Dayton Hamvention
2003
Page 4
Now comes some fun stuff!
Dayton is the place for new rigs to make their debut. At noon on Saturday, ICOM made a major presentation about their upcoming rig, the IC-7800! There was a bit of a "comedy" presentation between the engineer and the marketing person, but is sounds like this rig will be the new penultimate in amateur radio. It is not available yet, but ICOM handed out the Pre-Release Product information brochures, and they are available from ICOM now. Look for a Verrrrry high price tag on this puppy, rumored to be in the $6000+ range. This is a guess; the ICOM people had no comment!
Kenwood was next, with their full featured Mobile unit. Look at that control head! I don't have the unit's number, but I understand it will be available in a 100 W version with an antenna tuner, and a 200 W version without an antenna tuner! Their interactive display was that of a cutout of a car front seat and dashboard. Effective!
Next came Yaesu! This rig has been out for a while; it appears to be the next generation of the FT-100D series, but MUCH BETTER! The reviews said that Yaesu "Hit a home run" with this radio. I have to agree, since this was one of my purchases! I am busy working with optimizing the radio (The Main Menu has 91 options!) and it will be my new mobile rig! On the HT side, Yaesu introduced the VX2R-Tiny, dual band and 1.5 watts on battery, 3.0 watts on external power.
I have to offer a disclaimer - since I went to the hamvention as a visitor and not as a reporter, I did not report on the new rigs or products of other dealers-There was a lot of great stuff!
OK, now for all the unusual sights at the Dayton Hamvention! Enjoy!
I see this guy every year! Yes, that is a 3 foot tower on his helmet, with a yagi on top, and blinking tower marking lights! He is probably the most photographed individual at the Hamvention!
Please Proceed to Page 5!