Three Reliable used Budget HF Transceivers

[Amperex]

Many old HF transceivers have issues such as the TS-440 & TS-450 digital display dot issue. Three reliable transceivers can be bought for about $400. Yaesu FT-840, ICOM IC-718 and Kenwood TS-570. I never read of a repair needed but guess a few broke. The best of lot is TS-570 with factory DNR installed.

 

[357]

IC735 is my favorite "tank"
but even then those darn plastic trimmers eventually show up needing service.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

IC735 is my favorite "tank"
but even then those darn plastic trimmers eventually show up needing service.

I had an Icom IC-735. Wish I never sold it. It had a triple conversion receiver that was nearly bulletproof when it came to interference.

 

[BayouRadioAmplifier]

I recently got rid of My Kenwood TS-450, that has been sitting
around for 20 years, due to not being repairable. The known
"display dot issue" and "UL" in Morse Code being heard.
I believe some of the TS-950's have the same well-known dilemma.
The Carrier Board DDS ASIC's (YM66312 ??) go bad, and
Kenwood changed to another ASIC.
Every now and then I see someone making a replacement
board for these radios with a different design. When I bought this
radio from a friend, I knew it was starting to have problems, and
I assumed it was the PLL problems as in a TS-440, that are repairable.

But with the Internet now, with all these radio forums,
research can be made to see if there are known problems with
a radio, and if it is easily repairable.

 

[Woody-202]

I always liked Yaesu's FT-757GX. I finally bought one, with the matching power supply it sits on top of for $250. The simplicity of these older radios can be a plus, and while my FT-710 has a bunch of features, many times I prefer listening to the 757.