I have been looking at the 817 for a few weeks now, and really want
to get one. The are so many pluses to this radio-dynamo that are
appealing to my needs/wants. Besides being a good looking rig.
I have, pretty much, given up on Amateur VHF/UHF here in Des Moines.
I guess I don't support their clubs so that makes me an outsider or
something. Anyway, I have turned my interests to monitoring Public
Safety, HF and SW bands, as well as MW DX at night.
Over the past few months I have been looking at the Grundig Satellit
800 @ $500, which is a bulky and heavy radio. But I am interested in
the 817 for the portability, but one thing that concerns me is that
VHF only goes as high as 154MHz. I would like to see at least 163MHz,
so I could check local NWS freqs, along with a few local Police freqs
in the 156-159MHz range.
Another concern is reception (sensitivity) for SW and HF freqs, while
using the 817 as a portable unit with the supplied BNC antenna. I
expect, for obvious reasons, this will be poor at best. Just curious
as to anyone who can let me know what they have found using the BNC
antenna on these bands...I'm not expecting much. Hi!!!
And has anyone found their 817 to go beyond the listed RX limit of
154MHz at all. I'm sure mods may be out soon, but I really don't want
to start hacking on a new radio...that, to me, is considered "rape"
and punishible by death.
What is the approximate length of time this radio operates using
batteries. Does the 817 eat the 8xAA like candy? And it looks like
Velcro is the only way to mount it in a mobile, which I have done
before and is handy for theft prevention.
Any feedback from the group is very much appreciated.
Thanks,
John / K6ZZZ
