I agree the FT-847 is a fine radio. I have also owned one, but I got such a good deal on an Icom IC-910H that I couldn't resist; and had to sell the 847 to get the funds to buy it.
The 847 hasn't been mentioned, because the original poster stated that he wanted to buy a new satellite radio, so I believe that he means brand new.
I would prefer the 847 over the 736, simply because it has HF, and has higher power on VHF/UHF; plus it is a newer radio, and is very easy to interface to a computer.
But really, when you consider the going price for a used 736, or a used 847; for just a little more, you can get a new IC-910H, with a warranty, and have a rig that is still in production. But if you find one at a good price, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.
73 de W4AS Sebastian
On Apr 5, 2009, at 6:12 PM, Edward Cole wrote:
I guess no one considers the FT-847, yet I consider it superior rig to the venerable FT-736R. I comes ready to interface DB-9 RS232 jack. Only issue is it is now out of production. They show up used on e-bay at about $900-1100.
I briefly considered selling mine to upgrade to a Elecraft-K3, but the cost to acquire 2m and 70cm xvtrs, and other things made keeping the FT-847 financially/functionally smarter. I'm mainly interested in the K3 for extreme weak-signal EME, VHF+ and 160m/600m work, and, of course, a superior HF rig to the FT-847. But the FT-847 shines as a satellite rig...so keeping it.
73, Ed - KL7UW this summer we will be again QRV on satellite: modes: V/U/L/S