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QRP Rig Roundup, FT817/mcHF/X108G/X5105, Feature Comparison

Discussion in 'Amateur Radio News' started by KJ4YZI, Sep 28, 2017.

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  1. KJ4YZI

    KJ4YZI Ham Member QRZ Page

    In this video, I am looking at all 4 of the portable rigs I have. Now some have a bit more than QRP power, but for portable sake, I'm calling it QRP. By the time this video is live on QRZ, all 3 have been sold. But if you have seen each one of these neat little units, and are deciding which one you want, this video might give you a better idea.

    This is not a brand or performance shootout. This is a feature comparison compilation. I would honor your comments on my YouTube video comments section to express your opinion.

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    Attached Files:

    KU3X likes this.
  2. KU3X

    KU3X Ham Member QRZ Page

    Interesting video.
    I'll keep my KX2. So far it's the best bag for the buck.....and it's small.
    Barry
     
    KO4LZ, KK6QMS, KJ6WLO and 1 other person like this.
  3. KT5OT

    KT5OT XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    yes i agree none of the others are a match for the kx2,the ft-817 is antique,15 year old technology!
     
  4. KI4LXB

    KI4LXB Ham Member QRZ Page

    And they perform as well today as the day they were released. :p
     
    AB9MS, CX7RL, K7LZR and 7 others like this.
  5. K2GK

    K2GK Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    Unbelievable bad mistake (in my thinking) It's probably all that storm water and mold you've been breathing the last couple of weeks Erik. The FT817 has not only the 6 meters but what about the 2 meters and 440(70cm) that none of the others have. 817ND also has 60 meters do these others? How about if (Gosh forbid) you drop or have a breakdown on these radios, Yaesu is the only one to send it's namesake back to for quick repair and turn around. Good luck sending the others on a slow boat to China for a fix up.
    Gary Kushnick k2gk
     
    K7LZR, G1YRV, K9EZ and 5 others like this.
  6. KJ4YZI

    KJ4YZI Ham Member QRZ Page

    Watch the video again, Obviously you didn't watch the entire thing. I clearly explained it.
     
  7. K2GK

    K2GK Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    OK , as long as you gave my favorite radio a fair shake. I was surprised you chose the 5105 but you have turned me on to a few good items over the last year or two with your YouTube Videos so I won't blast you because we don't agree on this video.
    LOL it's always fun to "play radio".
     
  8. KJ4YZI

    KJ4YZI Ham Member QRZ Page

    One of my favorite radios also. Haven't you noticed I repeatedly say I am a Yaesu fan??
     
  9. NO20CALLSIG

    NO20CALLSIG Guest

    this comparison does not relly convince me at all , not really professional !
     
  10. N0AZZ

    N0AZZ Ham Member QRZ Page

    A correction is in order, the Elecraft radios are repaired by them and the fastest turnaround time of them all. In addition they have the very best online support of all, even the owners of the company reply on there almost daily in addition to the techs are also the sizeable number of users who use it.

    I know for a fact that the KX3 was so far ahead of my FT-817 it wasn't fair for performance comparisons. I also have Yaesu FTDX-5000MP, Flex 6xxx series and an IC-703+.
     
  11. N3XE

    N3XE Ham Member QRZ Page

    As an mcHF owner I would like to emphasize that the Chinese clone has some issues, both ethical and technical.

    For one, Chris M0NKA who designed the mcHF did not license anyone to produce hardware commercially as the radio was intended to be an affordable project for hams, not a money making enterprise for companies.

    Second, the clone uses an older version of the hardware than is currently available so if you wanted the best version of this radio you should build the kit (or perform lot of mods on the clone). Also the firmware is everything with this radio and the developers are constantly adding features and fixing bugs. In the 18 months since I built mine the amount of stuff that has been added and changed is amazing. Both the performance and features have been improved a tremendous amount with more on the way.

    While the mcHF is not perfect (the power draw on receive is fairly high for a QRP radio), I think it is incredibly cool that a ham can build their own state of the art radio (more or less) for about $500.
     
    US7IGN, DL5GBE and W5CJA like this.
  12. DL5GBE

    DL5GBE Ham Member QRZ Page

    The only one of these, which has a waterfall / spectrum display is mcHF!
     
  13. US7IGN

    US7IGN Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    I built mine for about 250$ in homebrew incloser

    [​IMG]
     
  14. KB4MNG

    KB4MNG Ham Member QRZ Page

    I've owned a kx3 and currently use a k1 I assembled. It's hard to compare anything to the elecraft radio period. they are king of the hill. The downside to their radios, there is noway to crank the power up a little if needed. 20 watts would be really nice, but then your not qrp.

    The best deal on the market right now is the FT 891. It's small, loaded with options. It has it's short comings and the amp draw is not optimal for qrp but hey, for $579 and a free heil mic, how can you go wrong.

    I received my ft 891 from hro yesterday. Going to take time to learn the rig before I try to make contacts. Down side, it's heavy on hidden menus.
     
  15. KB4MNG

    KB4MNG Ham Member QRZ Page

    I got really burned on a youkits radio. Just out of warranty, the internal keyer went south. Zero and I mean 0 company support.
     

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