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We recently asked readers of DX Engineering’s Facebook page a question that triggered a deluge of nearly 400 responses from hams who understand that a trusted piece of equipment is not easily discarded:

What’s the one piece of gear in your shack you will never part with, no matter how many upgrades you make?

Here’s a sampling of what operators had to say about the receivers, transceivers, keys, and other devices that hold a special place of honor at their stations:

• Icom IC-7300: I have lots of other radios, but that one is the simplest. It’s the cheapest yet gives the biggest bang for the buck—and never disappoints.
• My Heathkit SB-104A. Troubleshooting and repair is very easy. I powered it up for the first time in years for a local 10-meter net not long ago. I got excellent signal reports.
• A J-38 key my first Elmer gave me in 1975. Years earlier he had worked at Kingman Army Airfield dismantling/recycling a graveyard of WWII aircraft. My J-38 came from one of those planes.

• My Begali, by golly!
• Vibroplex Bug, but my Bencher paddle is a close second!

• My Kenwood TS-890S. My cold dead hands, as they say.
• Yaesu FT-897d. It was a prize at the RSGB convention years ago; hence, it has sentimental value.
• The Epic PWRgate by West Mountain Radio is something that everyone can benefit from. It is a small device, about the size of a hamburger. It allows a seamless, uninterrupted transition to emergency power in the event of an outage and can also accept a solar panel.

• Heil Pro mini headset. It’s the old style and has been back to Heil for refurbishing twice. Also, my Palstar AT2K.

• My Anderson Powerpole® collection.

• My Kenwood TH-F6A—the Swiss army knife of radios.
• My first transmitter, a Heathkit DX-20!
• Realistic DX-160 receiver I received as a teenager 50 years ago.
• My original, new to me Astron RS-20A. It’s a workhorse from the 1990s. Nothing so far except one new fuse.

• “Harry” Hallicrafters Huricane. Big grins being able to hold court on the bottom end of 20m during WorldWide with a 60-year-old radio.
• My Nano VNA. All my radio life I needed its capabilities. All’s well that ends well.
• Icom IC-9700: It allowed me to get out and around meeting new people. Helping to bridge the older HF hobby which I love into space-related fun with satellites, ISS, and being mobile—sharing the knowledge and encouraging other younger people to check it out.

• My Elecraft K3 radios.
• Heil Goldline with element—wide/narrow mic.

• My Yaesu FTdx-5000. It would have to be as refined as the 5000 for me to give that rig up. They don’t make them like that anymore.
• My PRC-104B military surplus HF manpack radio.
• Kenwood TS-440SAT I bought brand new in 1992 as a high school kid.
• My Knight-Kit Star Roamer SW Receiver I built in 1966.
• Several respondents noted that even when solar cycles are less than stellar, their shack refrigerator has never let them down. You’ll find some “never-gonna-give-you-up” refrigerators/freezers from DX Engineering’s parent company, Summit Racing

The post Ham Radio Question of the Day: What’s the one piece of gear in your shack you will never part with? appeared first on OnAllBands.

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