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I use a separate V/U radio (FT-8900R) with the 480SAT in my off-road truck. And I realize this is opinion, but I disagree that all in ones are not convenient. There is almost nothing the FT8900R / TS-480SAT combination can do that the TS-2000 cannot do, and several things the TS2K can do that the multi radio combination cannot do.
With my separate radios I cannot, without an external interface, cross band HF to VHF or UHF. With my separate radios in a mobile application I have to find room to mount multiple control heads and microphones, but with the TS2K I only have to mount one RC-2000 control head and one mic. The same issue exists with external speakers, only one needed with the TS2K. The TS2K allows all mode on V/U, the FT8900R does not. Of course, I could get an all mode mobile V/U radio instead of the FT8900R, but those are very uncommon and the selection very limited.
There can be advantages to multiple radios also. A single radio failure does not leave you without communications. Typically the combination of two radios is less expensive. It is sometimes, not always, easier to configure antennas. And, of course, you may be able to monitor and communicate on more frequencies at one time, for example I can dedicate receivers to 3 different freqs at once with the 480/8900 combination, but only 2 with the TS2k.
For me I found that the TS2k was a better installation in the same truck, did more and was easier to use. The ability to walk around 100 miles form home in the desert with a UHF HT and talk on 80 meters to my wife at home was fantastic. But the multiple radio setup is more flexible. And the single point of failure, when I had a more robust option available, in an off-road truck, was the deciding factor. I still use the TS2K alone in another vehicle though.
T!
