yeasu... why do many hams not like them?

i have been pretty much using yaesu radios since i got my license.ft-8800,vx-7,ft-897d and 2 ftm-350's. they have held up well and i only had one minor issue with a 1st gen ftm-350 that was quickly resolved by them under warranty. i don't find the menus cumbersome and the wires may be useless but it's easy to turn off.

for the cost i have been nothing but happy with them, yet i continually read and hear hams bad mouth them.

whats the deal?

I've used a 1900 a few times i liked it. Their HF stuff seems to be g2g. The 9000 is amazing with a balanced Mic input and other features no one else has. I here Kenwood is coming out with a rig to compete with it.

They're super tuff but with the waterprof Mic they tend to sound a little weaker i know a few guys who cut out the little cover to sound better but sacrifice the water resistance.

I like them in the end. I just tend to support Kenwood more for other reasons but i wouldn't ever bad mouth a yeasu. The reason other guys do is probably because whatever they have will always be better then what you have.

I like the 2m Yeasus.

The menu system of the 897 was written by someone insane, or at least a Democrat. Makes no sense whatsoever.

when i began to get into this stuff they honestly had more features for the buck than icom or kenwood. a similar rig from either of them was a good bit more money. that seems to have changed a bit the last 2-3 years as either yaesu has gone up or they have come down to match their prices. i am pretty much dealing with everything but hf, my 897 is fun to listen to but i don't have my general yet.

around here the kenwood snobs seem to be the worst and i really wonder why, are they THAT much better than other vendors? or are these guys just fanboy idiots like glock fans?

I like their vhf/uhf stuff and I hate their HF stuff. their mobile HF is horrible, I don't know why people keep buying those pieces of shit, and everyone I know with a Mk V has had nothing but problems with it. the one person I know with a 2000 has had to send it in twice.

Kenwood fans are not glock fan boys!

We are more like the 1911 fan boys.

at 3k thats a game i won't ever be playing.

so i am getting that people don't like their HF rigs. the vhf/uhf people like then.

You are drawing a poor conclusion based on very limited feedback. Go to the qrz or eham forums for more opinions before you draw conclusions.

I, personally, only have Yaesu equipment.... VHF/UHF & HF. Never had a problem with them that I didn't create.

The way I see it, the most intelligent people use YAESU, the least intelligent use Kenwood.

i have been nothing but happy with what i have and others that own them seem the same. just trying to figure out where the brand hate comes from.

Justified or not, some people have long memories.

I once had a Yaesu FT-DX560 transceiver that was a piece of crap.

It can be hard to get that bad taste out of your mouth, even after more than 40 years.

Understood. But research. No one makes flawless products. There are always lemons... Chevy, Republicans, Bush Family.... All lemons. :-)

even with the menu driven system of my FT-100D i still like it. dont get me wrong, i like the kenwood 450SAT we have at the EOC as well but i cant see dragging that outside when the weather is nice to do a little DXing. i would buy a 857D if my 100D shits the bed.

the controls on the mobile HF radios are just horrible. on the 450 you need to hold the f button, turn the knob to find output power, push the knob, turn the knob again to select the power, push the knob again and then hold down the F button just to change the output power.

Saw this the other day on eham.

http://www.eham.net/ehamforum/smf/index.php/topic,81755.0.html

the 897d's don't cover the new 60m bands either. not really an issue to me as i will likely never go there. on the other hand the hardware mod would easily allow those radios to cover that band.

I have 3 yaesu rigs...
two ft-1900 2m mobiles (one in my truck and one as a base)
I also have a yaesu ft-817nd
I just got the all mode portable and have only had a couple chances to play with it but it is very difficult to operate HF compared to my old kenwood ts-440s. But compairing the two is really like compariing apples and oranges. One is an all mode portable and the other is a HF base.
I find for the most part with yaesu HF that once you get things set up the way you like them you rarely have to change them. I really like my yaesu stuff aside from the HF control factor on my ft-817nd.
I am pretty sure my next radio will be a yaesu FT-857D and be my only base rig, Prolly will keep the kenwood as a backup and move my other ft-1900 to my car.... Or if I find i like operating HF on my old kenwood more I will keep that as my dedicated HF rig and use the ft-857D as my base 2m/70cm and it will act as my HF backup or should the grid go down I could operate HF on the FT-857D via my backup power packs.
My HTs are all wouxun dual bands and I love them for what they are.

or maybe I will go with the FT-897D and two internal batterys for backup when the grid goes down... choices choices

This is it, really. In the old days, Yaesu made some notably subpar performing radios. In the modern era they have a reputation for being a bit gimmicky especially with their VHF/UHF FM stuff and having made a few POS radios.

On the other hand, they also made some superstar radios which remain in high demand a decade or two after they ceased production like the FT-736 and FT-847.

15+ years ago, Kenwood had a well-earned reputation for making solid, reliable and good performance HF radios that just flat got the job done. The TS430/440/450 product series, as well as the high end TS-940, were and remain legendary for performance and reliability. Icoms tended to be finicky and overpriced, and Yaesu HF rigs were like a box of chocolates. For VHF, Icom was the top dog but expensive, followed by Kenwood and then Yaesu.

Today, the Kenwood amateur division is but a shell of its former glory, and it shows in the limited product line. Meanwhile Yaesu has put 15 years into trying to rebuild its reputation and expand in the amateur market, and it shows. But as targetworks said... some people have long memories.

While I really like my VX7's capabilities....it has the menu system from Hell.

While I've never really heard any substantitive denegration of Yeasu as far as performance issues....I just prefer Icom...and Kenwood...and some others.

Imagine stepping into a time machine, and coming out 15 or 20 years from now. And seeing advertising for $15,000 super high end Baofeng HF rigs and $1000 Baofeng mobiles, and thinking to yourself "Baofeng? Aren't they the people that had the $50 handheld that couldn't meet specs to get type approved so had to be grey marketed?".

See you on 40 CW?

justlearnmorsecode.com

I own both Icom and Yaesu products. I prefer the Yaesu side of the house for portable and mobile use, and like the Icom line for HF. At first, I didn't really like the menu system that Icom used in the 7000/706. After a while though, it started growing on me. I run a 7800 in my truck, and have an 8800 as a base. I really dig the x-band repeat when I'm around the QTH.

I haven't had a bad experience with either. I kicked the snot out of my VX-6, along w/ my IC 706 I travel with. A close friend of mind had a kenwood receiver that kenwood refused to repair, so based on that, I never went down the kenwood trail.

Try a few, it's only money. I tend not to be biased towards any one radio/brand until I've tried one out. I'm not to far from AES Cleveland. I've had the chance to go and play with them all.


bigohio

I've owned Yaesu and Icom HF and V/UHF radios.

The Yaesu line up offers many innovative features but it comes at the price of menu systems from hell (already mentioned by several others) and, IMHO, Icom HF performance is far superior to Yaesu. I sold all my Yaesu radios except for the VX7R and use all Icom now.

If Icom would take a 7200 chassis and stuff a 7000, ATU and modular battery/power supply into it they'd have the ultimate: Icom performance and ergo's with the features of an 897.

I only have limited experience with yaesu stuff. Have two ft-8800 radios mounted in my mobiles and have a base station ft-890 for HF. The 890 is probably 15+ years old but I think it works pretty good on HF. Pretty simple and easy to use. If there is one thing I don't like about the 8800 radio its the speaker. While its not that bad, I much prefer the speaker in my icom ic-2200, especially for mobile operations.

i run external speakers on all my mobiles. i haven't found one yet with a decently loud internal speaker.

I really Loved YAESU in the mid 1990's

Today's YAESU's, in my opinion, are not what they used to be.

I find the newer ones hard to use, hard to navigate through the menu

I've come very close to throwing my FT-857D out the car window. It fucking pisses me off


Make mine KENWOOD



pretty please....

I like yaesu. The only problem I have had with my 1000mp mkv is from a power surge. Yaesu is what I primarily have. Now their present mobile line is a hard step back tech wise. Seriously the block type lcd numbers/letters on the 88-8900 series? The older ft90 and ft8500 had much much better displays. I have a little of kenwood and icom. Not as much as yaesu. Most of my equipment has been from being known as having cash and always looking to buy. Most has been purchased dirt cheap.

YAESU's that I've owned and enjoyed.


















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This one was a total piece of shit, I returned it.
ft-7100 lemon


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this is my current mobile, and I find it difficult to use, especially at night, because of the small display, and stupid menu system




My current HT.
I like it.

I have a 817, VX3R , VX7r and a 2800. The first 3 do things that pretty much Yaesu only does. Oh yeah..I have a 857 also. The 857 is a pretty good rig. It is small which I like so it fits in the car. Honestly I prefer Kenwoods for HF just because the Kenwoods I have are bigger and easier to use. TS-50, 820 and 530s. I don't really like menus. I have had no problems with the Yaesus however except on the 857 where it has developed a line down the middle of the screen. My 7r works LOTS better than the KW thf-6a it replaced.

I like my 857D... well... because I have nothing to compare it to.. so... works great for me

Ok... Have a couple of 7800's and an 8800 and some HT's... no complaints on any of them...

There has been a lot of talk about the 60M thing and the FT-450AT, which I have been following since I have one. The latest from Yaesu:

3/30/12
The FCC has authorized a new frequency and additional modes for Amateur operation in the US 60
meter bands. The effective date was 3/5/2012. We expect to announce 60 meter update software for
the FT-450 and FT-450AT in the summer of 2012.


I don't know if that was the plan all along or a response to the complaints, but it is good news.

I like my Yaesu stuff. But a lot of features in small space (especially at low cost) means menus. You have to either get used to them or move on to something else. I get a kick out of the people on that EHam thread, "Well I just bought my last Yaesu, from now on its Ten-Tec or Elecraft for me!" Whatever, a ham who wants the features and can afford the price of a premium brand probably wouldn't have bought a $800 Yaesu to begin with.

Meanwhile, for us po' folk Yaesu delivers pretty good value IMHO.

^^^ this post saved me some typing.

ar-jedi

Not really a fanboy of any particular brand, but have ended up with a mostly kenwood shack with some Motorola and Icom thrown in there. I used Yaesu VHF mobiles at one point but the current kenwood lineup has better physical build quality, mics, and tighter front ends. I was dead set on an 857 as a first HF rig, but impulse bought at TS-480. After using an 857 and 897, I'm glad I have the 480.

+1!!!

I have the ft-100d and the ft-857d, but only because I got each of them for really good deals. The UHF in the ft-100 has gone out, but it isn't a deal breaker for me. I like the fact they take up so little room on my desk and when I get around to going mobile will take up little space in the already cramped and junked-up cab of my truck.

I like my 857D. The menus aren't bad at all if you're used to that sort of thing. I'm in IT for a living, so I'm used to menus like that....having to dial down to get the option you're looking for. The alternative is a panel with over 100 buttons.

thats kinda my feeling as well.

I have an FT-847 that is rock solid. I did modify it by replacing the band pass diodes and adding crystal filters.

I prefer Kenwood handhelds over Yaesu.

I've owned pretty much every brand from icom to yaesu and from collins to tentec. I personally don't mind the menu driven system on my 817nd. Of course, I don't really mind the analog menu system on my heathkit stuff either, hihi.
That said, I've mostly owned yaesu stuff from early yaesu stuff(ft-101 series, and some early handhelds) up to my ft-1000mp Mark V. I also own a ft-60r, vx-270, vx-1r, and vx-2r currently. I've owned an ft-51r, ft-411, vx-50, vx-170 ft-2500m, on and on and on throughout my 17 years as a ham.

If you do, let me know where you throw it out.
I'll be more than happy to take that off your hands.


I'm very happy with my FT-857D in an Ammo Can. No complaints here. Yes, the menu system is a little daunting at first, but once you've adjusted everything, it's smooth sailing from there.
Actually, I close to creating a new thread on my EmComm Modular Ammo Can System (EMACS)

I also own the VX-8R with GPS shoulder mic. Again, no complaints here.

I love my toys.

Is that just for HF or for the VHF sections also? I've heard that a couple times but never found really good info on it.

Another exceptionally desirable modification would be replacing those eye piercing blue LEDs with green or amber color.

I have a FT-60R, Ft-857D and a Ft-897D. I love them all but the next radio will be an ICOM because I hate Motorola and if you haven't heard Motorola now owns Yaesu. Will never own another Kenwood. They left us out to dry on the bad displays in the TM-241A line.

Actually Motorola has sold off the Yaesu amateur division, they did keep the Vertex Standard LMR, marine and aviation stuff.

I did not know that. I may have to change my mind.

Sadly, it is only for HF. Here is the modsheet I used. there are several other goods mods on here as well.

FT-847 Mods

I don't recall all the Yeasu radios I've had. I know I had an FT-530. I love that HT but it had a lot more intermod issues and birdies when monitoring both bands. That was with the duck that came with it. I still wish I had it though just because it was the coolest looking radio with the hand mic.

I also had an FT-890. Boring and I never used it to really give it a good run. My friend owned his much longer and his was fine.

I did buy an FT-736 and that bastard had problems out of the box. I wasn't happy for a radio that was over $1,000 at the time. I didn't keep it long. Too much radio for limited use on SSB after people promised they'd be using SSB with me.

Ham radios have always been hit or miss IMO. Nowadays it's likely that production is worse since the hobby is so dead compared to years prior.

Not too many buttons for me.... If I had the money... I would have one of these on my desk.

I stil lhave an FT-530. Doesn't get too much use, other than being ready to go.

that is... unless the batteries have drained themselves. lol..

My dad still has his 530 and no longer uses ham. One day I hope to get it.

The local hams I know around here own more Yaesu gear than anything else. In fact, I get dogged on for being an Icom guy. The only brand that seems to invoke universal disdain among my friends is Alinco. That said, I've never owned one personally-so I have no idea if their griping has any validity.

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