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| Reviews Summary for Yaesu FT-2000/2000D |
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Reviews: 217
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Average rating: 4.3/5
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MSRP: $2.995
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Description: HF/VHF-Transceiver (160 - 6 m) with 100 Watt output or 200 Watt with external power supply. Successor of the very popular FT-1000MP (Mark-V/Field). RF and LF scope. High dynamic range front end. 6 KHz and 12 KHz Roofing Filters. IF-DSP. Sub receiver.
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More info: http://www.yaesu.com
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write your own review of the Yaesu FT-2000/2000D.
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N0AZZ
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Rating: 4/5
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Oct 5, 2009 06:42
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Very Good Radios
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I bought my first FT-2000 2 1/2 yrs ago a 100w one. I must admit it did have a very steep learning curve and to this day still find a new feature now and then.
After having it a year or so decided I wanted a second radio for a backup or main had not decided which yet. So bought a ProIII it was a nice radio but did not have all the features of the 2000 so after 3 mo sold it.
After hearing all the hype on the K3 I put in my order for one and waited for 2 mo to receive it. When I opened it was a bit disappointed with the size and small tuning dial and buttons I have big fingers but hooked it up and away I went. I had all radios hooked to the same antenna with a A/B switch. I must admit it did have a very small receive advantage but not one you would you could see all the time. Again after 2 mo I did not like it because of the small size and everything menu driven that got old real quick so sold it at a loss also.
A friend had a OmniVII that he was trying to sell so he could upgrade to a FT-9000 so he told me to try it for a while. I had it on the desk for 2 weeks and it in no way did anything better than the 2000 I might add I am not a CW opp I do Digital and SSB it may be better on CW I do not know. I returned it. Sat for another few months and then decided I should buy another FT-2000 for my second radio a D model this time I also sold my AL-1500 amp. When I ordered the FT-2000/D I ordered the DMU and the Quadra VL-1000 amp. I feel I have a very good station at this time for the amount invested, one of there days there may be a 9000 who knows.
I have never had any problems with any of my equipment in the time owned. I feel that this is the best radio you can buy for the money ($2200) at this time for a SRD that the company supports well with upgrades PEP-2000 and several since then.
The reason I do not give any product a 5 rating is that I think they all can be improved somewhat that is the only reason for a 4/5 it should be a 5 I guess.
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EC4ALB
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 27, 2009 09:14
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THINK IS THE BEST
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I bought mine 2 years ago without PEP 2000 (first versions), must to say the PEP 2000 improved the transceiver, but not for give it a 0 before do it.
Yaesu should have waitet a few months to launch it once tested the DSPs.
Anyway i think is the best (for me) even the FT-1000 MP mk5.
No problem at all
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K6EEP
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Rating: 2/5
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Sep 1, 2009 23:10
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Updating my Review
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I have managed to fix my FT-2000. In an earlier review I said it blows out the IPO preamp transistors. I have personally replaced 9 of them. I found that this was due to RFI. I rerouted and organized a bunch of cabling in the shack. I also installed a diode limiter prior to the IPO preamp stage and the problem seems to be gone.
Oh, I also put 50 ohm terminations on the RX antenna IN/OUT ports.
In spite of my earlier comments the radio is not for sale. I would lose too much money in a sale so I am stuck with it.
I have heard that both the FT-1000's and the FT-9000's do not have all the RFI problems that the FT-2000 does. I have the radio working well enough to use now. If you only run 100 watts you probably will never see these RFI problems.
PROBLEM DETAILS...
I have spent weeks troubleshooting this problem. I have pages and pages of test data. The average ham would have had to send the radio back to Yaesu each time to replace the transistors. Two of the transistors easily fit on a grain of rice.
http://hamsoftware.org/FT2000/FT2000_01.jpg
They are pretty cheap transistors at least, $0.72 each. I used a broadcast AM station as a signal source to check if the preamp had blown. If the signal is louder when PRE-1 and PRE-2 are off then you have a blown preamp stage. Which I verified with a multimeter when I opened the rig up.
Here is a pointer to where the Preamp section is on the Main Board (bottom of rig)
http://hamsoftware.org/FT2000/FT2000_06.jpg
Here is a zoomed in shot of the area I repaired.
http://hamsoftware.org/FT2000/FT2000_04.jpg
The two transistors are marked R24. And they have 3 connections on them.
On the left side there is a test point called TP25. I put two small signal silicon diodes in parallel (like 1N4148) one fwd biased and one reversed and connected them to TP25. Then I grounded the other leg on the shielding next to the test point. Sorry I didn't take a picture.
I thought I would blow it up again and would take another picture then. But it actually worked! This is a very tough soldering job to do. You need a narrow point on your iron. Maybe this info will help others. I hope you never blow up your rigs.
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KK8ZZ
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 25, 2009 14:38
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Operator's Dream Radio
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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The newest update (late July 2009) made a number of very important improvements, including rendering the RX very quiet yet very sensitive. It is impressive that Yaesu continues to issue updates to many of their radios which can be downloaded and applied, unlike some other manufacturers who build radios which cannot be updated.I echo other comments that suggest that it will take a while before plumbing the full depths of the menus and manual. I just downloaded the manual and keep it on the computer screen while I've been operating the past few weeks. While the radio shines by itself, the DMU-2000 is the ultimate accessory with multiple screens of information, including a very capable band scope similar to the Icom PRO series scope. Its size is limited only by the availability of an external monitor with a VGA input. I've compared it to my 746PRO and PROII, and find the RX audio easier to listen to over longer periods of time. This is a very fine radio to operate in any kind of conditions.
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KP4IP
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 24, 2009 21:07
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Very Good Rig !
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I purchase my FT-2000D with DMU-2000 and 80/40, 30/20 meter RF Unit. I recommended this rig with the last firmware. Impressive audio and extreme receiver selectivity. The RF unit reduces the band noise from S9 to S5. 100% Recommended.
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SM4OTI
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Rating: 4/5
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Jul 23, 2009 01:42
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Affordable
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Hi,
After updating the firmware to one of the latest versions (mid 2009) this radio perform quite well. Many nice DSP features (contour peak, noise reduction etc.) to be able to pick up very weak CW signals at the noise level. The only downside in my opinion is the poor IMD data. In most cases this is no big problem, but in a major contest environment this is not the best radio to use.
In my simply field tests between my TS-850 and the FT-2000, the FT-2000 performs very well, and outperform my TS-850 in most cases (except for the poor IMD during reception of very strong nearby signals).
My point of view is that this radio is one of the most-for-the-money radios today.
If you looking for a really high performance receiving radio, I think the TenTec Orion I/II or Elecraft K3 should be considered, but then we're talking another price range.
Maybe one of the above will make its way into my shack in the future. Time will tell...
See you down the log.
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AH6ZZ
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 21, 2009 18:19
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Excellent radio
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Great radio – far more features than I will ever need and good value for the long term. I really am not qualified to evaluate many of the technical features and capabilities – so my rating is based on tests side by side with four other radios; the FT-2000 came out on top in each comparison. My only complaint is one that I have with high sensitivity radios in general and Yaesu radios specifically – they wear me out listening to them (how about that for heuristic analysis?).
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AD4C2006
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 11, 2009 12:03
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GOOD RADIO
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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After been on hamradio for 17 years and have owned more than 50 radios from all japs brands as well as national ones like 756ProIII,Orion,MK5,870,etc I can tell you in spite of some bad reviews that this is not a bad radio at all,first thing I want to point out is that this radio is not for "appliances operators" meaning if you don't know how to use modern menu on radios,sell it and get yourself a plug and play radio like a FT-840.
The FT-2000 will not work properly out of its box,there are 149 menues that has to be set properly to have the best performance.After that is done,and also after installed the latest firmware update,I realize that it receives as well as my former ProIII and as well as my actual K3.
The audio quality either on RX as on TX is super,Rx audio response is from 40 to 4000 Hz and TX goes from 80 to 3100 Hz using an Audio Tecnica ATR-30 mic equalized by the internal parametric EQ.
Some others has complained about poor roofing filtering,I want to remember that there is no much to expect when MCF (monolitic ceramic filters)are used instead of real xtal filters as at the K3 so the radio does what those filters can do,poor performance,but still on CW I can use the DSP narrowed down to 200 Hz and separate a station with a 449 signal from one calling cq at just 400 Hz and a 599 signal as well as my K3 will do it,below 200 Hz BW yes,the 2000 will have the ringing noise and the K3 will not.
All the functions needed are at the front panel,no need to press knobs 3 times to get extra functions as at the K3,in other words this is a friendly user radio.
Rx is very quite,as quite as the K3 and the DNR works great.
The only complain I have with this radio is that the audio monitor on SSB is not the real audio that is going out to the air,you can't trust the monitor quality when setting the mic parametric EQ,you must use an external radio to monitor yourself,Yaesu designed a poor quality monitor circuit,it lacks the "highs".
So far in two weeks of been using this beautiful radio,I am enchanted with it.I have used it on a contest already and had no problem to pickup weak stations using the DSP and roofers.
AD4C
Hector
Lake Worth,FL
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GOKXV
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 6, 2009 11:13
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Why would you purchase any other radio?
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I have owned the FT200D for some time now and have just purchased another, the best radio out there at present.
People who rate it at less than 5 obviously cannot read the users manual. This is supposed to be a technical hobby and I do not think it unreasonable that Yaseu expect that the purchaser will have the ability to set up the user definable menus.
People who complain about the radio when operating on a G5RV antenna or similar ought to get a real antenna......
It is a real radio for the experianced operators, not wet behind the ears or so old they cant read the manual.
I have read complaints about the ATU.....I have no problem when using resonant antennas....Perhaps I am old fashioned but resonat antennas work!!!!
People who cannot set up the Parametric equaliser for phone need to read up on audio frequencies and understand....
All the criticisms I have read are unfounded.
YASEU .....KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.......
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WQ1Z
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 22, 2009 11:39
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'Phone operator...Dream to operate!'
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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Radio purchased new at Dayton 2008. I enjoy the radio very much operating phone. Updated as CPU and EDSP software revisions are made available. This radio, like many modern radios, is a dream to operate. If you are a "casual amateur station" like me I'm sure you will enjoy your FT2K-D as well. Thanks to Yaesu for releasing all the new updates.
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