In article ,
"xpyttl" wrote:

"Tim Shoppa" wrote in message
om...

Ten-Tec's 1220 (2M) and 1260 (6M) kits are nice radios, but are $200
and way way more than what you asked for. They are full-fledged
digital PLL radios. They're good values, but not what you asked for.

I'd hedge a little on that "good values" statement. At least for 2 meters,
already built, name brand, far more capable radios cost less than the
Ten-Tec kit. Now perhaps it's worth some premium to come from Seiverville
rather than Tokyo, but you do pay for it.

Don't the Japanese farm it out to China these days like everyone else
anyway?

And Brian, if I were you, I'd think hard about what your motivation is. VHF
radios are a lot more difficult to build than HF radios. If your interest
is homebrewing, then go for it. But if you are looking for something that
you can operate and save a few bucks, then homebrewing something isn't the
way to go for VHF.

That's good to know. Essentially, my situation is that I can afford a
very basic HT; 2M is not so much a big deal as 6M, which would seem to
be somewhat easier. Basically I can't afford a triband radio, so I want
to build one for 6M. 2M would be gravy, but apparently it's not worth
the trouble to try to build. I won't worry about it -- I'll just go
shopping.

On VHF, layout is very important. Tiny differences in how things are put
together can have a huge impact on performance. The Ramsey receiver is a
good case. The thing is so wide and unstable that it's virtually useless on
the ham bands, unless you are out in the middle of nowhere. If you choose
to build something from a schematic, prepare yourself for a lot of tinkering
to get it right. Likely your construction time will be measured in years,
rather than months, unless you are very experienced at this sort of thing.

Very good to know. In that case, I won't bother until I know what I'm
doing. At least not on 2M.

The Ten-Tec is a good one to look at for a kit. I'm sure, knowing Ten-Tec's
reputation, that it works well. But compare the price and feature list to,
say, an Icom 2100. You get a fifth the power, a tenth the channels, and
half the receive coverage, for a 25% higher price. Plus, you miss a pile of
the frills that adorn the typical rice box these days.

All that having been said, there is no thrill quite like operating a radio
you built yourself. If that's what you are after, then by all means, go for
it. Just recognize up front that, expecially at VHF, there is a price, and
it's pretty significant.

Well, I got my ticket for the tech. I didn't know going in just how
complex it would be, expecially given how simple something like a Pixie
is.

Thanks for the commentary. Sadly, it looks like I'll be stuck on 2M for
the forseeable future, at least until I get my General ticket. Whenever
that is.