I bought one of the earliest models of this radio when I was 17 years old. It was a great radio and worked well for me for a couple of years. Then, after joining the Air Force, it saw duty in the Yale University Ham Radio Club station where I was sent by the USAF to Chinese language school.
After completing my 3 1/2 year tour of duty in Japan (with eighteen of those months spent on temporary duty assignments in Vietnam), I sold the rig rather than pay the then exorbitant ham radio license renewal fee.