I only had a few hours at the club Field Day site tonite due to work
commitments, and I only put forth a token effort on the air (we had way too
many younger hams and rookies around, figured I'd give them a crack at it
first). Once it started to get dark, and before I had to leave, I took a
quick turn on the 20 CW station.
It was an ICOM IC-706. Now this is only a first impression based on about
20 minutes of operating, but I found the audio quality lacking, the CW
filter (if any) poor, and the QSK made my ears hurt. But I could still work
just about anyone I could hear, so it wasn't too bad, but it left me
underwhelmed.
But before I could take off, W3WH suggested I take over the 40 CW station
for a few minutes; I hadn't realized until then that the rig there was
Bill's Argonaut V. So as soon as I could pry the op out off the bench, I
gave it a shot.
What a difference! The tuning was smooth, the CW filtering superb, and the
QSK... so smooth it was actually a pleasure (and I don't usually run full
break in, it's a pain on my TS-140S too). Just as impressive was that I
could just as easily work everyone I heard -- on 20 W to a dipole (the 20
antenna was a Hamstick Yagi). And as soon as I gave up my seat, another op
took over... I don't know if that can be attributed to the rig, the number
of ops waiting, or the fact that the bands opened up. Still...
I've seen the 516 on many occasions, including Dayton, but this is the first
time I actually got my hands on one and ran it under "field" conditions. I
did notice also that a LOT of the club ops were equally impressed with the
rig, including some of the PRO owners.
Now I need to try an Orion. Bill just ordered one... wonder how long it
will be before he gets it?
73, ron wn3vaw
AJ: "Did you ever hear of Evel Kneival?"
Lev: "I never saw Star Wars"
-- Armageddon
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