On 06 Oct 2024, claw said the following...
What do you use for your rig?
I've been looking at the FT-991A. I'll need to save up for this but
looks like the thing to have
The FT-991A is what I use at home, absolutely. I was SO close to getting the ICOM 7300 instead, but wanted the all mode on 2m/440cm. If I find one cheap enough, I still might.
I can't say enough about the 991, though. If you spend the time on getting the mic dialed in for your voice, you can push that 100 watts through a lot of pileups against guys running up to 1k. (I'm only using an end fed half wave wire, and am still amazed at some of the QSOs I've made.)
When I first started, I used the Xiegu G90. Those 20 watts were enough to get me addicted, and bought the 100w amp shortly thereafter for the base setup. That G90 is now one of my usual POTA portable rigs. I also have the Xiegu 5900, but when you're running on battery, that's a legit 5w QRP rig, which presents a serious challenge to make activations on SSB. (My CW is only good enough for hunting, where the back and forth is pretty formulaic.)
What I like most about the Xiegu lineup is the built-in antenna tuner. Those things can give you a 1:1 match on a rock.
I could go on all day. I love this hobby. :)
73!
WZ8Q
... I wasn't lying... I was just writing fiction with my mouth.
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