Which radio should i buy?

This is a question that appears on almost all discussion forums and can be heard often on the air. The fact is this question is always responded to in the same manner with a lot of what i call "parrott talk" consisting of the same models of radio being touted as the best, often without some of the people making these claims ever having owned one. This holds true for many subjects talked about in amateur circles. It reminds me of car enthuisiasts making claims to the best car in production armed with only what they have heard a presenter say on a tv program or what they may of read in a promotional article and never actually driven or owned one.

So what should you look for in a new radio?

Well this depends on what YOU want from a radio.There's little point in buying a qrp radio if you want the standard 100 watts to work with.There would be little point in buying an all mode ,all band bells and whistles radio to sit on the repeaters which seems to be common place now. So i feel the most important factor is what YOU want from a new radio and NOT what seems to be touted as the best radio by others. A lot of thought put into deciding what you want now and maybe in the future will save lots of hassle and probably money in the long run. I personally have gone down the qrp and qrp/portable route so i clearly know what i need and what i don't need.Any accessories needed are with this in mind. I often get told i can always buy an amplifier to boost the power on my qrp radio. This amuses me as surely a qrp station wouldn't want an amplifier. The point being i knew what i wanted from a radio and could then make a far better informed decision after reading product reviews as to which radio(s) to go for. The two radios i have reviewed on the site are more than capable of doing exactly what i want and this is why i rated them so highly as this was based on MY needs . I did however take into account the views of people who owned the radios i was interested in.

There are many debates as to whether a dedicated HF radio is better than an all band all mode set. This i feel is personal choice,some may want the convienience of having all band coverage in one box.Others may feel that a dedicated radio offers better performance be it HF or higher. Personally i have got along with both quite happily but i do prefer the HF only radio and use a handheld for local FM chat as this is not really my cup of tea and never will be.

Heres a few tips if your looking for that first radio and its to be second hand. I must ad this first point is personal opinion only.If its been opened up for 27mhz walk away,its almost certainly been abused and probably done the rounds on the cb circuit having visited the rig doctor to have anything that can be turned up done.It has almost certainly been worked into borderline antenna loads from owners who think vswr is a model of the latest sports car.Walk away. It's far far better to save that little extra and buy new in my mind.This way you and only you are responsible for any abuse it incures.An auction site is a hit and miss affair and i wouldn't part with my money on one.If you do decide to go down the auction site path and the photo of the radio shows 27.781 or 555 again my advice would be simply dont touch it.On your own head be it.If possible take an experienced amateur along with you to view any radio and don't be afraid to test the radio before parting with your cash.