FT-897 or 746 Pro

[K3YNH]

I am planing on buying a new HF rig and I am having troubel making up my mind beteween a 897 or a 746 Pro. #I am an SSB operator for the most part and have troubles tuning out the qrm and qrn with my FT-890. #Witch rig in your opinion is better the 897 or the 746 Pro ?

[n9vo]

Different class of radios. 897 is electrically about the same as the 857 and is a fine rig but dont believe it is on the same level as a 746Pro. Priced a lot different also. 897's are less than 1000 and the pro is about 1550. Hard to compare. If money is the issue and you want portability the 897 is great. Too many differences between the too. I'll keep my 746 pro!

[N8CWR]

Me too!!!

[K3UD]

I have a 746PRO as well as an FT-100D. The FT-857 is very similiar to the 100D. If I had to give up one of my radios, it would be a tough choice to make as both radios do different things well.

In the 746PRO's favor is DSP defined filtering at the IF and the Autotuner that is built in. The noise reduction and notch DSP filtering is also very good. The dual bandpass tuning is top notch.

On the other hand, My FT100D is smaller and much better suited for mobile or portable operation. The audio DSP filtering (no IF dsp) is about the best audio filtering I have used, especially on CW. If you are a CW op you should get the CW IF crystal filter. IMHO an FT-100 (or 857) does a great job on CW when you use both filters, and I like it better for CW than I do the 746PRO.

The 746PRO gives you the choice of three antenna selection. You can have one for your Wire antenna or vertical and one for your tribander or 6 meter antenna. The third one is dedicated to the two meter antenna. The 100D (or 857) has two, one for 160 - 6 meters and one dedicated to 2 meters or 70cm.

Both radios are largely menue driven with the 100D or 857 having a lot more menus to tweak than the 746PRO.

Overall I think that the 746PRO has a better receiver for most operations. The 100D (857) has a better noise blanker for mobile operation.

I don't think tha you could go wrong with either of them. If I had to chose, I can honestly say that it would take a lot of time to make the choice, which says a lot about both radios.

Spin the wheel and see where it lands http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

73
George
K3UD

[kj3n]

Sorry, I'll take a 746Pro over an 897D any day of the week.

Of course, I already own a 746Pro. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[w4fid]

I got a 746RO last fall. I love it. It replaced a KWM-2A which is a high standard; but it's clearly a better rig and I'm glad I changed. During he last 45 years I have owned several xcvrs by TenTec, Heath, Drake, Hallicrafters, other Icom, and the Collins. The 746 is clearly the best I ever owned. Using a poor antenna it does nicely on SSB (over 30 countries without trying) and on CW it sings. The built in keyer is slick and has all kinds of adjustments to taylor it to your use/fist/preferences.

However, it's not small or light or particularily efficient power use wise -- not a good choice for portable/mobile. Would be great in a motor home -- but not back pack, camping, or in a family car/SUV. I wouldn't power it back and use a gelcel as it uses a lot of watts just to run the display, DSP, CPU, tuner, etc.

So they are not really comparable. Size, price, and basic targeted design facets are different. For mobile/portable I love my IC 706Mk II and will be keeping it a long ime. I know a few who wish they had a 706 instead of the 857D or 897 they have. From home I will be keeping my 746 for a LONG time.

John W4FID

[KI6HNB]

For me I think its going to be the 897D. It will be my only rig for a while and I want something that I can put in the Jeep to work 2m/70cm on the way to work then take out when I get home and do whatever else I want. I was thinking about the IC7000 but there are still to many people complaining about it letting the smoke out for me to plop down $1300 on it. Maybe if they release a 7000Pro with d star and better audio.

[W5IAV]

I own two (2) FT-857Ds. One is mobile and the other is in the house as a backup rig for the shack. I use currently for Digital Winlink, but a couple of months ago I had to take down my Kenwood TS-2000X for repair and the FT-857D worked fine... I use a 350ft Horizontal loop on 3 to 15 Mhz and a SteppIR beam at 40ft for 15 to 54 Mhz. I live in a restricted area so I have to keep my antennae small and stealthy. Most people on my regular nets did not know I was using another rig. For its Price.. about $600 and its size and performance, I think it is a great buy. If you use one of the Software Programs to run it, then the menues are not an issue. The 746 is in a different class... Best to compare it with the 7000. The 7000 has pretty color menues, that you can watch while you are racing down the road at 70 MPH. It is best to have your rig set up for your purpose before going on the road high speed. My TS-2000X has a better receiver and filters, but you can buy 4 of the FT-857Ds for the price of a TS-2000X.

In the mobile it is an excellent rig also... I have talked all over the world from mobile with a tarheel 160 to 10 meter screwdriver antenna with an autotuner for the antenna. Can't be beat... and what conveniencne while rolling.

If you use the Yaesu MD-100 desk dynamic microphone, it sounds like a base station should.

I have had mine for 2 years with no problems.

73's Lee W5IAV...