Debian,

I understand that I can operate some HF freqs with just my Tech
license, but I would like to upgrade ;)

The Icom IC-718 advertised itself as a "get your feet in HF rig".
It covered most of the HF bands, but I don't know if it's still being
made. I used it the last time I operated HF 14 years ago...20 meters
railroad mobile. A link to a video on YouTube is in my bio off of the
hyperlink on my bio on QRZ.

Also there, are links to Excel Spreadsheets of selected D-Star,
Echolink, and D-Rats Nets, in Eastern, Central, Mountain, and Pacific
Time, with PDF files related to ham radio. In the spreadsheets are at
least 200 nets every month...and as far as I know, that list is up to
date. I also have a PDF file at that hyperlink of where you can find
other mode net listing URLs.

Daryl, WX4QZ

... Ham Radio QRP: When you care the most to send the very least.
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You cant go wrong with an Icom IC-718. Its one of the best entry level rigs Icom has ever made. They sell for around $500

That's the rig I operated on, and the last time I worked HF...20 meter railroad mobile...on the Arkansas and Missouri Railroad Memorial Day
Troop Train, back in May, 2009, on the former Frisco line between Monett, Missouri, and Fort Smith, Arkansas...although the trip ran from Springdale
to Van Buren.

A video to that on YouTube is at the hyperlink off of my QRZ bio, and
look for the file "My Ham Radio Bio". We were using a 20 meter hamstick
antenna on the back of a restored Harlan and Hollingsworth 1927 passenger
car, and operated from the "cramped" Conductor's Cabin.

They advertised that as a "get your feet wet in HF" rig...and while it's
a "no frills HF rig", it's great for someone wanting to learn HF operations,
or for those who don't want to spend every waking moment on the air (there
such a thing called "life" that gets in the way).

Daryl, WX4QZ

... H.A.M. Radio Operator - H)ave A)nother M)eal.
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Re: First HF rig recommendati
By: Daryl Stout to Gate Keeper on Sun Aug 28 2022 09:06 am

Oh, i agree 100% I bought my 718 new when it came out, still use it to this day. Got my DXCC, WAS, WAS Centennial, and many many more awards using it and an ordinary G5RV at 30 feet barefoot! As of right now my 718 is my backup rig, the main rig is a 746 (non-pro), also barefoot.

GK - N4DLT
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Fell off the map for a bit, but I am back on now. Been really busy with work + prepping activities. I decided to go with the Yaesu FT-991A. I tried to go with a US seller, however it appeared that the US sellers I could find were sold out of this radio! So, I decided I would import it not realizing that the radio would be programmed for the band plan of the nation I was importing from (in this case, Japan). There is a good bit of overlap between Japans band plan and the US and most frequencies I use are within that overlap, but because it is hard programmed for Japan, there are some US frequencies, especially in the VHF and UHF range I can't transmit on with this radio. Doh!

You can put the radio into service mode and get around the programmed limitations, but be ABSOLUTELY careful that you only transmit on frequencies YOU ARE LICENSED FOR! Service mode will let you transmit on any and all frequencies.

I am sure a soft (or hard?) mod will come out in the future to unlock and maybe even let you reprogram the radio, but until then, I will just use this radio in the frequencies that overlap. I have plenty of other V/UHF radios, so its no real loss for me. There is a MARS hack you can do on the 991 (some say it works on the 991A, others say it doesn't - seems to depend on which iteration of the 991A you have), but that doesn't open all bands, just MARS. As I am not a part of MARS, I have no need to TX on those bands :).

For an antenna, I am using a Buddipole configured for 30M (I am receiving wefax on 12.784 USB as I speak). The dipole works really good too - received a ton of DX stations on 30M yesterday and today! Been having so much fun receiving the different modes, that I haven't even keyed up yet! One of these
days I will finally get around to keying up and calling CQ, I promise!

I have some parts arriving in the next few days and I will be building a window sill pass through for the coax, instead of drilling holes in the wall. I seem to remember there was a company that made wall outlets with SO-239 connectors on either side? I can't seem to find those anymore.

Anyways, Thanks everyone for the recommendations! I have been having a TON of fun with this new radio!

73, de KG7UJH.
Hope to work you on HF soon!

How ya gonna do it? PS/2 it!

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Congratulations on the new rig! It's a very awesome radio.

How do you put the radio in the service mode that you described?

Also, do you have any links online that illustrate the window sill thing you are building? Sounds very interesting to me :)

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