> What are the going prices for 509, and 515? Was there a 508?
I follow these things, and note that the first model was the 505,
next the 509, finally the 515. Then there was the Argo II and now
the 556 or whatever the number of the low powered Scout is.
The 505's go for under $200 at times. They are SSB/CW 80-10.
The 509's go for $200-$275 whenever I see them. Same bands/modes.
The 515's go for $350 and up, it seems. They are pretty rare,
only some 700 were made.
There are no really big differences between them, in my opinion.
The 509 made some operational improvements over the 505, and it
is easier to work on (currently available parts, for ex). The
515 is not a big improvement, but has the receiver strip from
the Triton IV rigs and has improved 10 meter frequency readout
on the analog display (4 ranges instead of 1).
There are lots of subtle differences, but all are good working QRP
rigs. They are all superhet receivers, all have a 4 pole 2.7 KHz
crystal filter, and there are optional outboard CW filters for them
that really work pretty well. I am not sure if the 505 had
included a plug to access low level audio before the AGC like the
others did, making the audio filtering nearly as good as IF
filtering.
If you have any particular questions, Stuart, write back. I have owned
several of each of these.
Clark
WA3JPG
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