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| Reviews Summary for Yaesu FT-8800R |
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Reviews: 137
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Average rating: 4.5/5
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MSRP: $399.95
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Description: DUAL BAND RADIO
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More info: http://
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You can
write your own review of the Yaesu FT-8800R.
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KE5NXP
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Rating: 4/5
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Apr 28, 2008 00:00
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Very good-but not perfect...
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I got this radio last Christmas as a replacement for my FT-8100 (which had all the common problems). It is my mobile rig and works very well as such through a Comet B-10NMO. It is a world apart from the 8100 though, as it is almost entirely menu driven whereas the 8100 was all hard buttons. That, however, is relatively minor and with a little practice I was quickly able to adapt. The radio is leaps and bounds over my previous in terms of function, but I am absolutely baffled by the lack of backlighting on the buttons! The display is actually quite good in my opinion, but I find it inexcusable that the buttons aren't backlit. I guess that's just my personal peeve since I work nights! My only other gripe is the tiny little indicator pips on the vol/sq knobs. It is almost impossible to tell where your levels are set unless it is broad daylight and you have a direct view of the control head. Overall, I am very pleased with the rig and it has performed very well indeed. I would probably have given it a 5 if it weren't for the knobs and lack of button lighting. I would also recommend the FTB8800 software from G4HFQ. Programming and naming repeaters from the menu driven system can be a bit tedious.
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NK7J
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Rating: 3/5
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Mar 30, 2008 21:03
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An ok Radio
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Overall this is a good radio, but by no means excellent.
First the Good:
Nice Compact size
Good Audio
With 3rd party software and cable the memory is easy to take care of
The bad:
The Audio control knobs suck... way too loose.
The micro switches on the control head are NOT sealed in any way, shape or form, I can attest to them being VERY suseptable to dust or other matter.
Those are the biggies, there are more for both pros and cons... I just picked out the few that stand out to me. I just fixed three of the buttons on the control head, all three had collected dust or other matter in them and failed.
NOTE: If your buttons on your FT-8800 fail to operate properly or intermittantly on both sides it is most likely cuased by one of the switches acquiring something in them and cuasing it to act as a sort of resistor which cuases the voltage to fluctuate on the switch buss(s) and the processor cannot determine what is going on so it freezes and none of the buttons will work properly besides maybe the set button which is on a seperate buss.
Overall I am happy with the radio, but it is certainly not commercial grade with regards to the cheap button/switch arrangment on the control head, just be prepared to have to replace them from time to time.
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2E0JTP
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 26, 2008 07:46
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Superbly competent dual band transceiver!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I've just acquired an FT-8800E to replace two separate radios (a pair of VHF & UHF transceivers) I was using. This radio takes up considerably less space than the previous two radio set up and has significantly increased functionality as well.
The performance of the radio is terrific, pretty much what I expected from a Yaesu rig and hence the reason I opted for this and not one of the other manufacturers dual band models. The menu system is exactly the same as all other current Yaesu FM radios, but with perhaps slightly more fiddly buttons to navigate with due to the closely packed controls. If you are used to modern Yaesu menu driven radios, this one is as easy to operate as all the others.
Audio quality from the top mounted internal speaker is very good and on a par with any other internal speaker I've heard on any FM mobile radio.
The display head is dis-mountable from the main body to allow easy installation on tightly packed vehicle dashboards. The microphone attaches to the display head, which allows you to mount the radio body pretty much anywhere you like in your vehicle.
One criticism though, the buttons on the front of the display aren't illuminated for night time operation (unlike say, the FT-7800, which is illuminated)
The hand mic is the venerable MH-48, this is used on nearly all current Yaesu mobile radios (with the exception of the newest FTM10R bluetooth radio) and is a very useful hand mic indeed. It has the full range of DTMF buttons as well as channel changing buttons and 4 additional programmable buttons for your most commonly used features - this is very useful as it effectively allows you to control the radio from the hand mic.
This radio looks and feels to be built to a very high standard and would appear to be capable of withstanding the rigours of a mobile environment. This particular radio is living the easy life (in the shack) and will hopefully prove a useful addition.
I've rated it a "5" because even though it would be nice if the front buttons were actually illuminated, this is such a minor niggle that it doesn't really detract from the overall superbness of this radio.
Highly recommended if you want a true dual band (Cross Band Repeat capable) VHF/UHF FM mobile transceiver.
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K9KJM
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 16, 2008 02:58
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Still the best!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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The Yaesu FT-8800 is still the best dual band radio available today. (The latest Icom and Kenwood dual band rigs both have serious memory channel management problems)
No, The 8800 is not perfect, As mentioned, The volume control knobs are easy to bump, There really should be backlit control buttons for nighttime operation, The squelch delay on cross band repeat is kind of annoying, And some other very minor details that could be better.
I still give it a full "5" for being the best available today.
I now have four FT-8800 radios in operation here, And our ARES group has over a dozen of them. ALL work well, With NO problems of any type in several years of operation.
Note that the FT-8800 is a TRUE dual band radio that you can program whatever you want in each side of the radio (Like two radios in one box) While the FT-8900 is not. Memory channel management in the 8900 is nowhere near as "easy" as the 8800.
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KK8ZZ
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Rating: 4/5
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Jan 23, 2008 21:19
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harder to use
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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The overly-easy to move knobs make this radio jittery to use... never know just where those settings are... Cheer.... Bob KK8ZZ
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A61I
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 3, 2008 04:04
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BEST MOBILE RADIO
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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1st when I bout the FT8800R I was using it as base station on the 2M and hear the Air Band and its really nice and easy use radio(for people who use Yaesu ) its have almost belt in fan never come hot.
Easley give you 50W am using it with diamond 2 band vertical antenna.
Its have the narrow and wide output from the setting of the radio.
Thin I used it on my car with AZ504FX diamond antenna which can give you 2band
Now am using it on my base agine and im happy with this radio
(I have 2 of my friend the are using it on the car for safari its have duty radio)
100% command for the VHF& UHF CAR OR BASE USE
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KG4BVD
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 2, 2008 22:51
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Very Strange!
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I got to say, for the money, and considering what this radio will do as far as RX/TX, I say I got a great deal. I already had one in my car (it is 1 month older than the one I am speaking of here), so I use the "export" unit for a base station, connected to a 25 amp Astron switching power supply, and a very broad-band - Dual-band antenna 130MHz - 175MHz and 400MHz - 512MHz, but it also does super for VHF and UHF aircraft bands as well.
I have the Yaesu software and cable for the radio, and it programs just fine with the USB to serial adapter on my Win XP SP2 notebook, since it has no serial ports, I had to buy the USB to Serial adapter (which works with many other radios and some peripherals I have.).
So, all in all, I think that I got a really good deal for the radio, considering it was the same price as the other FT-8800R I bought a month before this one, in all I have had them about 5 months (got them last summer).
Thanks,
Walter
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N9OVE
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 19, 2007 13:04
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Nice Rig
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I replace my Alinco DR-600T in the shack with my first FT-8800. It was like a whole new world. Programming software is a must for the over 1000 memories. The Hypermemory function allows me to use it to scan Public Safety/Ham, VHF/UHF, VHF/VHF, UHF/UHF, Local Repeaters, or all repeaters with ease. I liked this radio so much I replaced an Alinco DR-150 and DR-590 in the mobile, with a second FT-8800. It scans fast like the DR-150, but has the twin bands like the DR-590. Saved space in the truck also! Great Work Yaesu!
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N0FPE
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 14, 2007 18:11
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Works fine for me
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This radio works fine for me. I just used it for a public service event in crossband and had NO delay problems. Have also used it in Rangeboost operations and it preformed flawless. I drive around a LARGE metro area and have never had intermod problems. I also have a FT-8900 and one of the new FTM-10r and they all preform flawless..
I like it!!! 5+
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W5EJ
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Rating: 2/5
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Dec 14, 2007 15:47
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OK but has issues
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Good radio but I would not buy another.
The good:
Loud audio enough to drive any speaker
Good programming software available (3rd party)
Small unit with good remote head
Quick scanner
The bad:
I rated this radio a two because any dual tuner radio designed to do crossband repeat should do it well and this radio does not. Yaesu has encoded a delay in the radio after transmit completion which is highly annoying nad makes the radio difficult to use in public service events or any situation with busy traffic where quick back and forth transmissions are needed. This has been mentioned by several people on the yahoo users group and there is no fix.
Volume controls way too loose, blown my ear drums out a few times, controls needs to be tightened and Yaesu should have addressed this by now and has not (easy fix come on Yaesu!).
Bad intermod, compared to my FT-857 this unit is very susceptable to intermod. For the money they could have engineered a tigher front end and not hurt the wideband recieve capability.
Channel controls are on top instead of on the bottom which I find make tuning the right reciever hard as your hand will obscure the display.
All in all its not a bad radio just not well thought out with respect to control placement, ergonomics and crossband functionality. There are better radios out there now for the money from Kenwood and Icom that don't have these issues.
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