The "Good, bad, and down right ugly!"

KK5DR rates ham radios that he has used.

By Matt Erickson KK5DR

Ratings are 1-10 (1 being junk) (10 being radio perfection as of this date)

All are HF radios primarily. I don't rate VHF/UHF gear, most of it was "forgettable" anyway.

Heathkit SB-101; My very first true ham radio. God, how I learned to hate this POS! Made with cheap inferior materials and parts it barely operated and drifted terribly. These radios were only as good as the person(s) who put them together, since I bought mine assembled I assume the builder was a drunk at the time he built it. (1)

YAESU FT-101E; It had a hard life on CB, treated poorly by the previous owner, I had to rebuild it, but it never did operate well. Later I bought a second unit that was in great shape, this one did much better considering that this was 1970’s technology. (4)

ICOM IC-735; My first solid-state ham radio. Wow! This was great compared to the radios I had previously. (6)

Kenwood TS-430S; A wonderful little radio, a real work-horse with a few detail problems that today would be very large problems, but when this radio was new, it was very good. (6)

Kenwood TS-440S/AT; Nice looking, but this radio had the noisiest receiver I ever heard, even compared to the standards at the time it was new. (5)

Kenwood TS-180S; A solid-state PA capable of 150+ watts out. This radio drifted a good bit, installing the WARC bands was difficult. (5)

Kenwood TS-830S; One of the finest radios Kenwood ever built! They do drift a little, but are very good over-all units. A pair of 6146B's in the final PA. (8)

Kenwood TS-530SP; A "budget" version of the 830S. It drifts a little more than the 830 as well. (6)

Kenwood TS-930S/AT; A fine radio! Worked great, but had allot of phase noise in the receiver. (6)

Kenwood TS-940S/AT; Again, nice looking, but noisy receiver. Slow ATU! Better NOT to use it. (5)

Kenwood TS-450S/AT; A pretty good mobile radio. It had it's flaws. (6)

YAESU FT-757GXII; This was an OK radio, but the transmitter always sounded “mushy” no matter what mic was used on it. Lots of phase noise. (5)

YAESU FT-747GX; The "plastic" radio, it was OK, but a little cheaply built. (6)

YAESU FT-707; Pure junk! (1)

YAESU FT-101ZD; This is a wonderful radio! I loved it. It was the last of the 101 series, but shared little of the original circuits. It was the first time they used a set of 6146B tubes in the final. (8)

YAESU FT-102; The last of the tube final radios from Yaesu. A very nice radio, three 6146B tubes in the final. (7)

YAESU FT-107M; Drifty! This was the "white faced" radio with nice features, and a number of short-comings. (5)

YAESU FT-301D; This was one of Yaesu's first all solid-state radios. It drifted allot. The TX audio was very "pinched". (4)

YAESU FT-980; 99% junk! (2)

YAESU FT-ONE; 90% junk! (3)

YAESU FT-900CAT; A cool mobile radio, that could be separated from the control head. (6)

YAESU FT-100D; I did not keep it long enough to see much that I liked about it. (no score)

YAESU FT-990AC/DC; A great radio! The best NB ever in any radio! (8)

YAESU FT-1000D; Fine radio! Big as a house, heavy like one too. “Tinny”sounding TX audio. (8)

YAESU FT-920; I did not keep it long. Nice AF DSP. (4)

YAESU FT-767GX; A unique radio, in that it could operate on 6mtrs, 2mtrs, & 70cm with the proper modules installed. (7)

ICOM IC-765; Burned up on me one month after I bought it new. This left a bad taste in my mouth. Hissy RX audio. (6)

ICOM IC-725; An OK little radio, but a bit too “basic” for my liking. (6)

ICOM IC-730; A great little radio, tough as nails. TX audio was a little "mushy". (7)

ICOM IC-756; Wow! DSP rules! But this radio had a few short-comings, now that I’ve tasted DSP I want MORE! (7)

ICOM IC-756Pro; Better DSP, nicer looking with more features, but still room for improvements. (8)

ICOM IC-775DSP; Big! But mostly like the original 756 with the same limits. 200 watts out is nice. (7)

ICOM IC-756ProII; DSP rules! It is getting really good now! But I want more! (8)

ICOM IC-706MkII G; A nice "do-everything" mobile, but not what I like in the base. (7)

ICOM IC-718; A cheap, easy to use radio, lots of "bang for the buck". A little too "Spartan" for my tastes. (7)

ICOM IC-756ProIII; DSP at its best in a mid-range cost radio. A 7800 Jr. (9.5)

ICOM IC-746Pro; The most “bang” for the buck in ham radio, a Pro II Jr. (8)

ICOM IC-7800; Currently the top of the heap, as close to radio perfection as it gets now. (9.99)

ICOM IC-781; Wow! A magnificent radio, perhaps the finest analog based radio ever made. A CW operators dream, and pretty darn good on SSB too. (9.90)

ICOM IC-7000; Currently the best mobile/portable radio around. HF-UHF all modes. FANTASTIC! (9.25)

Other radios that did not make the “cut” in my shack for very long;

Ten-Tec; I have owned several Ten-Tec radios but I will not make comment on them now, none of them were very good, they were poor performers, poorly designed, poorly constructed, used poor materials and parts. "Ten-Tec is no longer on my list of approved vendors." (no score) they don't deserve one.

Swan; All models, POS! They suck! By far, these were some of the sorriest excuses for "so called" radio equipment I ever had the displeasure of owning or operating! Butt-ugly as well! (1)

Collins; Never really wanted any of them, so I will not rate any here. (no score)

Drake; Some folks like them, I never did. (no score)

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author, if you disagree with them, that’s just too darn bad, because it isn’t going to change anything here!