had the VHF ON for local comms while I was working the HF set at the same time. I could not do that with a single HF/VHF/UHF radio.  OTOH - it does put all that capability in one small package.


Enough of this radio lust session!  ha ha ha I have to get some sleep.  Noon comes awfully early.


73 de RadioRay ..._ ._
W7ASA

[gil]

Does the 7200 have a built-in keyer?

Gil.

[raybiker73]

Yes, there is a keyer built in, but I can't really comment on it because I haven't used it at all. One of the first things I did was to turn off the internal keyer so that I could use my straight key, and I don't have a set of paddles to test it with. I ordered a Porta-Paddle kit to go with my Rock-Mite, so when I get them I might plug them into the 7200 to try out the internal keyer. Also, you can turn the break-in OFF through the menu, and use the rig for practicing code without transmitting anything. I don't know if the Yaesu has that feature or not.