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| Reviews Summary for Yaesu FT-450 |
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Reviews: 146
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Average rating: 4.6/5
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MSRP: $aprox 999.00 new
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Description: The FT-450 is a rugged, innovative multi-band, multimode portable transceiver for the amateur radio HF & 6M bands. Providing coverage of the 160-10 meter bands plus the 6 m, the FT-450 includes operation on the SSB, CW, AM, FM, and Digital modes, yielding the most comprehensive performance package available for field operation.
Designed for use from an external DC power source, the FT-450 provides 100 watts of power output from a 13.8-Volt external power supply, 160 - 6 meter coverage
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More info: http://foxtango.org/FT-450/Yaesu_FT-450.htm
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K7ZOV
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 22, 2009 19:34
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Review 2
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I am now sure my 703 trade was my best trade ever. Today was day 2 of the ARRL contest. I got on for 2 hours and made 40 contacts ranging on 40, 20 and 15 meters. The internal ATU was fast and gave me 1:1 on all freq. The IF/DSP did an awesome job pulling out and cleaning up signals. I got numerous "great sound" reports. All in all I was very, very impressed. Also had fun making the display color change to a nice Green on black Was good on the eyes too..hihi I would recommend this radio in a heartbeat. I might put my 706mkii up for trade for another one. I have had that one mobile with dsp and both filters and I like this radio better. First time I ran across one that impressed me so much without costing in the $2000 to $4000 range. The radio still can't match those but it does one hell of a job anyway.
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M3SKF
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 21, 2009 22:46
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top class
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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THIS IS THE HIDDEN GEM OF THE HAM RADIO SALES MARKET,JUST LOOK AT THE SPEC ON THIS RADIO.GO COMPARE THIS TO ALL THE OTHERS THEN CHECK THE PRICE TAG.i OWN SEVERAL HF TRANSCEIVERS AND HAVE HAD MOST OF THE MID RANGE AND SEMI SO CALLED TOP RANGE RADIO IN THE OFFERING OVER THE LAST 20YR.THE FT450 IS A FINE RADIO AND ONE THAT TAKES ALOT OF LICKING IN FACT ITS AS GOOD AND VERY COMPARIBLE TO ANY RADIO COSTING TWICE AS MUCH.MENU IS EASY TO WORK AND THE DSP IS ONE OF THE BEST I USED TO DATE THE TX AUDIO IS SUPER WITH THE VARIOUS DSP SETTINGS.WELL DONE TO YAESU FOR OFFERING A TOP CLASS RADIO THAT WORKS SO WELL AND COSTS A FRACTION OF WHAT ELSE IS ON THE MARKET.GO GET ONE 2ND USER OR BUY BRAND NEW THEN GET ON THE BANDS AND GO HEAD TO HEAD WITH THE BIG GUNS,OOH YEA IT PLAYS ALONG SIDE THEM VERY WELL INDEED AND GUESS WHAT THEY DONT LIKE IT.ITA A KEEPER FOR SHURE YOU CANT GO WRONG.
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K7ZOV
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 21, 2009 20:00
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Was a really good trade
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Traded my IC-703 for a FT-450 then found out it was an AT to boot. Have had it only a few days and wanted to share my first impressions. It is a Apr/2007 version with the latest software update. Size is compact but not small like the 857D. Display is easy to read. Menu system was easier then I expected to use. Comparing the 450 with my IC-756 classic so far they both hear the same with the same s-meter or no s-meter reading as the 756. Close signal using the IF/DSP function surprised me in that they did as good as if not better job of cutting out close stations and hetrodyning then the 756. The DSP DNR is as good if not better also. (remember this in NOT the pro series) I have a s-7 background last might and it pulled it out and made cw/ssb copy clean and clear. Got good reports on my audio quality and I have not played with that feature as of yet. The internal ATU worked perfect with my 4BTV. Sound quality was over all good but the really don't like the small speaker. This looks like a keeper. Next step computer interfacing, digital modes, and portable with one of my rebuilt ATAS-100's. Will report back. This is not a FT-950/2000/9000 or a 756 pro III, but so far it is at worst as good and in many cases better in many ways to a 857D, 706mkII, 703, 718 and 756 non-pro all of which I have used and enjoyed (except the 857d). If you are considering a FT-450 it would be a good choice.
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M5RJL
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 21, 2009 11:37
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Good value for money transceiver.
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Bought version with in-built antenna tuner. Couldn't fault build quality. Tuner works as specified, and works with antenna's designed to have SWR< 3 over required frequency range. Menu straightforward. Receiver performance OK. RX audio good. TX reports good. DSP filtering OK. Noise blanker successfully removed S9 click from nearby electric fence. Only small negative point for me, is the look of the display. Would prefer black on orange, perhaps like Icom IC703 rather than the 'clinical' white on black LCD. Good value for money transceiver.
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AA8PP
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Rating: 4/5
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Nov 6, 2009 21:25
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Nice rig
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Purchased my FT-450AT on the 28th of October and am very happy with it overall. The only thing keeping it from a 5 rating is the built in tuner. I previosly owned both the FT-890AT and the TS-480SAT running into my Van Gorden G5RV. Both of the rigs tuned the majority of bands with no problem. Unfortunately the new Yaesu falls short in comparison. I purchased a manual tuner and now can utilize the bands again. Guess I was spoiled by the tuners in the other two!
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K3EY
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 31, 2009 08:41
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Best Value with Better Performance
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have owned several of these radios since they came out. Out of the batch only one had a problem-- Yeasu replaced it--- low output which was the only problem I have ever encountered. I have owned many of the latest greatest HF radios offered today costing a lot more. What I have found is that this little do-all radio meets my operating requirements with ease and comfort. I operate CW 99 percent and 1 percent PSK. The complaints I have read on the limited 500HZ CW filtering makes me laugh because the best filtering system in the world is between your ears. Back when I got into amateur radio 500HZ bandwidth was about the best you could ask for. Buying that 500HZ filter back then turned your HF radio into a high performance edition. So that complaint of limited filtering, IMO anyway, doesn’t hold water. For raw receiver performance I really liked the K2 but this FT450 is light years ahead for features and convenience all bundled in one small and very efficient package. I love the display and I have retina damage. It’s easy on the eyes and adjustable and plenty large for even the visual impaired. Yes the K2 and PROIII can cut down the bandwidth to next to nothing when operating a busy contest or where tons of DX stations are piled on top of each other, other than those extreme circumstances and at a steal of a deal, the FT450 is the best value going today for just about all types of HF operating with a DSP system that actually works very well! Great Job Yaesu!
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WA6MOW
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 27, 2009 22:34
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Versatile, Great Value
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This is my 4th or 5th FT-450 so I know the rig quite well. I like trying different rigs and have used many different ones over the last few years. First off, this rig is not the same build quality as my 756Pro3 that sits beside the FT-450. Lets think about the price difference on the used market as I write this, $500 to $600 for a used 450, $1,700 to $2k for a used 756Pro3. The truth of the matter is that I can hear and work the same stations with either rig. Can I pull a $1k weaker signal out of the noise with my Pro3, no!! I would buy the FT-450 over the IC-718, IC-737, etc, and most of the older rigs in this price range. Old school rigs are fun if you like fixing them but technology has left a lot of the old timers behind. Here is what I like about the FT-450; The size, it takes up very little desk space. The menu system is very intuitive and simple to use and provides lots of control. I think the knob placement and main tuning knob are more than adequate. If you have the hands of gorilla, they may not suit you. The display is crisp and clean. Don't spend the extra money for the internal tuner unless your antenna has a low swr to begin with. You will be using an external tuner. I use a rubber door stop to prop up my FT-450 as I am too cheap to buy a bail. The buttons are not illuminated so I leave a room light on at night. I would like to see stock market at 15,000 within the next six months, I would like more hair on my head instead of my back,etc etc. Oh yeah, about the FT-450, if I only had around $500 bucks to spend, I would buy an FT-450 as my only rig. I personally have had great luck with the Yaesu facility in S. California and have always found them more than fair. They have fixed gear for me at no charge that I obviously damaged with very fast turn around. You won't regret buying a used or new FT-450!
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AA1OV
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 25, 2009 12:33
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Good rig for the $$
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I bought my FT-450 used from another ham. He found it too complicated. I found the rig to be a dynamite rig for the money. It operated fine in any mode I asked it to go to, the DSP did a good job on minimal antennas that I had to use. I had no issues with the rig at all. I added a pair of FT-100 feet to it, and used an LDG tuner to augment the limited range of the internal tuner when needed. All in all while not a full featured contest rig, it is no slouch on the air. Makes a great 1st rig or backup rig, or RV rig.
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N8NQU
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Rating: 3/5
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Oct 24, 2009 07:41
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Upset with Yaesu,Great radio when it works.
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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Well I got a call 2 days ago and from Yaesu and I got the bad news.The control unit failed.Well it's in the hand of the tech now.I got the final cost and when it's all said and done with shipping both ways it's going to cost around $330.00 to $350.00.I asked if I will still be able to change the color on the display and I was told NO.( Can of you members tell me if this is true???????)Well I choose to buy used so I can do that and now I will not.I used the for about 3 months and I do like it but I think I should get it back with the option of the change color.No,I am not happy.I have heard to many hams having problems with the Control Unit on earlier models.The number of failures is upwards of 100 radios,mine is one of them,7G05xxxx.Why can they put our radios back the way we bought them?????I have e-mailed Japan and you guess it,NO Reply.Thanks for reading my post.Thanks Bill N8NQU.73.........
n8nqu@yahoo.com
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WD0FIA
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 22, 2009 01:14
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Nice radio! Great price!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I bought a Yaesu FT-450 without the built in tuner to replace my FT-857D, that I had moved to my second car. I read through the supplied manual and checked the front panel layout, which is easy to use with. The main VFO knob is smaller than normal, but it isn’t a problem for me, as I use Free450 and HRD to manage memories and run the rig. The large multi-function display also makes it easy to configure the various DSP settings and clearly shows you what’s going on. The display is huge compared to most rigs, and easy to read.
Receiver sensitivity and selectivity are excellent on the HF bands and the 80m noise floor is quite low. On the air reports have been excellent so far with the MD-100AX microphone. I’m really looking forward to testing it out with some of the many digital modes which are available today and bought the Signalink USB to try on this radio.
The menu system is probably the most user friendly that I’ve found on a transceiver and using the basic functions is straight forward. In fact, it’s difficult to find fault with anything on the FT-450. The quality of construction makes it an ideal choice for portable operation.
I bought mine from GigaParts for only $639, and I feel I got the rig for a fair price. If you are on a budget or require a backup HF/6m transceiver. I’m very pleased with mine and I think the price represents excellent value for money, as the latest technology and DSP features would usually only be found on high end HF transceivers currently costing over $1000.
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