There's a couple of new rigs to salivate over, though I guess I'll have to wait to see the final “street” price on both units.
YAESU FT-950. I'm very, very intrigued by the new FT-950, it's a very nice rig. And priced under $1,500, its well outfitted to compete with the likes of the Icom IC-746PRO and the Kenwood TS-2000.
I've used a TS-2000 several times and try though I have, I just can't cozy up to the rig. I don't know if its the funky curved front panel, or the multitude of little bitty multi-function buttons, but its just not as intuitive a rig to operate as is my 746PRO or 756PROIII.
The front panel of the FT-950 has its share of multi-function buttons, but for whatever reason, I believe I could operate this rig out-of-the-box with much less frustration than I've had running the TS-2000.
The one thing I'm not real sold on in the TS-950S is the display. It's not ugly, but it just doesn't stand out. Maybe that's the trend these days. I think I could enjoy the TS-950S and its display with a little use. Overall, the rig doesn't really wow me in appearance, either. It's an improvement on the TS-450S, which I heard a fellow amateur declare as “the World's Ugliest HF Rig.” What don't I like? Well, for starters, the on/off button looks like something you might see on on a stereo sold at Big Lots. Several of the other buttons like of look like they were selected without any design consideration beyond “plastic button, unlabeled.” The placement of the mode buttons is a little odd — I understand having the VFO buttons circling the main VFO knob, but putting mode to the far left seems like a less than natural place for it.
Of course, I've not seen this radio in person. This time last year I was ogling the new Yaesu FT-2000 at AES in Orlando. The display is somewhat similar to the FT-450 and 950, but boy howdy, what a radio! I would love to buy one this year, but selling all my other gear would be the only way. I'm still extremely happy with the Icoms I have, and plan on keeping them a while.
If I were going to move to a new Yaesu, I would probably bypass the FT-950 for the FT-2000.
ICOM IC-7200. I'll have to admit that I'm also intrigued by the recently unveiled Icom IC-7200. There's not much available about this new transceiver, other than speculation that its aimed at the same market segment at the Yaesu FT-450/950.
If you look over the rig's controls, you can just about determine the feature set will be very similar to that of the Icom IC-746PRO with the loss of the 2-meter band. Several of the functions are menu driven now … for example, the VOX adjustments aren't little bitty knobs. Overall, the rig looks like a small, dense and solid package. It looks very industrial-like, and I could imagine this rig right at home on board a yacht or other marine vessel.
Iv'e not found specs on the rig's size, but I suspect its bigger than the IC-7000, and probably isn't anyone's first choice for HF mobile. As odd as it seems, I like the inclusion of a front-firing speaker. My rigs all sit on shelves (with shelves above them), so the speakers than face upward never sound very nice.
I'm not likely to buy one, but I believe it will be priced in the under-$1,600 range. Too bad the IC-7700 isn't as affordable!
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73 … more radio ramblings later …