Top 10 Ham Radio Transceivers of the 70s

Not sure these products were better than the Collins KWM2, which is was from 1959 and tubes, but the Yaesu was at least imitating them slightly. Hard to beat the ergonomics of the Collins equipment. The anti-backlash dial with the detent for the index finger, the availability of a crystal oven, so many great features of the Collins. Their 75S-3C receiver was the high water mark for American radio electronics.

I started with a National 200 Transceiver. Great memories on CW with a J38 straight key

The FT101E certainly is worth a place as No1 but the original non suffix, non 160m band radio needs a lot of help. the 820S is another good contender, best looker must be the Atlas 350XL.

FT101E..my first radio..Still alive

This really retweaked my interest, and ironicly have spoken to several old-time bush rat prospectors who have again started using Radio for evening Scheds. if I remember right 4441 or? ( old timers disease sucks!)

I have no idea where my radios went years ago.
I've never touched a 2way or HF since 91 when we went to sat, except our BC Radio tel in our trucks ..
The base units we had were Traeger or Kenwood in our bush camps .. another unit for CNCP communication. Truly miss my brother (ex Sigs), we had always planned a radio shack ...

If anyone can remember those models that were all too common in the Bush BC and Yukon I'd be grateful ..

My dad was a ham and I grew up with ham radio as a kid. In 1976 I got my novice license at the age 13. Over the years I have owned most of these radios or at least operated them.
Christmas 78 I received a HW-101 my dad and I put it together.
In 1980 I got a SB-101 and I took it to school and built it in my electronic class.
You have to live boat anchors

Brilliant video, as always!

I lean towards simpler radios as I've been a service technician for 40 years, and I much prefer working on these units. I also believe that I trust the simpler circuits to hold up in the long-term.

Your comment about 100 transistors to replace 10 tubes hits it on the head. While the transistors are definitely more reliable, finding the bad 1-in-a-100 can be a real headache, not to mention that each of those transistors has associated passive components that could go bad as well. Add to this just physically getting to the parts in these densely packed chassis. Lastly, most tubes are easier to get than unobtainable, exotic solid-state components

Having said all this, I own and use many radios, but favorites of mine are both the atlas 210 (a victim of the difficult-to -get solid-state component syndrome, I fear!) and the Heathkit HW-101. The Heathkit would be my only radio if forced down to one rig! While it lacks many bells and whistles, it's good enough to get the job done. It hears well, and always gets good signal reports.

I'm afraid I'm a bit of a Luddite, and a cheap guy, like your Elmer!

73,
Russ

My first rig was the FT-101E (with the optional fan for its PA), I bought used when us techs were going to get 10 meter phone privileges. And yes i had to track down a 10A xtal to replace the 11m one it came with (from a ham store who swore it only had 10m xtals in it). I later traded it to a CB'r who bought a FT-101ZD not realizing it didn't have AM (he later got his ham ticket). Loved both radios! They inspired me to upgrade to Extra. Thanks for the video flashback! - mike

Top 10 Ham Radio Transceivers of the 90s ! ???

Excellent, thank you!

In your honorable mentions, you showed a radio that I don't ever recall hearing a, and I was a Hallicrafters fan boy, playing around with radios, since about 1969, and first licensed in 1980. FPM300 styling quite surprised me. It sort of looks like the lovechild of a Drake and a Yaesu.

I missed out on ham radio in the 70's. However, I was all in on cb and had a new trs-30a. Didn't even know ham radio was available in these rigs. The only store in town was a radio shack and they did not sell ham gear. I don't think there were many hams in my area. Records show of only maybe 10 hams out of 10,000 people in town. Contrast that to CB during the CB craze and my guess there must have been maybe a 1000 cb'ers in town.

I started in 1967, age 15 with an Eico 720 & BC-312 with some converters for 10 and 15 & modulator for AM as novice, then general. In 1969 I graduated to my elmers, Yaesu radio which I purchased off him. He was in the Merchant Marines and I then used the Yaesu series FT-1000 amp, FR-100B receiver and FL-100 transmitter USB/LSB/AM/CW. I really enjoyed that rig in transceiver position. No one ever talks about that very clean rig for some reason. Excellent video of the history of these transceivers I grew up with, from when I first started. Used many of them at any of the naval stations I frequented. I even used my nuclear subs periscope as a wave guide for my Motorola HT220 slim line with rubber duck..on 2 meter FM, fond memories.

Over the years I have owned most of those radios

My first transceiver was a Henry Radio/Uniden Tempo 2020. Hybrid design, with a partial PLL circuit, and a 100KHz VFO. Best radio I have ever owned. Still own and use it on 75M. (Gears are broken, so band switching is no longer possible)

Didn't the ICOM 701 come out in 1979??? You forgot it?

We had the use of a Halicrafters transceiver for the week long 1960s National Eistedfodd at Flint. However early tests with our aerials resulted in some low emission output valves.. No problem, just went to the nearest TV repair shop, and got 2 new 6HF5 line-output valves and we were back in business.

While I had the 10 tick with digital readout friend of mine head, and I’m surprise, there is no comment on this Collings, including your transceiver

My first radio after passing my novice was the 820-S. Love that rig sand moved up the various classes. Was very forgiving and a great experience. Helped build my base knowledge. NV6P

K9BF here. First Licensed in 1969. I have examples of most of these radios in my basement, including a Signal One CX-7 with Nixie tubes. Yes, the TS-820 was a game changer. I put an FT-101 on my work bench and went to lunch. I got back home and found several fire trucks at my house. Several firemen were wondering around my basement looking for the source of all the smoke. I directed them over to the FT-101 whose power transformer was very hot. I had a FT-101ZD at one time, beautiful radio. I had some WWII surplus stuff in the beginning. I came home from school one day and found a big box on the kitchen table from Heathkit. My big brother had bought me an HW-100 kit. My first real ham radio.
Enough from me.
73
Ben K9BF

I worked in a very busy and popular radio store in LA in the 70's. We sold CB and Ham gear as well as repairing and mobile installation. I worked on a LOT
of these radios and I just have to disagree with your number one pick.
I know that a ton of Yaesu 101's were sold and a lot of Hams have fond memories about them but,...When compared to the build quality of the Kenwood
520 it just does not measure up. The 520,(S) was better in every respect. We sold many more 101's due to CB coverage and they were also AM, the 520
did not go after that market.
The Yaesu ran sweep tubes, the Kenwood used 6146's. The Yaesu had boards that were vertical and hard to service, the Kenwoods were laid out very clean.
The 520 had a much better chassis and a die-cast front panel giving it a much stronger base to work on, the 101 had a stamped front overlay and thinner walled
chassis. The overall "Feel" of the 520 was much better as the 101 felt cheap in comparison.
Everyone has an opinion but for my money the Kenwoods were a much better radio back then. and still are.
That being said I think the Drake TR-7 was probably the best of the bunch, and other than the Collins and Signal Ones, the highest price of these radio's.
jmo.

Had a hard time getting through all the adds. Get on with it.

I had an FT-301 which was all transistor from the 70s.

VERY MUCH APPRECIATED.
I HAVE MOST OF THESE TRANSCEIVERS YOU MENTIONED. ONE MY FAVOURITE TRANSCEIVER YOU DID NOT MENTION IS COLLINS KWM-2A.
REGARDS,
AP2KD

To my ear, the Kenwoods sounded best of all the rigs I was exposed to during the 70’s.

Nice report and I agree with most of it. I owned several of the rigs depicted and the only one I was the least happy with was the SB104, that I put the 104A upgrade kit in that did not solve its primary issue - turn on the noise blanker and bring in every signal on the band at once, even if you dropped then nominal gain from 1:1 to less than 1. Something a lot of new hams need to wake up to though, is everyone of the depicted rigs is still on the air somewhere, I own and still use a few listed. When you get on your $6K buck radio and tell me I am 50 cycles off freq, maybe you need to watch this video again.

GREAT VIDEO!! Looking forward to future topics! Thanks!

Those are some lovely rigs and I've owned an Ten Tec Argonaut 509, an Atlas 210X and a Kenwood TS520 (and friends owned FT200 and FT101) but I can't believe you missed the Yaesu FT-7. They were one of the best selling radios of the 70s and redfined what mobile radio was (and I say that as a long time owner of two of their direct competitors). I've owned three FT-7 radios (still have one) but my other mobile HF radios from the 70s are gone (noting that the FT-7/FT-7B are not QRP radios unlike my Argonaut although they are lower power than most).

😅 you had your tram radios. Ham and CB.

my first hf was the Yeasu FT-201 I think it came on the market a few years after the FT-101 first generation

Please do the same video with transceivers of the 80´s, greetings!

I loved my TS-520 1980's de NI7U licensed 61 years ago (1962) as WH6ELX (Hawai'i). 1st station as WH6ELX a kit I built with paper route $ a Knightkit T-50 with 3 novice band crystals and a Hallicrafters SX-110. In that 1st year got half way to WAS, and got my WAC all on 50W CW and 3 crystals mostly on 21168 and 7170! Used a 15m monoband Yagi and a 40m dipole. Passed my Extra Class code (20wpm) when I took my Novice exam but could not pass the theory yet. I think, the best days of Ham Radio!

Back in the late 70's, a friend of mine had a 50' sailboat built for him in Hong Kong. He became a ham so he could have communications on the high seas as he elected to sail the Pacific back to the states. He chose the Atlas 210 radio because of its small size and solid state design. It worked perfectly and he used it for several years on his outings to the Gulf of Mexico and South America. Great product!

The KW2000 was pretty good and worth a mention

I routinely swapped the usual 6146B output valves for the Mil spec CV3523 and upped the HV rail to 800v to get an honest 200W PEP. Worked just fine.

Video is great, and what is this music in the beginning? (band) cheers

WOW! What great channel content! Excellent job man. My first contact as a ham in 1993 was on CW in a radio club in Portland, CT. on a TS-520. I'll never forget flipping the large heavy duty mechanical switches to key the transmitter on 80 meters. I later on picked up a used set of 599 Kenwood Twins at my first hamfest for $300. The rigs had to be repaired and aligned as they also had bad filter caps. An elmer, "Mac" Harper W1FYM, (sk) helped me as I brought it to his basement to diagnose. As I started to reach inside he yelled "what are you doing?!!!!" pointing out the fact that there was 800 volts in there! It so happened that I met a guy Joe, AA1GW on 2 meters who had the same radios who also gave me pointers as well. He was big into working the Russian 10/15 meter satellites and lived in a condo were he could only have dipoles in the attic. He called the satellites "artificial propagation".
The sunspots were at the lowest in 1993 so the HTX-100 that I bought on clearance I was able to take back to Radio Shack and I traded it for an HTX 202 two meter handheld having never made a single contact on the 10 meter rig.
I was told to by Joe, AA1GW to never get rid on the 599 twins or i'd regret it, and he was right! I miss those! I traded the twins with a private school in South Carolina's amateur radio club for a Johnson Invader 2000 and Heatkit SB300 receiver, both which I still own so the "loss" was bitter sweet.
I Now live in Western Maine and have been working on my station since the lock down and I really enjoy the fact that we're the closest place in the country to Eurpope and Africa/ middle east so not only does it make contacts easier with that part of the world, most of the US stations have their beams on a north east heading a large majority of the time so it makes contacts with US stations easier as well.

i have the ftdx 400 & 401, the ts 820&520,the ft 101 2nd gen all is suprerb and great to use built like a tank and very nice to look at. ill keep them for sure. ❤

Really loved this video and the last one too. I too was licensed in the 70s and have those rigs. I hope you make a later one of the 80s to 90s That would be awesome
thanks wb7qxu

Great video i enjoyed it love the old rigs📻

My first radio was the Yaesu FT-101... I bought used in 1980.. an amazing radio. I have only ever owned a Yaesu.. but I liked my 101 better, as opposed to my current setup.. the FT-450D

Extremely interesting video. My wife and me share to operate the TS520 and actively operate it on CW and for 40 years it is still working today on the receiving part. Tubes had to be replaced. For 40 years never breakdown at all.

Absolutely beautiful sets! and great information! Love learning more about these sets, most of which I could never afford back when they came out. Thanks for your educational videos!

Born in 80's but just dug out FT101EE out of storage after watching.

Really enjoyed your video. I was first licensed in the 70s. My first rig was a Century 21. I went on to get a Commercial Radio Telephone ticket and a second class telegraph with ship radar. It should be obvious that I sent some time at sea as a sparks. WE HAD A Drake in the shack for ham use. Drake had an IMO approved receiver based on the TR7 the R8. The R8 was a lot better than some of the old receivers you often find at sea. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!

Must be going through a nostalgia phase, as I just reacquired my teenage rigs (HW-101, Tempo One) and my Elmer's rig (Drake TR-7). Now I have to clean and adjust. Hope it's half as much fun as it was using them was back in the late '70s!

Michael, what was your source for the two pictures of the Yaesu FT-101 assembly lines? Tnx.

My first radio was the FT-101B.. Sitll have it after 40 some years.

Great video. I got my ticket in 1972 and would drool over the rigs shown in 73 or QST. I saw my first TS-520 at a Field Day I participated in around 1974. That was the rig I wanted. However, I saw the FT-101 advertised and decided on it instead. I'm glad I did. So in 1977, I took out a loan and bought the FT-101ee. I still own it and it's still on the air. BTW, that first photo of you with a beard...I'm trying to figure out the background. My first impression is you're sailing or at a marina. Not sure. Anyway, thanks for the memories. 73 WA4CHQ

Very engaging. Thanks. Just added a Swan 700 to my collection. Waiting for bench time.