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ready to pull the trigger on a Kenwood TS-440SAT why shouldnt I?

so you guys prety much convinced me not to buy the old 440.how old is the yaesu 900? and is 550 a good price shipped?looking at videos it seems slightly bigger than a uniden 2510,am i correct?
if yall must know im finding these radios at radio mart,do these guys have a decant rep?
if theres a better place to buy with better deals.....FOR GODS SAKE!!!.....LET ME KNOW!!!.....lol
 
romakdaddy said:
so you guys prety much convinced me not to buy the old 440.how old is the yaesu 900? and is 550 a good price shipped?looking at videos it seems slightly bigger than a uniden 2510,am i correct?
if yall must know im finding these radios at radio mart,do these guys have a decant rep?
if theres a better place to buy with better deals.....FOR GODS SAKE!!!.....LET ME KNOW!!!.....lol
Click to expand...


Radio Mart? Radio Mart?

NOT THIS RADIO MART I HOPE!!!


Radio-Mart

There is not much of a bigger thief or liar in the world of radio sales that Mr. Martyn Allison. Forget the lies on his FAQ page and Google RadioMart or look on qrz.com for details of his business practices. He actually banned me from bidding on a Collins R-390/A simply because I asked a question about something that did not look right in his ebay auction.


STAY AWAY FROM MARTYN ALLISON AND RADIO MART!!
 
Fair advice.
Stay away from Radio Mart.
The guy is infamous for selling junk at the highest price he can get.

Romakdaddy; I don't know where you live. But check out Craiglist by putting 'ham radio' into their local search engine. Many of the sellers on eBay are worth taking a risk, just check out their reputation. Find out if they are a Ham too. Since it is a one-time purchase, use Paypal because they protect the buyer. I bought a Kenwood TS-2000 less than a year old from a Ham in Michigan for $1100/$1150 shipped. Easily/probably the best radio I own and the best deal I got on eBay.

You might consider a TS-50:
Kenwood TS-50S, kenwood ts50 amateur transceiver
It's a Kenwood, fairly reliable, entry level, has the features that you want, and can probably be had for around ~$450 used in excellent shape. I like Kenwoods too, and this would be a nice/newer choice.

Or perhaps a Yaesu FT-450. I've seen a bunch of these selling around the ~$500 mark and are also a lot newer than the TS-440. It also has the mode features you are looking for:
http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/6583

As far as the filters; that all depends if you want to work CW for the narrow stuff. Wider filters for SSB too. That goes for any radio mentioned. Special filters are available on eBay for less than list price. All of these radios can easily be modified for 11m. As CK said, it isn't difficult at all to convert them to 11m. That info to make the conversion is probably on this site too. Or your Ham/friend that works on radios can do it in the blink of an eye if you are skiddish about DIY. I can understand that, after an expensive purchase . . .
 
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Captain Kilowatt said:
Radio Mart? Radio Mart?

NOT THIS RADIO MART I HOPE!!!


Radio-Mart

There is not much of a bigger thief or liar in the world of radio sales that Mr. Martyn Allison. Forget the lies on his FAQ page and Google RadioMart or look on qrz.com for details of his business practices. He actually banned me from bidding on a Collins R-390/A simply because I asked a question about something that did not look right in his ebay auction.


STAY AWAY FROM MARTYN ALLISON AND RADIO MART!!
Click to expand...
link me to his eBay auctions in a pm please, so i know not to bid on his sh!t.

IMO the icom 706mk2g is a Very nice of a radio and it may not have fancy colors like the IC 7000 but it has far less problems then the ic7000.
 
Morse123 said:
link me to his eBay auctions in a pm please, so i know not to bid on his sh!t.

IMO the icom 706mk2g is a Very nice of a radio and it may not have fancy colors like the IC 7000 but it has far less problems then the ic7000.
Click to expand...

The story is that he was caught shill bidding on Ebay after many,many complaints and no longer sells his wares there. According to his website he was not banned from Ebay and that dealing with Ebay was far to much of a hassle due to his "power seller status". I wouldn't touch his stuff with a 10 ft pole. Just Google Radio Mart complaints for a taste of his business practices. Some people swear by him but oddly enough they are within driving distance of him. :pop:
 
Captain Kilowatt said:
The story is that he was caught shill bidding on Ebay after many,many complaints and no longer sells his wares there. According to his website he was not banned from Ebay and that dealing with Ebay was far to much of a hassle due to his "power seller status". I wouldn't touch his stuff with a 10 ft pole. Just Google Radio Mart complaints for a taste of his business practices. Some people swear by him but oddly enough they are within driving distance of him. :pop:
Click to expand...
i went to his site for the first time and i noticed how much of a rip off he really is. the icom tuner module that tricks the icom into thinking it has a tuner well that thing is $9 shipped from ebay from a cool ham and this wanker site wants $19.00 + shipping. what a looser.
im sure someone here has the power at there finger tips to shut his site down.... id say do it. its one less shady bastard
 
RDaddy: How's this sound?
Yaesu FT-450AT...High Serial # (2 years old come July)
Has newest DSP board
TXCO...installed
Factory Auto Tuner(hence the 450AT)
Optional Mobile Bracket
Original Box/Manual
100% functional/ NO Mods/solid 100 watts 160-6m
Cosmetics a conservative 8/ of 10 (an 8 due to hand Mic/mobile bracket show a little use)
$625 + shipping
All the Best
Gary(BJ) W9FNB

PS:Mods if you need to move do so...just offering a new Ham one of my rigs/BJ
 
I have a 440, I use for my main rig. Also have a Ts-2000 and a Ic-706mk2g. What can I say, I like the radio. I would not give 5 bills for one, got mine from a friend so I seen it in action. I've had the radio for about 3 years now and no problems. If I could not test the radio out before buying I don't think I would buy it. I would take the advice everybody said here and get try to get something newer, a lot of 440 parts are getting hard to find. Unless you can buy one from somebody you trust, don't. You might get lucky OR NOT!
 
I would say go with the TS-440 if the price is right. You will have lots of support if it does break, its educational, you learn by repairing it, there are tons of mods people come up with for it, there is nothing really bad about the 440 other than its old.

I still havent had the dreaded dots problem and my radio came from a pile of junk electronics in a fallen in barn. Mine was damaged physically but its good as new now, got it mounted in my truck too, used it so far on 10,11 and 12m but mostly on 11.
I hope the VCO does mess up because I want to fix it.
 
towerdog said:
I hope the VCO does mess up because I want to fix it.
Click to expand...

No you wouldn't - LOL!
:biggrin:
Have a local friend that has fixed his 440 numerous times and it still breaks down. He has replaced boards, scraped all kinds of glue of off other boards, had strange AM problems, the dot disease, and who knows what else.

I like Kenwoods; but I wouldn't buy the 440 model - even for $300. Not after I heard my local speak poorly about it. Also have a TS-120S that I picked up for ~$100 and it works, all I need to do is adjust the frequency counter on board and check the alignment on it. I wouldn't sell it for more than $250, just because it too is old . . .
:D
 
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I wonder why some radios get the dots and others dont, maybe some kind of goo to protect the components from vibration, moisture, etc after a couple of decades becomes hygroscopic and screws the components instead?
Or maybe it has something to do with if its in a smoking or nonsmoking enviroment, my theory is that cigarette smoke and ash dries out moisture from components and protects a radio, while a non smoking environment corrodes PCB's.

The going price on ebay is what I go off of, sure you can find a better deal at hamfest and right now they gone down on ebay, from $600-$700 down to about $400-$500, I know I was going to sell it cause I am strapped for cash but I think I will sell something else if i cant get top dollar for it.
 
What's "shill bidding"?

Not that QRZ is the end all, but look there for opinions on Radio Mart from many dissatisfied buyers.
 

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