Mark Conrad wrote:
In , Geoffrey S.
wrote:

Geoffrey S. Mendelson wrote:
They put out 2-3 watts which is more than enough for CW, and will "work
the world" on SSB if the band is open and uncrowded. Forcing a signal
through a "closed" band or the middle of a pileup requires 1kw output radio,
if you hope for success and that is not going to run off a battery.

Just as a comment here is a YouTube video which adds some information.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbz9yv9VQVc

He has several videos of his working stations during contests using his
Argo 509 (4 watts SSB on a good day). This is one of my favorite rigs,
although I really prefer the Triton 4 digital, which is a very similar
rig with 100 watt output (if you need it), and a digital readout instead
of the dial string.

Geoff.


Thanks very much for that follow-up report.

In a weak moment, I fell victim to my emotions and
ordered a brand-new 100 watt Yaesu 857D.

Hey, nobody is perfect! - I blame it all on the stress I am
presently suffering from studying for
my extra-class license.


The Gordon West book makes this a snap. And the QRZ practice tests. I
went from nothing to Amateur Extra in 5 weeks.