Ive played with an Icom 746 and if you are used to Icoms and like them, keep
it. If you think that TT has a better overall approach to design and
philosophy, I do, you'd be correct and so welcome aboard.
Its largely a subjective call to a certain point when people new to the
hobby are frustrated easily by problems more experienced hams know how to
ferret out. You will hear negative comments by the Talking Heads and
Pundits, and your opportunity to try a Ten Tec may often be offput easily.
You might run into a TT fan who on questioning admits to having had
problems, but solved them amicably using the manufactorer as the sounding
board. My first TT is the Omni VI plus. I bought it used from a ham who
wanted to try a TT after using Yaesu gear for decades. He opted to go back
to Yaesu gear after a year. I bought it and though it had been back to the
factory a year earlier, I had my first problem pretty quickly, it was a
lifted trace that I found and repaired in the IF. Since then I've replaced
an IC that had failed in the PLL circuit and replaced a crystal that had
wandered off beyond the capture point. I repaired these without sending the
rig to TT. No matter whose rig you buy your mileage may vary. So, maybe
having a piece of gear from the last American maker of Amateur Radio gear
appeals to you. I don't like that ploy because it's like a pity thing that
we Americans don't readily ken to. So all I can say in helping you make a
choice is good luck and that I would reccommend TT gear to anyone.
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