hey elktipper, im sorry it took so long to get back to you. i talked to the old man and he said everyone has personal preferences and everyone will say something differnt. ford vs chev kinda thing, anyways he said the best thing to do would be to go to radio club of tacoma between 10-2pm every saturday and ask the guys there they will be more then willing to show you there equipment so you can get a hands on expierence without paying 300$ and having no idea what you are getting into. really vague advise but its 90% about what you want and what fits your needs he said. hope it will help. he said you can google it he thinks its in the 1200 block off union near the target. no clue where that is but he said you should be able to find the place pretty easy. good luck.
Harry