Scott Wilson wrote:

I am waiting on a well-used older FT-817. It's probably not optimal, but it's an all-mode 2m and 70cm rig. I guess these days it's the most affordable (cheapest) all-mode setup. I'll just have to see if it serves better on the TX side or RX side. Downside to TX is only 5W. Downside to RX is that it's an early non-DSP model, so no NR, and limited SSB filtering (if any?)

Wayne Estes replies:

You can install a Collins SSB filter in the FT-817. That improves audio quality on both transmit and receive. The improved selectivity isn't really needed for satellites because ham satellites are incapable of producing strong adjacent channel signals.

Wayne Estes W9AE Oakland, Oregon, USA, CN83ik