Qmac hf-90

Ps. I'm happy to use a multi-tap, but can this radio use an auto tune?

I believe that in its day, the Qmac was a better quality radio than the Codan or Barrett. Only 50 w but it could punch further and clearer than the 100 w units. There is an adaptor to let you use a Codan auto tune antenna. They have selcal & etc and are easy to use, everything is on the mike.
My Qmac books are about 2500 km from me but I think It was Codan in Perth that I rang and one of their techs used to work for Qmac. Very helpful and the radios are still fixable and programable.
Hope that helps.
Dru

As said above the Qmac was a good radio but Icom, Codan and Barrett have left them for dead now.

Barrett bought out Qmac about 5 years ago so limited support is still available through Barrett but saying that on the road support would be very very limited to non existent and finding help would be near impossible (unless through Barrett direct).

Spare parts in the near future may be non existent meaning something simple could force the radio to the scrap heap.

The Qmac were originally designed for use as a portable HF radio that one can carry on foot, they never made an impact into the mobile HF market.

Why I wouldn't buy one.......
Lack of support.
Lack of spare parts in the future.
Lack of service centres.
Lack of knowledgeable people.
Not recognised in the 4x4 market.

Don't worry about it being only 50 W PEP. You can loose more range with 100 W by not having your antenna mounted well.

Thanks for your feedback.

Clearly there are some issues with the Qmac as an HF Radio option, but I can't rule it out as a budget way to get HF Radio capability. It should cost me around $500 to buy and install this kit: significantly lower than any other alternatives that I've seen.

Thanks again, I will reflect on this option a little more.

Hi yagon.

I've had an HF-90 for several years . Compared with the latest computerised whiz bang Codan and Barrett radios , it it certainly is a simple piece of kit with no frills , however it gets the job done . It is physically quite small , which can make finding somewhere to mount it easier .
I have had no problems getting service through Barrett in WA. While it is true they don't make them any more , this is also true of all the obsolete Codans and Barretts out there !

The 50W is really no issue at all . In the right conditions it will work across Australia.

Cheers

Dave

In terms of value for money, is $500 a reasonable price for a QMAC HF90 with a multi-tap antenna?

Yagon, Where are you? I have a HF90 and have had it serviced recently in Brisbane with excellent outcomes.