Sorry erik if you took what I said the wrong way. In no way did I suggest he buy a $700 radio. If you'll re-read my post you'll see i kept my 10x for 15 years before I changed. But I do stand by my statement that 72mhz has no re-sale value. He's not buying from me so your inference that I'm trying to sell is not correct.
As far as having a degree. What makes most sense spending $100 for a 5 to 10 year old radio or $200 for a new one.
I'm glad you have no reason to up-grade, but if you were new I would give you the same advice.
In any case having a disagreement with me has nothing to do with the OP question. You can give him your opinion without trying to argue with me. this serves no purpose. Dennis