Which Rigs Should I recommend For The New Hams

[A71AN]

All of the new Hams we are training at this period are preparing to built their home radio stations, that why many of them asking what manufacturer to go for, Icom, Kenwood or Yaeso.

I really need every one experiences with these manufacturer and what would be the best to go for, for the new comers.

I started with the Kenwood TS-850S which is still one of my operating rigs since 1993; I have made more than 50,000 qso’s with it and still in perfect condition, never had any problem, touch wood.

The other rig I am pushing it to the maximum these days the IC-746Pro, last 4 months, around 6000 qso.

May be also there are other manufacturer which are not familiar here and you people have a better ideas about them which I like to know about them also.

Thank you all and 73

[ne3r]

Most folks are impatient and want a rig right away. I often suggest using a few before they buy. I have lent out my FT-857D a few times but then it came back broken one (it is on eBay for parts right now).

If someone has to have a rig right away but they don't know what they want to do, I tell them to get the Kenwood TS-2000. It isn't the best HF rig, or VHF/UHF rig, but it is good all around. It has a TNC for packet/APRS if one is interested in that, satellites, IF DSP, cross band repeat, even an antenna tuner (not a very good one though).

73 de Joseph Durnal NE3R

[N8GAV]

Well Rasheed it depends on a lot of things,what mode are they going to use,and how much money they want to spend. Buy a new rig or an used one? For an new basic no thirlls there is Icom 718, nothing fancy but a good rig at around $500 US Your Kenwoods and Yaesu rigs are good also that agian depends on what you want in a rig.The used rigs out there if they understand how to Dip The Plate with the older tube final radios then there is Kenwoods TS 520-530 820-830 or Yaesu FT 101-101ZD 902 and so on and your 850 is a good starter rig also. There is so much more out there I think it is up to what the person is confortable with.

[k3wrv]

Rashed-

You have asked a question that would be difficult to answer even in this country, but in Quatar, things may be more different than I can imagine. I generally tell new ops to start out with something cheap and learn how to use it and then move up.

The rigs others have mentioned (the "usual suspects", the TS 520/820/30 series are good bets. The IC-718 is another as are the 857/897 rigs). But I'm a big fan of TenTec rigs, so take a look at them too - very well made and you can do many repairs your self.

Newbies need rigs that are easy to use, but I suspect fairly robust. I suspect that wqhenever a Quatar station goes on the air, you get an instant pileup, which might make life hard on the new ones.

de Bob

[K0HWY]

There are a lot of variable to consider when recommending a first rig to a new ham. A couple of things that come to mind immediately are the ability of the operator and the modes the op will be using most.

The ability of new hams, as you probably already know, is quite varied. Sure, over time and with practice, most operators advance and want more from a rig. But initially, you may have some who could jump on the most advanced piece of equipment on the market with little or no trouble while another might have difficulty operating a transistorized AM radio.

I'm not familiar with many of the newer entry level rigs but there are some good older ones out there. I suppose the most reasonable new entry level transceiver might be the Icom IC-718. It has some limitations but it performs surprisingly well and best of all, it's simple to operate. I have one and absolutely love it. I've operated with better rigs but the 718 is a good one for the money and it is very basic.