Batboard

If 48 channels were enough, would you prefer a A4 (top mount display) or a A7 (full front DTMF display)?

I've read that the full LCD display seems to wear out more often than the top mount, is there any other reason to get a A7 over the A4 if keypad DTMF is not needed?

What limitations would a "A" revision MT2000 have vs. a newer one?

Is there anything a MTS2000 can do (for regular ham stuff/RX) over the MT2000?

Thanks

Grog wrote:If 48 channels were enough, would you prefer a A4 (top mount display) or a A7 (full front DTMF display)?

I've read that the full LCD display seems to wear out more often than the top mount, is there any other reason to get a A7 over the A4 if keypad DTMF is not needed?

More characters for the alpha tag, and I've also found that the top display units tend to get gunk around the edge of the screen faster than the front display units.

Grog wrote:What limitations would a "A" revision MT2000 have vs. a newer one?

Is there anything a MTS2000 can do (for regular ham stuff/RX) over the MT2000?

For conventional analog use, there really isn't any benefit of a MTS over a MT that I know of.

In fact, if you need stuff like MDC1200 and QCII you might be better off with an MT2000 because an MTS2000 (at least all of the ones that I have encountered) need to be specifically flashed for those features; they don't come with the "conventional operation" flash. Most of the MTS2000s that I see for sale are not flashed for any special signaling options; those that are are typically priced pretty high.

As far as A4 vs A7, decide how much time the radio will be spending on your belt, and whether or not you will need to change channels or scan very much. If the belt time is going to be high, you'll probably like the top display radio because you can see what channel you are on (or what channel it is stopped on in scan) very easily. On the other hand, the A4 takes up the ABC switch to select the zone, and it does not have a menu for options that you can't fit on the buttons, so you'll have more flexibility with the A7.

I have a front display/keypad radio and I really like it. I used to have a top display radio, but I eventually decided that it was time to upgrade.