HF/6m Base Station

**K2CLH** · Sun 23rd Oct 2011, 16:59

Hello from K2CLH! I am new to this site and have a question. I am wondering, what HF/6m base station you would recommend? I have a few criteria that I will list below:

1. HF/6m Base Station
2. Under $1200
3. 100-200w output power
4. controls on faceplate
5. Built-in Antenna Tuner(not as important)

Any feedback is much appreciated!

**G6NHU** · Sun 23rd Oct 2011, 19:19

Well based on what I bought recently, the Kenwood TS-590S is an absolute cracking bit of kit. I think it falls in your budget, just.

**AB3NK** · Mon 24th Oct 2011, 14:23

I bought a Kenwood TS 590S about two months ago, and it cost about $1800.00 American.

The cheapest base radios that I would consider costs about $1500.00

The Mobiles are about $1000.00 right now.

You can't buy a good Base radio for $1200.00 New with a Warranty.

**K2CLH** · Mon 24th Oct 2011, 14:57

A TS-480SAT is under $1000 on gigaparts.com right now! I haven't looked at the TS-570S price but I am wondering what you think of the TS-480SAT?

Thanks for the feedback, keep it coming!

**AB3NK** · Mon 24th Oct 2011, 22:45

The TS 480 SAT is A MOBILE, not a base ststion radio.

It does not have the same filter options, it does not have DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING, THE BUTTONS ARE SMALLER ND THERE IS NOT AS MANY BUTTONS AND THE CHASSIS IS SMALLER. IT IS A MOBILE.

I can"t even remember if it has a built in auto tuner.
I think the SAT does.

If you wanted a radio that would work well for Field Days type operations, that you could work mobile, that you could put in a GOTA bag and not worry about, the 480 SAT would be the right choice.

If you want a base station radio that does it all, right out of the box, the 590S is the better choice.

If you look at my QRZ - I made a dozen or more contacts today into Europe from the USA on 10 meters with nothing more then a Antron 99A verticle antenna, 30' AGL in my back yard with some very crappy RG 8 Radio Shack coax - about 120' worth between the radio and the antenna and most all of my signal reports was S-9 and my audio reports was excellent with just the factory settings and 100 watts output.

Power is irrevelant - there is very little difference between 100 watts and 200 watts.
It would take a power increase of 4 to move the S meter one S unit.
That is the nice thing about the 10 meters, a small power increase is great and a large power increase does absolutely nothing for propogation.
Don't get into a big hurry to get on the air by buying the wrong radio.

Look at most peoples shack photos and you will see multiple radios on a shelf, the reason why there was so many radios purchased was because everytime something better came along, the old radio was delegated to the top shelf - pushed aside for the better radio.
Unless you can afford several thousand dollars ( American ) for a contest rig, the TS 590S is about as good of a radio as you will find in your price range.

As a comparison, my first radio was a Silktronix 10/11D Commanche, the drifty 50.
My second radio was a Ranger 2950 - 25 watts SSB with the Solorcon 99A antenna.
Between those two radio, I made hundreds of contacts.
Neither radio was a true HF and neither radio had 100 watts, but I made due with what I had until I could afford what I bought.

mu0chn · Tue 25th Oct 2011, 09:41

I have never been a Kenwood fan but the TS-480 looks quite good. It has got DSP and if you need extra filtering they can be added. I like the idea of the front panel coming off , I wish my IC-746 could do that it would make it a lot easier to use at home and in my main shack.

**K2CLH** · Tue 25th Oct 2011, 14:17

What would you recommend instead? I have just found that Kenwood seems to have a good middle price range selection but if anyone has any other suggestions of different brands, models, or anything I'd love to hear it! Thanks for the feedback.