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| Reviews Summary for Yaesu FT-950 |
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Reviews: 107
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Average rating: 4.6/5
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MSRP: $1840
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Description: The Yaesu FT-950 is an HF/6m transceiver which features IF DSP as well as 3 kHz, 6 kHz and 15 kHz roofing filters. The transceiver can be interfaced with the DMU-2000 to add additional functions such Band Scope, Audio Scope, X-Y Oscilloscope, World Clock, Rotator Control, and extensive transceiver status displays, in addition to station logging capability. The optional RF µTuning Kits may be connected via the rear panel, providing improved selectivity to protect the receiver from close-in interference on a crowded band.
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More info: http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamhf/0950.html
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write your own review of the Yaesu FT-950.
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WD0FIA
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 25, 2009 01:39
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WOW!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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As well as having the FT-950 I own 4 hf rigs, Yaesu, Kenwood, Icom, and Ten Tec. There is NO comparison!
Excellent audio, great signal reports! Easy to see (and understand) display. Knobs and buttons are sized perfectly, no fumbling around!
Real Bang for the buck, it is the LEAST expensive HF rig I have, and it has the BEST available features!
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IZ3ATV
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 24, 2009 05:44
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Unbeatable for price
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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This is my second review after some major firmware updates.
It's surely no good as the K3, the Flex series, the Orion II or the Yaesu and Icom flagship transceivers but by the numbers and tests, the FT-950's receiver performs better than any rigs in it's price range.
It's not intended to be a killer contest rig, unlike some exaggerated advertisement may depict it, neither it's a perfect example of human-factors engineering nor it's a wholly perfect rig.
But it's growing better step by step for free every firmware upgrade.
In my opinion, it's more a favourably-priced, all-purpose rig with performance that's mostly on a par with radios costing quite a bit more, and with very good DSP functioning in the same or better league than many more-costly radios.
The FT-950 has a number of TX/RX features usually not found on HF rigs under 1200 Euro.
The single word better reporting this rig is:
BARGAIN.
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AD4C2009
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 21, 2009 09:19
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FT-950 a good radio
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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After been an Icom radios lover for many years,wanted to give a try to this FT-950 after reading all the good reviews here so I taded my year old IC-7000 backup even for this Yaesu radio with the hope that it was going to be a better radio and after been using it for 4 days I think I did a good deal.It took me just 4 hours to figure out how to do all the menu settings even for TX ESSB,I attached an Audio Technica ATR-30 dynamic mic and after setting all the three parametric builtin EQ's,believe it or not it have a better Tx audio than my ProIII with external EQ boxes.In terms of audio response both radios have the roll-off around 80 Hz but the "lows" on the 950 sound more natural than on the ProIII.
At the begining I noticed the 950 noise floor was higher than the ProIII about 3db but after installed yesterday the latest firmware upgrade for the CPU and the DSP the 950 became even quiter than the ProIII and sensitivity equals the the ProIII.Only dislike I have so far is that some important functions we use daily as the DNR and Tx Pwr for example,are within the menu and it takes time to open it up and move the "select" knob to find it,yes there is a dedicated "CS" key to have any function enabled in that key but how about others? Yaesu should have thought about it and then should have provided an extra CS key or otherwise have dedicated knobs/keys for DNR and Power.Of course this will not make me change my opinion that is still a great radio for the price is been sold.
Automatic antenna tuner even is a bit noisy can tune any swr up to 3 to 1 in less than 4 seconds,its not as fast as the one on my ProIII or the one on my K3 but still do the job.
Mine arrived lower in power in all bands,around 90W but its very easy to access the service menu without even open it and recalibrate all bands one by one to 120W or more.Radio works cool,after a long cw period of operation it becomes just warm,so heat sink is well designed.I will keep this radio as a backup for a long time.
AD4C
Lake Worth/FL
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W9ZO
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 21, 2009 09:41
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Nice Gig
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I just traded in my TS-570SG for the FT-950.
The 950 is much better than the 570 but requires that you read the manual fully to understand the operation of the radio.
The first thing I did was the 11.50 and 610 firmware updates.
Very easy if you follow the instructions.
As for the menu items such as changing power etc, I recommend using the Ham Radio Deluxe program to interface the radio to your computer.
There is a slider for power adjustment and many of the other features.
At first I used the Phones jack to get the audio out to my Sound Card Line In.
This worked but I wanted a fixed level output.
You can use either the PKT jack or the REC jack on the rear panel.
I used the REC to Line In, but the level was a little low.
Changing the plug from Line In to the Microphone jack solved the problem.
The sensitivity and audio quality is outstanding.
CW operation is great.
This rig has to be one of the best buys for the buck.
Outstanding value!
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KC2PLJ
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 17, 2009 16:24
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Outstanding
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Just purchased this Excellent transceiver and it has been nothing short of amazing, the receiver is first class, Audio reports are excellent. The menu system is a little confusing at first but I am already comfortable operating through it. I see a lot of reference to this unit and the Icom 746 pro, they don't even compare. This one blows it out of the water and makes the 746 look like a welfare case. 73 Mike
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K2VI
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 3, 2009 13:51
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DX MACHINE
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I UPLOADED THE NEW 11.50 FIRMWARE UPGRADE AND THE RIG HAS A DIFFERENT SOUND , ALMOST LIKE MY PRO III. THIS RADIO HAS TO BE THE BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK EVER.SOME MIGHT COMPLAIN ABOUT THE POWER AJUSTMENT IN THE MENU, THIS IS REALLY NOT A BIG PROBLEM FOR ME.I LEARNED THE RADIO WELL AND NAVIGATE WHERE I NEED TO GO IN A SNAP.IF YOUR THE TYPE THAT HAS NO PATIENCE TO LEARN THE RADIO THEN DO NOT BUY IT.YOU WILL BE BETTER OFF WITH AN FT-920 OR 990.FOR ME IT'S A PLEASURE TO HAVE IN THE SHACK AND WILL NEVER SELL IT.5 STAR RATING ALL THE WAY.
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HA2ERO
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Rating: 4/5
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Feb 20, 2009 02:38
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Good, but not superb
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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It is more than enough for everyday activities. Its sensitivity, the very low noise level, the good filters make the use of the rig very comfortable. It sounds very good especially on SSB.
However I do not think it is a high end radio and it is not suitable for serious contesting. My main focus on a rig is the receiver performance on CW. I am mostly working on CW. The updates brought us some improvement in the filters but I do not recognize major improvement in the receiving performance.
My concerns with the rig:
- First one, which is not the biggest issue for me.
Any CW station with S-9 or stronger signal is covering +/-800Hz in the band. The DSP filter is able to eliminate its sidetone, but the singal still knocking and the covers the weak signals in this range.
I compared it with a TS2000 too. The two radios are on my desk and I can use the same antenna for the tests. The TS2000 performs better in this aspect. The covered range is thinner.
- Sercond one, which causes more headake.
My neighbor has an electric fence. When it operates I hear a knocking – one knock per second with S-9 strength - noise in all bands. The noise blanker is able to reduce it but cannot eliminate it.
I cannot even hear it on the TS2000. I thought its front end in more robust against local wide band noise and disturbances. I had the chance to try an ICOM 746 and a 706 in my shack. They were also not affected by the electric fence.
So my conclusion is now that the FT950 has an open and sensitive front end compared to the other rings. Considering that the small mobile IC706 has over performed the FT-950 in this point this result reflects a poor performance.
(Please note that the FT950 receiver is better than the ICOM706 and 746 in all other aspests.)
Nevertheless I still do not think about selling the rig off. No other rig performs better in this price.
73!
HA2ERO
Zoli
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KC5LDO
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 14, 2009 15:11
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great rig
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I really wasn't needing a new radio when I bought my FT-950. Pricing and selection on the Yaesu products made it hard not to buy. I wanted to try out a new menu base radio and FT-950 was just what I was looking for.
I am very pleased with the FT-950. It didn't take long to get it set up to my liking. I don't seem to notice the problems others do. It receives very well and filtering works good. I use a MD100 mic ,Zero Five antenna and 100 watts. Stateside and dx contacts seem easy . It's also the quietest radio I've ever had.
It looks good and is a pleasure to use. I used it for 10 hours straight in the na qso party contest and I never got fatigued. If you have the time to learn it you'll love it. 73,James
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G8YTZ
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 10, 2009 15:48
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You won't be unhappy with this rig.
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I purchased this radio last November, so have owned it just over three months and I am absolutely delighted with it, if you buy this radio you will likely be hooked on Yaesu and keep it for years, it has inner qualities that you appreciate more every time you use it, this is surely a mark of a timeless and quality design.
Pros:
• Fantastic RX and TX performance, turned revolutionary after the recent radio and DSP upgrades. I have had many unsolicited comments about my first-rate SSB transmit audio (the processor is set to Yaesu’s recommended settings in the manual)
• Flexible menu set-up system, you can tweak this radio to just how you want it to be.
• Very clear and easy-to-read VF display, great feel to the main tuning dial.
• Excellent instruction manual
• Works perfectly with Ham Radio Deluxe.
• Fantastic internal build quality with a quality die-cast chassis. (I opened it up to add the excellent VMU board)
Cons:
• Could do with more memories and alpha tagging
• Would love it is Yaesu produced a matching external speaker
• Lacks a discriminator meter on FM (future software enhancement?)
• There is a minor scanning bug on memory bank 4 (memory scanning will not start on this bank, but will continue if selected during scanning on another memory bank – Yaesu need top get your software engineers onto this one!)
• No way to save your memories and settings (without the DMU) when you upgrade the firmware, you have to add them all back in manually.
• It should really have a USB interface on a modern radio.
One piece of advice I can give HF radio operators though... Don’t make the mistake that I did and be tempted by the poison fruit of the switch mode power supply... I purchased a “MyDel” switch mode power supply with this rig; I have since seen the error of my ways and purchased a proper Yaesu FP-1030 unit and what a difference, the radio is much quieter and now pulls in the weakest signals with clarity and depth. Moral of the story is always to buy the OEM accessories, switch mode and HF rigs do not mix – and Yaesu know this.
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KC2OYZ
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Rating: 1/5
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Feb 9, 2009 16:32
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FT-950
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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(I would have given this radio a 0, but the RX sounds great and the built in speaker is excellent.)
Yes guys, I read the manual, AND the Nifty Notes. And this is my 7th HF rig. And I write and analyze software systems for a living so I'm not scared of complicated things.
My complaints about the FT-950 are too numerous to list - but this will tell you all you need to know about it: What kind of bonehead dedicates a whole big knob right in front to memory keyer speed and sticks RF Power, and DNR settings, and compression/speech processor settings stuck inside some far away menu with only one menu hot-key?
If you are an operator who wants to work crowded bands, negotiate pileups and chase DX, I'd say a clean IC-735 would be a better choice than an FT-950.
BUT, if you like to look at lots of nice colors and play with menus, run out and buy an FT-950.
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