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write your own review of the Yaesu FT-7B.
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LW8DJI
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 8, 2010 09:53
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very fun radio
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I have several radios, ic775, ts870, ft990,ft857d etc. but this transceiver is really fun, and also works well, I have a tentec 580, but the Yaesu FT7 is much higher, both as rx tx, 50 w reach for most everyday situations. without dsp, pll, or complicated menu, this single conversion works ok. in Argentina price is 150-200 USD, is my companion in my fishing trips, 5 + points for this
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G4MJA
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Rating: 4/5
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Feb 14, 2008 12:32
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Nice rig!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I owned one of these radios back in the 80's for a couple of years - I previously had the lower powered FT7 & got good results with that. I ran mobile all the time with the FT7B & a set of G-Whip antennas, worked a lot of DX & always received good audio & signal reports. My only complaint with the rig was if I got into a 'rag chewing' session the radio would heat up & drift, not badly, but drift it did! I had no RF pickup problems & it was plugged into the cigarette lighter socket! The receiver was reasonably sensitive & the radio completely reliable. These radios are getting kinda long in the tooth now but are a breeze to service or so a radio technician tells me.
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KC0MNM
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 20, 2007 10:18
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Great and simplistic!!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I recently received an FT-7B from an online auction. It was exactly as the seller described and after a good cleaning, it is a very attractive radio. I also have the FT-7 (10 watt rig) and can definitely tell a difference with the increase to 50 watts. I regularly check into the Missouri Traffic Net on 3963 kHz several evenings out of the week at 5:45 central time. The FT-7B really gets through alot better than my FT-7 did and I'm getting many giving me feedback that I need to keep using the FT-7B.
I've started trying to work state QSO parties and can tell a real difference in getting through the pile ups. I will keep and use the FT-7, it's a great radio in its own right, but the FT-7B has that little extra power for getting through when conditions aren't great.
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G0IFW
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Rating: 4/5
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Dec 15, 2004 12:27
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very satisfying
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I owned my FT7B and YC7B since the early eighties and still retain it today.In todays world of Ham Radio simplicity still has its place. Rigs of this mould are still lovely to use,and being able to carry out repairs if you need too make for the enjoyment too. The 500khz VFO looks and feels bomb proof and working out the operating frequency with those Analogue dials keeps you on your toes however the outboard YC7B helps in this matter. Operating the Tune/Load function to obtain the optimum performance of the tx/rx circuits is very practical and the front end just pulls in those signals with ease.This is very much a manual rig in every sense.Of course there are some drawbacks like freq drift especially the outboard counter and the heat it generates adds to this.I added a Tx/Rx FM board to this but I need to refine this.I know I will be definitely keeping this Rig especially when I got it back after it had been stolen from me so maybe I was meant to this Rig.
Now I would like to ask for some help here, I want to get the Rig back to its original colour can anybody Help
Regards Michael
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AB4YE
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Rating: 4/5
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Jul 8, 2004 01:26
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good rig!!!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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my first ham rig. came with the fl110 amp. also worked great. The receiver was super quiet. Audio was really nice. Not a lot of features, but a very rugged rig. WIth the companion linear, the rig was a 100 watt powerhouse. I still have this rig and amp - keeping it for a rainy day..
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WB5OAU
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Rating: 4/5
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Jul 7, 2003 17:24
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Cool 70s tech rig
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've got several of these things...one's suffered the abuses of a CBer and is a parts donor, and the other two just keep chugging along. Pretty neat little rig. Ran mobile in my Mustang 2 yrs ago and worked FB. Innovative backplane style construction works far better than it looks.
If you can get one in the 250$ range, you'll enjoy it.
John K5MO
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LA1AL
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Rating: 3/5
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Jan 31, 2002 13:10
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OK portable radio!
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Time owned: months
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Got a FT7B with broken final transistors.I made the holes in the print wider and replaced the old
transistors with rugged Motorola MRF 454.
The rig is now working ok with about orginal output power ca 50w.
The FT7 is a fair performer,but the receiver audio is not top-class.Ok for portable work.
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V73GOD
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Rating: 4/5
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Aug 31, 2001 19:22
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Good Casual Dxpedition Radio
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I am on my second one about 14 years apart. It is great to put in a case with a battery pack, small tuner and wire. It can do the basic DX stuff but not the fancy. Analog readout is a flashback to having to read and lowering the power is a lot of fun. No WARC bands and only the CW/Novice portion of 10 meters isn't a drawback. The 50W output is a challenge but when your prefix is KH6/7/8/9/0, an amplifier really isn't needed. It's solid and has great audio. It's a staple of the stable here at V7 land.
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4S7AB
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Rating: 4/5
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Sep 21, 2000 07:27
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Long Lasting radio
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I will share my thoughts about this radio which I am having during the last 6 years.
Even though I don't use this very much, I didn't want to sell this off since I really like it.
The circuitry is really clean and neat. You hardly see a wire going through when you open the top cover. Everything nicely plugged into the main boad as sub boards like you see in a PC.
It's hardy and do not burn the finals even if you foget to connect the antenna (Don't try that!!)
Audio is OK but cannot be said 'superb'. 50W output is not adequate in todays conditions. No processing.
It's a good portable radio if one wants to use it that way.
73
kamal
4S7AB Sri Lanka (www.qsl.net/4s7ab)
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G0VNR
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Rating: 4/5
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Jun 30, 2000 21:03
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FT-7B an improvement
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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This radio is a huge improvement on the straight FT-7. The filtering on CW is sharper, the SSB tonal quality is clearer and having worked many obscure stations with this radio, 50W does make a difference. I have used the FT-7 without much success. The lack of the majority of 10M was a let-down, and the PA is puny. The FT-7B addresses these issues and refines an already good proven radio into an excellent proposition for mobile/portable and yes, even as the main shack radio. Mine has the YC-7B outboard digital display, which drifts and lies for about 30 minutes. A crystal oven or some form of temperature compensation on the reference oscillator would help here. On the whole, the FT-7B is a fine piece of kit, and you won't find a better 50W radio in amongst the modern stuff on offer. More to the point, being modular and simple, it's very easy to fix.
Beware, though. these rigs are 20 years old and are starting to show their age. When I got mine, two of the five (yes, five) relays had dirty contacts and one of them was beyond repair. Also the microphone cable picks up RF and the audio in should be decoupled at the socket. The power cable is far too long, and should be kept within 1M if possible. Any longer and the voltage drop starts to affect stability of the VFO on TX.
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