Hi, Bill,
Please remember that these are opinions, and worth everything that you paid
for them.
>We just bought a motor home and I want to put a HF radio in it.
Congratulations
>I began looking at Yacomwoods but there are much more bells and whistles
>than I need. Then I remembered SCOUT. Is it a reasonable mobile/fixed set?
IMHO, it is good as either a mobile or a base rig. It's receiver should
outperform an IC-706 (I compared to the first model of that rig) and most
such similar rigs. The Jones filter is very effective for removing adjacent
QRM. The rig is easy to operate and has nice audio on both transmit and
receive. The main complaint with the rig is on high speed CW: the RISC
chip that does frequency correction also runs the keyer, so if you do long
transmissions at high speed, you will drift. If you plan to use the rig
mainly for SSB, then it's a wonderful mobile choice.
The only negatives when comparing to a Japanese rig: no 10 meter FM and no
general coverage receiver for SWLing. If those things aren't important to
you, the Scout is a fine choice.
>Is 50 watts enough? Maybe I should go with something like a TS-50?
50 watts is more than enough. You won't notice any real difference between
50 and 100 watts. It's all of a 3db difference, remember? The audio from
the Scout has a lot of punch to it, and you will be heard. I've operated 10
watts SSB mobile a lot, and I've had many nice QSOs at that power level.
>How about adding a Hercules?
I am the wrong person to ask. I have never owned an amplifier of any sort,
and never will. I'm not a contester, and don't care for pileups. I like to
ragchew. I don't need an amp for that. People hear me just fine and give
me really nice signal reports. :) I currently run an Argosy (also 50
watts), but I am a former Scout owner.
I don't think you'll be disappointed if you buy a Scout.
Good luck!
Caity
KU4QD
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