Well I did some browsing around the internet and looked at some nice big ham radios that would fit the bill for dx contesting. I see the Icom Ham Radios and the Yaesu Ham Radios seem to be the best. Now I do believe that many Ham Radios would work as long as you have a nice Ham Antenna and are running enough power with a good amplifier. So my advise is spend what you can in your budget and let your voice be heard.
Just remember to have your Ham Radio station running properly with a good antenna tuner and a good swr meter. There is no sense burning up your expensive ham radio and have it being repaired, which costs you money as well as loses you time transmitting on the ham bands. I can't count the times I have heard ham radio operators sounding like their nose is pinched or just plain breaking up. Oh yeah I am running 1500 watts and then poof they are gone.
Looking around I like the Icom 7610, which gets really good reviews. I also like the yaesu ham radios. The Yaesu 991A Ham Radio seems like it may work for doing some dx contesting. It may not be the power house ham radio, but will get you by.
