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write your own review of the Yaesu FT-2600M.
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KB7TBT
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Rating: 4/5
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Jan 20, 2010 19:29
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Tough Radio
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have had my 2600 since 03, i use this in the truck as an APRS radio, it is mounted in a suitcase and i have beaten the living snot out of it. It has been mounted in the suitcase all this time and has gone 4 wheeling and tossed from one place to another This bugger is still doing an excellent job and is still in service. As for the reported memory issues i cant say because i dont think i ever used the memory. It was first installed in a car for some time then it was retired to APRS radio. I dont remember having any problems with memory. I purchased this radio from HRO used in 02 or 03, cant remember.
Link to my APRS page for the truck.
http://kb7tbt.com/aprs/kb7tbt-9.htm
Photo of the rig in the suitcase from 06 i think.
http://www.kb7tbt.com/pix/aprspix/
73!
James
KB7TBT
www.kb7tbt.com
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KE5YIZ
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 22, 2009 17:39
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AWESOME!!
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I give this radio a five just for the simple fact that it is my first radio and I've had nothing but good running since I got it. I had a little problem just today with it. I got in the vehicle and started it and forgot the radio was on and it erased all my memory. I've had it hooked up to the battery since I installed it. Someone tell me if this is right, even though you have it hooked up to the battery, when you crank your truck should it still power off then come back on? This is the first time I've had it do this to me and it kinda freaked me out a little bit. Other then that it is a tank. I've had nothing but good reports from everyone I talk to on it. I live in a very rural area and hit a repeater about a hour and a half to 2 hours away from me with no problem.
Good job on the radio Yaesu and thanks alot Mike for talking me into buying it from you.
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VE1BXK
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 23, 2009 10:29
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Bullet Proof RX !
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Nice radio and bullet proof front end receiver. Only one buggy thing about it though. At times when keying the PTT, the radio will power off and then back on. Other times will reset the radio completely. A call to Yeasu Tech Dept sugessted a simple fix of which fixed this problem once and for all.
Just remove the top cover and re-tightened all the screws that hold the main board to the chassis and as well the two screws holding the RF brick. It appears that stray RF,DC voltage and poor grounding of main board does strange things to the CPU board on the front of the radio.
Other than that, an excellent radio! Wish I had got another one.
73 Lorne
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KD8HRS
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 27, 2008 04:53
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excellent radio!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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just got my ticket recently and bought one of these off ebay for $100 plus shipping.receive is great!(no intermod so far,distant stations come in strong)no memory problems with mine like in some other reviews.it does get awfully warm quick after a short qso tho but the heat sink dissipates it after a short break very well. wish they still made em, id get another one for a spare! if you have a chance to get one of these used in great shape at a good price by all means give it a try! A++
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KE4RWS
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 3, 2007 09:40
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Excellent Radio
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I’ve owned two of these models for over five years now and still love the FT-2600. I purchased both brand new for a sale price of $110 each with the intention of using them for dedicated data radios. Both are used strictly as base stations and run high-power 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. One radio operates packet with a Kantronics KPC-9612+ while the other runs my APRS station using a KPC-3.
Because both FT-2600’s are used as base stations they don’t experience the fluctuating voltages found in a mobile installation, therefore, I have not had any of the memory ‘dumping’ issues others have complained about. At one time I had a third 2600 I purchased from a friend, and he complained of the memory dump problem before I purchased it from him but once it was attached to a stable power supply I never had any issues with it, so it’s reasonable to say the FT-2600 may be best suited as a base station setup.
I have used my 2600’s on voice on a few occasions and have had excellent results. The audio is clean and loud and gets good reports from those I’ve spoke with. RF power output is at printed specs with just a tad more depending on the antenna used and SWR conditions.
I originally chose the FT-2600 for data operation because of past experience with the previous model, the FT-2500, which was a highly rated model in its day. The other reason I chose the 2600 was the handy DB9 data connector on the rear of the unit. This made for easy wiring and was a good fit for use with a PC and/or TNC (I wish all mobile’s had a DB9).
The display has an 8-character alpha-numeric architecture and is well lit and illumination is adjustable in 4 stages. Display backlighting is accomplished using LED’s, which is commonplace in most if not all radio’s today. This means you can leave the display light on without worrying about how long the light will last (how many remember all those older radio’s where the incandescent bulbs blew out after a few years, and the heat those bulbs generated on their own!). LED’s generate no heat to speak of and last virtually forever (something like100,000 hours I believe, which might as well be forever in human terms).
The menu system is simple to navigate and easy to comprehend. The speaker on the 2600 is on the front facing forward, which is very convenient. I’d still recommend a good quality external speaker for mobile installations but many use it mobile with just the internal speaker with acceptable results (I’ve always preferred a good external speaker myself), although I use my 2600’s turned completely down (quiet) because I don’t want to listen to data bursts in the shack.
The controls on the radio are few and simple. I would have preferred to have a squelch control knob but being a single-band mobile radio, the electronic squelch setting is good for almost every channel I would operate (even if used for voice operation). Still, I’ve always preferred a real knob for squelch control. Button placement is logical and works well for either base or mobile operation.
The FT-2600 has a healthy heat sink but does get rather warm while using even low power (5 watts) for extended periods of time. High-power operation for more than a few minutes results in a heat sink you could grill food on. I recommend mounting a small fan to the heat sink to better dissipate the heat, or at least place a small fan so it blows across the heat sink, whether base or mobile. Even a small amount of air circulation will go a long way to keep your radio cool. Although my 2600’s operate strictly using high-power, the data bursts are so short the radios aren’t keyed long enough to even get warm so if you intend to use your 2600 for dedicated data operation a fan isn’t necessary.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed using my FT-2600’s and they have served extremely well in the capacity I use them for. Again though, I must point out that I have never used them in a mobile environment so my review does not encompass that aspect, which, based on many other reviews here say the 2600 has a problem with dumping all it’s memory channels if the radio is left on when starting your vehicle (that drop in voltage that occurs when you start your car and everything either dims out or drops out completely for a moment). Obviously this potential issue would not be observed if used as a base station attached to a stable power supply.
Although no longer made (I think there have been two additional models since the 2600), the FT-2600 has been a great addition to my radio collection and I’ve had hundreds of hours of enjoyment using this fine model. I hope they continue to last because I’d hate to have to replace them (but if I did I’d likely buy a couple Kenwood TM-271’s).
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G0YAP
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 2, 2007 12:08
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Built Like A Tank
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have had 2 of these, one has been my main station 2 mtr rig for the passed 6 years and it has never let me down. My wife uses the base alot to talk to me whilst I,m at work and by god.. she can talk!! The 60w pa stands up to her verbal assault and the radio does heat up, but nothing to worry about. I have noticed these radios are favoured by the Raynet and 4 x 4 rescue lot and I,m not surprized. They are a good, well built and reliable radio. Shame Yaesu stopped making them. If you see one for sale... BUY IT or tell me about it and I,ll buy it!
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G0YAP
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Rating: 5/5
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May 19, 2007 08:23
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GREAT RADIO
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Owned one as my main base station transceiver for years and it is used everyday on 60 watt. It is like the duracel... It keeps going... and going and going..... A good basic, reliable radio.
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N5NPO
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 23, 2006 04:59
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Wish they still made 'em!
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I got mine used from e-bay. Being a two way radio tech I was not overly concerned about any problems that might crop up with a used rig. Despite not being packed well for shipping, I recieved the radio in very good condition. It was missing the mounting bracket and one screw from the face plate. I found a mounting bracket for it (from a Kenwood TK-7160 land mobile rig) and put it in my service van. It has a fron firing speaker, best idea yet on a 2m mobile rig. It is 90% heatsink. It will get very warm, but rest assured it is dissipating the heat. I have the programming software and it makes entering memories a BREEZE! If you want a 2m mobile rig with guts and features, this is the one! You can get them used sometimes for under $120. With the built in PL encode decode and DPL (DCS) encode/decode, the radio will not be obsolete for many years to come! 73 de N5NPO
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WN5T
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Rating: 3/5
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Dec 15, 2004 17:21
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Good Rig, but...
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have now had my 2600M for over a year. It transmits full rated output of 65W. The audio reports have been outstanding. The receive audio is good. The internal speaker isn't great, but it is a front-firing speaker. That feature I really like, though I usually run an external speaker. This a great rig which I have run both in the truck and in the shack.
I do wish it had the DTMF control functions like those on the FT-1500.
Now, the reason I gave it a "3"... Whoever at Yaesu decided to use 6-wire modular (a.k.a. three line telephone) plugs on the microphones should have stayed home that day. If there is ANY tension on the mic cable, my transmitted audio crackles. This one will probably get opened up and the mic cable hard-wired into the radio. The trend of using RJ series connectors doesn't find it's only home at Yaesu. It is a lamentable trend. At least ICOM uses the RJ-45 on the IC706 series of radios which seems to be a more mechanically sound connection.
Buy the rig. It's great...just be ready for "you've got mic cord problems" to be heard from the speaker.
73 es gud DX,
Michael
WN5T
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WX4MET
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Rating: 4/5
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Jul 9, 2004 09:58
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Great radio, but gets pretty warm
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've had my FT-2600M for about a year and a half now, and have had no problems with it! I do have mine in a base setup in my home. Something I have observed probably not more than three times was that after turning on my power supply the radio would not come on. I had to completely unplug the power supply from my wall outlet and put it back in before the radio would come on. After that it was back to normal! I think this was due to the power supply however, and not something with the radio.
The only other thing about this radio is that it heats up very quickly. Even transmitting on five watts will cause it to get very warm, if you place your hand on the bottom of the radio. Transmit on sixty and it's too hot to leave your hand on for very long! Be certain to make sure the radio has good ventilation, no matter where its operating environment is. This is a great radio, and I will continue to recommend it to anyone!
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