My Top Base Station Ham Radio Choices in 2021
My Top Base Station Ham Radio Choices in 2021
In part 3 of our three part series, I am going over my picks for Ham radio base stations. There are a lot of choices ands a lot of accessories to consider. You can find the list I made in the links below.
——————-CONTENT SELECTION————————-
0:00 – Intro
3:40 – Preview of Kit.co List
4:54 – Yaesu 991A
8:38 – ICOM IC-7300
10:45 Yaesu FT-DX3000D
13:05 – Kenwood TS-590SG
14:15 – ICOM IC-7100
17:00 – Accessories Considerations
35:03 – Conclusion, Final Thoughts and Wrap up
My Kit.co Base Station list: https://bit.ly/32AZ9g2
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hr4nt/
Website: https://hamradiofornontechies.com
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My Current Shack Setup:
Yaesu FT-991A – https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-015268
Chameleon MPAS 2.0 Antenna – https://bit.ly/394f3TO
Diamond X-30A Antenna – https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-007913
Diamond GZV4000 Power Supply – https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-003067
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#hr4nt
#ki5npl
#hamradiofornontechies
Could you do a "BEST SHACK IN A BOX" video for 2021.
I want to update my FT-857D that I use as a base.
I was thinking Yeasu FT-991A but aparantly the front end in them blows up.
Also do you know if the 991A can be put on a computer screen, I.e my FT-857D has a panadapter output so I can control the radio via HDSR, Can I connect the 991A to the computer and have the screen on the radio on the PC
73 de 2E0LIG
So lot’s of pictures from the internet and no real hands on toys,there seems to be a theme developing with the US Ham YouTube community,you never get to see the real kit..lit up and operating and you going through all of these radios and their menus,setups,power requirements etc,
Can I ask why is this?
Or am I asking too much from those that actually own this wonderful kit.
I like your style You bring clear and concise information. I’ll pass the word around this channel. Subbing..
I bought a like-new FT-450D from the Derby Kansas Radio Shack (Yes! They DO Exist!) late last year. Great little HF and VHF (6m/50mhz IS VHF BTW) (www.hamradiocenter.biz) Great mobile rig or fixed station for all the HF frequency bands + VHF low band. It has a built-in antenna tuner as well. And, if you couple it with that "backpack" antenna, great for a quick setup and take-down activation.
I also have the FT-991A which I have been just completely blown away by. I bought it at the same location, and as soon as I saw it on the consignment shelf I was "in love." I used to have a Yaesu FT-207 (or was it a 107? 23 years ago) fixed station for HF only 160-10 so I have been looking for a good Yaesu All-Mode "Shack in a box" HF rig for a while. However, since I was "only" a Technician Plus, I didn’t really have the drive to spend a great deal of money.
Since my upgrade to General Class a couple weeks ago (June 2021) I was looking ahead by a few months (I got it in April or May) I figured it was time to get a "Big rig."
Great video, love the content, and I absolutely could NOT agree more with all the great things you have to say about the FT-991A.
Josh, KI6NAZ over at HamRadioConcepts, also has a lot of good stuff to say about the FT-991A which of course is one reason I didn’t let it sit on the counter more than 24 hours from when I saw it. Funny thing is, when it came in to the store, Mark – KBØMOF – the owner told himself "that’s a rig Zach won’t pass up." and he was RIGHT!
So, thanks for great video, keep up the great content.
My ONLY positive critique is that you should be referring to 6m/50mhz as VHF. It could be confusing to learning-level "PRE-HAMs" and new HAMs when listening.
Love my 991a since May 2019, Love my FTdx3000, Love my 590SG, the icom 7100 is a great radio, with no internal tuner, and I have this radio as well, easy to set up for Dig Modes, , currently considering the Icom 7610 or TS890 NICE Video, the 7300 is the VW beetle of HF Radios, cheers n 73
KD2QOJ Just found your station. Great content. Looking forward to you other videos.
Verry nice. I like it. Regards from Croatia.
As a new ham, I bought an IC7100. Not being sure what area I was going to want to focus on, I liked that I could try lots of things with it. Going forward I plan on getting a dedicated HF radio and still use the 7100 as my 2m/70cm/Dstar radio in my shack. It also will be a good candidate for a go box. At just over $800 I don’t think a beginner can find a better deal on a radio that you can have use for many years.
I’m actually perfectly content with my technician license. Besides in the near future in the fcc may actually add some 40 15 and 75 M privileges
Check it out scom FC10 PRO real 10 watts power both VHF and UHF
https://youtu.be/qPsQU–8lZE
Excellent information! Very excited to get my ow base station
You made a good choice with the LDG AT200ProII. Yes the 100Pro will handle 100 watts on SSB and CW but is only rated for 30 watts Digital, the 200ProII is rated for 100 watts Digital.
Niiiiice
Excellent video. No "used car salesman" approach that I see proliferate Youtube, hence you earn my subscription. Don’t change your principals. Anyway you mention building antennas. I’ve just got into that as well. KM4ACK has a pretty inexpensive EFHW kit as well as QRPguys. I’m impressed with the KM4ACK antenna and it was just a fun, pretty easy build. I haven’t put together the QRPguys yet. That will be next weeks project. 73 Sir. Keep up the great work!
Awesome content, thanks for making this video 👌🏽
i WANT TO LISTEN TO WORK NXDN transmissions….. best hardware. ..please advise
we Amateur radio operators refer to our home stations as our " fixed station " unlike citizen band ops. ( which I am also since 1965 ) refer to our home stations as our " base stations " de KQG-1291 / KA3FAD
Excellent presentation.
Very informative. I learned a thing or two. Thanks.
Can I have it in a different colour?
Always some great information. Thx
Ham radio for nontechies? Isn’t that someone with a cell phone?
Excellent video! Thank you, for sharing it with us!
I have a few comments I would like to add, if I may:
1 – One of the fundamental reasons for Amateur radio is to provide communication services during an emergency situation. And, in an emergency situation you may not have power to run a power supply. So, I recommend setting up a combination of power supply and battery. And, LiFePO4 batteries have come down in price so much that they would be a superior choice to lead-acid batteries. So, get a power supply that is capable of charging the battery type you choose. That way, you ALWAYS have power to get your station on the air when you need it! You can also get away with having a smaller power supply, as long as the battery you choose can provide the needed current while transmitting.
2 – Most rigs these days have built in SWR meters. So, an outboard SWR meter is not nearly as important. And, an antenna analyzer is a FAR superior choice when initially setting up an antenna in the field. I highly recommend an antenna analyzer that is capable of operating on your bands of choice.
3 – In keeping with number 1, above, I highly recommend you learn about antenna theory and design, so that you can make your own antennas. Get a copy of the ARRL Handbook, preferably in hard copy, but a PDF file will do, as long as you can operate the computer needed to view it. Antennas can be insanely expensive for what they are! Many of them are just wire, insulators, and, perhaps, a balun and a coax or balanced feed point connector. So, instead of spending your hard earned money on the antennas themselves, I would recommend you spend your money on good accessories for antennas, like support systems (push up poles, tripods, crank up masts, towers, insulators, feed point connectors, paracord, tent stakes, sling shot for getting antennas up into trees, etc.), spools of wire (14 gauge insulated stranded copper is an excellent all purpose choice), aluminum tube stock, hose clamps, fiberglass poles (both for support and to use as spreaders for wire antennas), coax, and 450 ohm ladder line.
4 – An antenna tuner in the shack is of limited value, unless you are using it to tune a balanced antenna fed with balanced feed line. Just because your rig is showing a low SWR does not mean you have an efficient antenna system ( a dummy load will present a 1:1 SWR to your rig, but it won’t make many contacts). Therefore, if you are going to be using an outboard antenna tuner for coax fed antennas, you are MUCH better off using a remote antenna tuner that is located near the feed point of the antenna than using one in the shack.
5 – Start simple, rather than throwing a lot of money at amateur radio before you even know what aspects of it are going to most appeal to you.
The bottom line is that amateur radio is a HOBBY and like all hobbies, learning about it and doing as much of it yourself as possible is what will bring you the most satisfaction.
73
AI4IJ
No love for the FTDX10
I’ve been a ham operator for 60 years and I have always called my station my ham shack, CB’s call there stations base stations. Have a nice day.
Concise and very useful information.
I was very fortunate to get my FT-991A. It was the last one they had in stock for months. Hell my order was in January, and I just now got everything on it, it took 5 months just to get ferrites. It sucks how many radios went out of production because of COVID and the fire. I really wanted a FTM-7250 to put a radio in an ammo can with an internal battery.
3000D also decodes CW, and comes with a contest pad, that you can pre load with the exchange for the contest. Love it. The roofing filters and CW and SSB filters are included.. Excellent radio. Have used it for 2 years..