Best small rig under $1000 for CW and 100 watts?

Just wanted to do a follow up post. So far the Jupiter is very enjoyable rig to use and very simple. It's my first not completely menu driven rig. At first I was concerned about the size in our small apartment here in the city but it's really worth it. The DSP is fantastic especially in the very noisy city. Still trying to get a feel for PBT. I'm running it to a multi-band dipole from DXEngineering (40-10m). The CW is wonderful.

 

The PBT tuning is very s-l-o-w compared with how far you have to crank it for it to really work for you -- that does take some getting used to. When you crank the PBT you'll notice every knob rotation is only a small number of hundreds of Hz (I forget how much, I'm not in front of the rig here at the office, but it's not much). When it really works is when you turn the knob a LOT and offset the passband by sometimes as much as a kHz or more. With enough cranking, you'll find you can clearly hear signals that were getting splattered to death by adjacent stations when it wasn't engaged. It really works well, just takes more knob rotations than you'd think.

 

My vote goes for TS-480SAT. Built in tuner; the receiver is simply fantastic in terms of filtering and audio. It costs around 880$new after rebates and well worth the bucks.
If you can get over the seperate head/body which is cosmetic; it is the only rig you need.

 

IMO, you made a great choice and glad to hear it's working out for you. The Jupiter has to be one of the best bang-for-the-buck rigs available on the used market, as you are finding out. I have to second WIK's observations regarding the PBT. It can take more cranking than you would first think. Narrowing the filter, tuning to one side a touch, cranking the PBT, reducing RF gain a touch, all can work together in more extreme instances.

Another plus, and this applies to all Ten Tec gear, is the customer service. Even if you bought it on the used market, they are more than happy to talk to you on the phone, offer free tech advice and walk you through some trouble shooting - even when it's your fault, or maybe something else in your signal path causing the problem. For instance, *I* messed up a software update and the rig 'froze'. One phone call to Ten Tec and they had a rescue chip in the mail to me the next day, no charge.

 

May be TEN TEC OMNI-V or VI

I got my OMNI-V for $650 shipped
it is good CW rig, normal SSB rig.
it has good QSK, Pass Band Tuning, can put 500Hz filter in first IF 9.0 MHz and 500Hz and 250 Hz filter in second IF 6.3 MHz.
I like analog radio better than digital radio.
for CW NO need to spend more, and this radio is easy to maintain, mean can keep it for a while.
so if I can use this rig for next 20 years ? $650 / 20 = $32 a year, $3 a month
if Japanese radio, which more than 10 years old radio often can not repair.
$1000 / 10 = $100 a year, $8 a month.
at least this is how I convince my wife.

 

Yaesu FT 450D may be what you need

A lot of these used rigs get passed around, several owners.. just like buying a used car. not sure how it was treated.
I think some hams think their gear does not depreciate after they use it 5 or 6 years. I have seen used gear on ebay going for more than they were new.


I think the new 450D will have enhanced filtering, and some other cosmetic upgrades.. Piece of mind. Something goes wrong your covered. Not to mention its a good looking rig.


K4YND

 

My vote is IC-703+ for SSB and Ten-tec Argonaut V for CW, both QRP rigs.