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Best Deal at Dayton?

Posted: 01 May 2016 07:45 PM PDT
https://ke9v.net/2016/05/01/best-deal-at-dayton/


May brings with it warmer weather, longer days, shorter nights, and one
really big ham radio show in Dayton, Ohio.

Since 1952 Hamvention® has been sponsored by Dayton Amateur Radio
Association (DARA). For many years it was the world’s largest amateur radio
gathering, attracting hams from throughout the globe. As it happens, I live
within reasonable driving distance of Dayton and have missed only four
years since 1977 — and I’ll be there this year too.

You might say it’s the annual B12 injection that keeps me enthused about
our hobby for the rest of the year.

I suspect a good many of the 25,000+ visitors who attend this year intend
to lay eyes and hands on the new Icom IC-7300 HF transceiver, and many will
doubtless take one home. It’s a uniquely designed radio, the first to
employ anÂ*RF, direct sampling system in an entry level priced HF radio.

The ability to digitize RF before various receiver stages reduces the noise
generated in different IF stages of a radio. And Rob Sherwood, NC0B — a
noted receiver expert — has tested the new transceiver and found it worthy
to list alongside high-powered transceivers costing three or four times
more.

It’s certainly worth a look and sounds very interesting, but heres a little
tip.

While everyone is focused on the NEW radio, you might want to take a look
at the Kenwood TS-590SG. It’s a solid performer with an impressive pedigree
whose price has been falling recently.

Some of my friends who are serious contesters operating in
multi-transmitter environments have started replacing more expensive gear
with the 590SG based on their performance. One even said, “the SGÂ*models
have such a tight front end, we can get up to 3KCs away before it gets too
tough to work. Â*Were also running full 1500 watts out when we do that with
our antennas only a few hundred feet from each other. Â*If we do this
barefoot, you cant even hear the other rigs till your less than 1KC away.

I have no inside information on what kind of deals might be available on
the 590SG at the big show, but you can order one today for thirteen hundred
bones from just about anyone and that’s a tremendous value. If you’re in
the market for a mid-range HF transceiver and can pick one up at Dayton
for, lets say, twelve hundred — youd be nuts to pass on it.