[amsat-bb] BEST satellite radio?

[Franklin Antonio <antonio@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Opinions please:  What is the best satellite radio?

(Hope this doesn't evolve into a debate about the meaning of the word 
"best".  I just want comparative points and recommendations.)

I've never used a dual-band satellite radio.  Have always used separate 
transceivers for 2m & 70cm.  Now that we approach P3D, I'm considering 
adding 23cm, and perhaps the best way to do that is to buy a single 
satellite radio that does 2m, 70cm, 23cm.

So far, I've received the following opinion:
FT736 - good radio with bad computer interface
FT847 - good computer interface, but radio doesn't have robust front end

I did follow the discussion about the new Kenwood HF thru 1.2GHz 
radio.  (Kenwood blurb can be found at <http://www.usol.com/~gdn/new05.jpg> 
)  There doesn't seem to be enough information yet to evaluate its 
capabilities for use as a satellite radio.

A related question:  I don't know how much power I'm going to need to 
deliver to the antenna on 1.2 GHz for P3D.   Thoughts and/or references to 
articles appreciated.  There is a page of info on ground station 
considerations in the P3D section of the AMSAT web 
site,  <http://www.amsat.org/amsat/sats/phase3d/groundst.html> 
.  Unfortunately, it lists suggested antennas without suggestion of xmit 
power level.

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