New radio for my home base.
It's a Yeasu FT-2980 2-Meter mobile rig that I will be using for a base unit.
Even though I have several other radios I can use in this capacity, I chose this one after doing some research, and reading/watching reviews.
Main thing I needed was power at a reasonable price point. 80-Watts for a rig that is/was $149.95 on sale through HRO. I bought a 7-element Yagi (12+ dBi of gain) to go along with it, and the plan is to reach a repeater reliably that has some challenging terrain between us, like some Mountains that rise nearly another 5,000-ft in elevation. I have been able to get through on occasion, and reports are I can usually key the repeater, but my audio is scratchy, and more often then not I cannot receive any signal at all.
I also like the large display, which is easy to see across the room. Power is selectable between 5W, 10W, 30W, and 80W. Power consumption while in receive/squelched audio is well below 1-amp of current. The thing is a brick, most of the weight is in the huge heat sink. My only complaint so far, the detent clicks on the tuning dial are weak, and it's easy to bump it while programming it.
I got lucky on this one, as the label says "Made in Japan", and the other ones I've seen in reviews, along with my neighbors unit, all have labels with "Made in China". However, the Mic is Made in China. I try to avoid Chinese made things if I can.
It's a Yeasu FT-2980 2-Meter mobile rig that I will be using for a base unit.
Even though I have several other radios I can use in this capacity, I chose this one after doing some research, and reading/watching reviews.
Main thing I needed was power at a reasonable price point. 80-Watts for a rig that is/was $149.95 on sale through HRO. I bought a 7-element Yagi (12+ dBi of gain) to go along with it, and the plan is to reach a repeater reliably that has some challenging terrain between us, like some Mountains that rise nearly another 5,000-ft in elevation. I have been able to get through on occasion, and reports are I can usually key the repeater, but my audio is scratchy, and more often then not I cannot receive any signal at all.
I also like the large display, which is easy to see across the room. Power is selectable between 5W, 10W, 30W, and 80W. Power consumption while in receive/squelched audio is well below 1-amp of current. The thing is a brick, most of the weight is in the huge heat sink. My only complaint so far, the detent clicks on the tuning dial are weak, and it's easy to bump it while programming it.
I got lucky on this one, as the label says "Made in Japan", and the other ones I've seen in reviews, along with my neighbors unit, all have labels with "Made in China". However, the Mic is Made in China. I try to avoid Chinese made things if I can.
