Optima Yeticom/GWcomm?

[Dawn]

Looks like the company that made these special for Yeticom in NZ's specifications decided to bypass the OEM and go direct themselves with these unit. From what I gather, they are very refined and high quality built versions of the Magnum257/Radio Shack HTX-10 with totally different firmware and optimization for amateur use with high spec and extra filtering. GW itself is sold in the states as Instek and is an OEM for many of the test equipment manufacturers including lower end Tektronix products. Not a slouch of a Taiwanese company that's know to make pretty high grade equipment. Sort of ironic though, GW started as a company knocking of Leader test equipment products for OEM brands and then their own designs were knocked off by the Koreans, who were then knocked off by the Chinese producing copies of 1990 versions of GW designs. These radios are made in very small batches as a departure from their focus on test equipment and Telecom/IT product lines. Anyone know anyone who owns one of these? The difference between a Magnum 257 and one of these, even though they look similar as many of the Chinese and other Asian ones do, are supposed to be incredible without the filthy RFX type power module bolted on the back, very stable and spectrally clean with a very tight receiver. There's a couple of companies selling them on E-bay for not much more then the Magnum's and similar knockoffs and sounds like a great radio if you want a real 10M unit instead of an "export" in disguise as one.

 

[WB4CS]

I'd be interested to know about anyone's experience with those radios as well.

The Yeticom Optima does appear to be a new version of the HTX-10. I've been considering putting an HF radio in the car that could cover 10 and 12 meters, but don't want to spend several hundred on a full HF radio.

They can be configured via a jumper between 10/12 Meter Ham, 40 CH CB, and continuous TX from 24.5 to 29.9 MHz.

I have found a few reviews online, mostly from CB websites. The newer version of the radio seems to have been improved quite a bit, and the specs look really good.

Keep us updated if you find out any info!

 

[Dawn]

Brandon, I read and watched some of those reviews on the tube as well. I don't put too much stock in those type of reviews meant for CB or Freebanders because their ideals aren't what most amateurs need in features. I think reading the goals and aims of the guy that looked to improve upon the htx-10 type design for being more amateur friendly and usable on th amateur bands then a stock Magnum freeband type and then contracting with a company that has significant telecommunications experience to build it is telling. That's the whole point of the unit, CB/Freeband was incidental due to heavy use of those type of rigs in Asia/Indonesia nearby, but the emphasis was on high selectivity and both clean tx and rx performance. It's not another me too Magnum under the covers. Totally different radio and said to have several order of magnitude higher quality of components and construction, made in small production runs. The design has been slowly tweeked on the originator's input from the first version through 4 (current is version 3, but there was a short run of a V2.5). Only thing they didn't do he wanted in the last roll out was incorporate a dot matrix display, otherwise, the radio has been around long enough 2002, I think since entering the NZ market to work out the remaining bugs or operator preferences. Also being compatible with Icom 8 microphone with complete HM-38 functionality is a plus too.