Bob D. wrote:

After many years of inactivity, I'm resurrecting the old ham shack but I
want to keep it simple. I think one of these new fangled 100W HF, 2m, 70cm
would fit the bill nicely. Here's a couple of features I'm looking for:

A real squelch KNOB for 2m & 70cm FM. (IMHO, the squelch control should not
be buried in some menu!)

I'd like to set up a 2m priority channel that will interrupt any band or
mode I'm in. I've seen this demonstrated on a Yaesu Ft-857D, but
unfortunately this rig puts a substantial 'hole' in the audio every 5
seconds when it checks the priority channel for activity. This hole is long
enough to swallow complete words and is very annoying!

AM/FM broadcast and shortwave would be nice but not necessary.

Bob D. ND9B


You know, I would use a dedicated transceiver for that.
A good used 2m rig can be had any where from $100 and up,
and it doesn't have to be a new one either..

I use a Kenwood TR-7950 for just that purpose. The audio
and selectivity is much better than on a lot of newer rigs,
and it does have a squelch knob, and an easy to read display!
It's hooked up via LMR-400 to a home made j-pole made out of 1"
thick-walled copper tubing.. This rig is also used for packet.


Bob N9LVU