On Thu, 25 Sep 2003 05:11:15 GMT, Eric Ferguson wrote:
You might check around and see about getting a Yaesu VR-500. I got mine on
eBay for under $200 (135?). I've seen them under 200 other places. It is
SMALL. Fits in the palm of your hand. Has the weather channels already
programmed in. Covers 100 Khz to 1,300 Mhz with some gaps (US version). Runs
on two AA batteries. Has AM/WFM/NFM/USB/LSB and NAM can be added witha few
keystrokes. 1,000 programmable channels, and a BandScope. But don't use the
supplied antenna. Get a good UHF/VHF antenna and the Radio Shack collapsible
antenna for SW. Just my two centavo's.....Eric


- have to echo the recommendation about the vr-500... very nice...

- take a little wire with a clip and you can leave the stock antenna
home (i soldered a clip onto a BNC connector and that's what i use)

- runs for a long time on 2 AAs and does it all ... you forgot CW, btw!

- the NAM mode will be very helpful if you listen to broadcast AM

- the leather case is pricey, but not too bad...

- alternatively, try the vr-120d - no keypad, but does a nice job
(like the vr-500) at scanning all freqs and SW - runs for a
looooooooonnnnnnnng time on AAs! a bit cheaper than the vr-500

- if you got the vr-500 for $135, you got a steal!

:-)