Posted: 1/26/2012 6:34:05 PM EDT
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Hi everyone,
Sorry if I am asking a question that has been asked. A few months ago I bought a Yaesu Vx-5r for my BOB that I have been playing around with that sits in my trunk all the time. I have a Diamond triband antenna on the car and another triband antenna in my BOB for when I have to hoof it. I have extra batteries, a mic, solar panel, etc for those emergencies. I may also buy a mobile tri/quad band (FT-8900) for the car for the extra power, we'll see! It's been fun! Now I am looking for an All mode transceiver for the house that can go mobile if I really need to. I have been looking at the ICOM IC-7000 and IC-706MKIIG, mainly because I don't like the menu driven electronics and also like the larger screen and power. I am beginning to rethink that decision: My logic is that if I have to go mobile, I would like to have the battery backup capability that the Yaesu FT-987D offers and don't want to always rely on my car battery. Alternatively, if I go with IC-7000, then I will need a heavy external car battery to carry with me. I am thinking that my requirement are not too different from an EMCOMM Box, but it's too much work! Maybe some day. Any thoughts, suggestions? |
| While the 706 series rigs have some knobs, they are menu driven to a great degree. Having said that, the 706mk2g is a great "shack in the box". I have one and it's been great for over 2 years now. I take it on Field Day and on portable ops. From what I've read, the battery option for the 897 is spendy. You don't need a car battery to run the 706. I have operated mine on a 17Ahr SLA battery using low power settings. I'm sure it could use a smaller battery like a 10Ahr but not as long. |
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You can use a battery smaller than a car battery to power the rigs.
The 897 is a fine radio, and the internal battery option is nice for portable operation, but that battery is NiMH, requires an external NiMH charger (so more gear, weight, point of failure and not compatible with lead-acid 12V batteries). So the 897 is definitely an option, but the others are as well. If you go the emcomm box route, or just use a smaller SLA battery, you're using a standard 12V source, you can charge from a car or a starndard solar charger, and pretty much plug in anywhere there's 12V DC available. The one thing I don't like about the 7000 and to a lesser extent the 706 is that it has massive receive current draw –– on the order of two amps. If it's SHTF, you'd want the power draw to be less. There's really no good solution here, I ended up going with the 7200 which draws about an amp, and a separate VHF rig that takes maybe 300 milliamps. You can also do something like a 817 as a low-power receiver and switch on the big guns when needed. |
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IC-7000, small battery, solar pannel, and http://www.k-tor.com/pedal-powered-generator/ This is interesting conceptually.... http://www.zetatalk.com/energy/tengy05n.htm |
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As mentioned, the 897 internal batteries are not cost effective, and the internal PS is also expensive. You would save a lot going with an 857, 20a PS, and a 35ah SLA.
I'd look also at some of the less menu oriented HF or HF/6M rigs like: ICOM 718 ICOM 7200 Kenwood TS-480 The kenwood also does FM on 10m and 6m. I have used menu based radios, and can find my way around easily, but IMO nothing beats having just about everything a single button away. My TS-480 is so easy to use, rig control programs like ham radio deluxe do not make operation much faster unless you start building filter macros. I'm sure the 718 and 7200 are the same way. I also like having a separate VHF or UHF radio, but that is a personal thing. The Yaesu 8800 and Kenwood V71 both look like good values if you want crossband capability. |
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Quoted: The one thing I don't like about the 7000 and to a lesser extent the 706 is that it has massive receive current draw –– on the order of two amps. If it's SHTF, you'd want the power draw to be less. There's really no good solution here, I ended up going with the 7200 which draws about an amp, and a separate VHF rig that takes maybe 300 milliamps. My HF rig at home is a IC7K, and I like it a lot. One thing to keep in mind in addition to the above, however, is that it really hates low voltage. I'm guessing if you keyed up for too long @ 100W w/ a small battery, it'd shut itself off. Have you considered a QRP rig like the IC-703, maybe w/ a small 50-70W amp as an accessory? |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
The one thing I don't like about the 7000 and to a lesser extent the 706 is that it has massive receive current draw –– on the order of two amps. If it's SHTF, you'd want the power draw to be less. There's really no good solution here, I ended up going with the 7200 which draws about an amp, and a separate VHF rig that takes maybe 300 milliamps. My HF rig at home is a IC7K, and I like it a lot. One thing to keep in mind in addition to the above, however, is that it really hates low voltage. I'm guessing if you keyed up for too long @ 100W w/ a small battery, it'd shut itself off. Have you considered a QRP rig like the IC-703, maybe w/ a small 50-70W amp as an accessory? Very interesting idea! Anyone has used a FT-807 or IC-703 with an amp? I was doing some research and found EMCOMM Backpack that I really like. To me that's a fantastic idea. |
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I've done this with the 817 and the Tokyo Hi Power 45 watt amp for it. It does work (power draw is ~ 350 mA), but it's kind
of kludgey. The 897 is a better choice in this respect since it's draw is only about 600 mA and you've got 100W available. There's a lot of cabling nonsense going on when you use a little rig with an amp –– antenna jumpers plus band control cable plus two sets of power cables, so it's not quite "clean." The other issue –– and what lead me to move to the 7200 and just put in a bigger battery and a second solar panel –– is that the DSP rigs like the 7000/7200 have receiver characteristics that are so much better than the pre-DSP rigs it was hard to justify not switching. I went with the 7200 because it's draw is still about half of the 7000 and it seemed less delicate to me. So the trade off v. the 817 is about 3 times the receive power draw, and about 2 times the draw of the 897, but much improved RX. Everything is life is a compromise... I do have a 817 set up as a secondary radio, but put the amp back in its box, for now. But I've kept them both. |
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I never really considered the RX draw on the 7000/706 an issue. I carry a few powersafe 92Ah's with me on vacation every year. It powers my well pump, an inverter, led lights, and charges the kids air soft equipment.
I keep one just for my 706 and my 8800. Strap a few of these together, and your good for a few days. I recharge them w/ a generator only if the sun doesn't shine. Are they grab and go? NO. Are they portable, yes. My point: you'll be carrying a power source w/ you weather you like it or not. my 2 cents. bigohio |