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| Reviews Summary for Yaesu FT-1500M |
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Reviews: 141
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Average rating: 4.6/5
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MSRP: $229
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Description: This is the new Yaesu FT-1500M Mono-band 2 Meter mobile radio. 50 watts out, MH-48 mic, CTCSS encode + decode, DTMF encode + decode, 130 memories, 1200-9300 Packet ready (connector on back), Backlit display, and most other bells and whistles you would come to expect from Yaesu (including SmartSearch, Clock Shift, ect.).
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More info: http://www.yaesu.com/ft1500m.html
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N4TSV
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Rating: 3/5
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Aug 14, 2007 08:28
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Solid performance BUT
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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The radio itself is a solid performer. I bought these because of their small size and they fit my trucks great. But the two I have and several others that friends have all have the same problem. The black rubberized microphone cord disintegrates into small pieces.
Yaesu is happy to sell me a new cord /microphone but I have no interest in having this happen again in 6 months. I'd be interested in hearing from any one else with similar experience.
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KY4Z
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 14, 2007 09:14
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Time proven winner
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I bought my FT-1500M new in 2000 and it has given nothing but superb service mounted mobile in my SUV. The body of the rig is heatsink, and the key to longevity is mounting it in the clear. I have mine out in the open on the dash. It gets warm on high power, but that's by design. I too was concerned about the side-mounted mic connector, since it exits the radio facing the passenger side rather than the driver's side. But in seven years of constant use, I've not had a failure yet with the mic connection. Some have complained about the comlexity of the menus, but they're mild by today's standards (I don't recommend trying to mess with the menus while driving!). I liked the rig so much I bought two more. If you want to guage this rig's popularity, you will find that used FT-1500Ms routinely sell for more than the original retail price! There are a lot of devoted FT-1500M fans out there, and I'm one of them.
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KB3NDS
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Rating: 4/5
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Aug 16, 2006 10:38
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Good rig
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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Picked mine up at a local Hamfest for $40.00. It was all banged up and missing the tuning knob, but I didn't care as it was going to be a dedicated APRS digipeater rig. Got it home and it fired right up. All the functions that the tuning knob performs can be done with the mic so it really didn't matter that I didn't have it. I ordered the interface cable for the mini-din in the back and this rig is quite the workhorse. It has been running 24/7 now for 6 months and hasn't even broken a sweat. The digi coverage in my area is slack so mine is quite active with probably 30 seconds of each minute in transmit. The rig stays cool and keeps on ticking. The mini-din makes it a great rig for digital work.
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N5NPO
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Rating: 5/5
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May 7, 2006 04:32
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Great 2m rig, very small!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have had mine for going on 4 years now without the slightest problem. It has been in 3 or 4 vehichles and on the base. I got it on sale for $119 and I wish I had bought 4 of them! I have the ADMS programming software and it really makes programming a breeze. An external speaker is helpful in noisy enviroments. If I had something to gripe about it would be that this rig does not have DPL encode. Not a problem to 99.9% of hams, but useful for two way radio techs. I would not hesitate to get another one!
73
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KY7F
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Rating: 2/5
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Mar 21, 2006 21:15
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Disappointed
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Had mine for a little over 2 years. Used mine in a mobile application. This was the only rig I could get mounted in my small pickup and have any room at all. Loved the radio's size and it worked well...for a while. Then, the problems started.
First, the speaker would suddenly quit, only to return later. This happened a lot and was quite annoying. Usually, you could tell when it was gonna happen because the audio would suddenly get very distant and "tinny"-sounding.
Secondly, and this was the final "killer" of the rig, one day the display started showing black "mini-worms" on the screen. Started from the bottom right of the screen and then slowly began to cover the entire display over a 3-week period. Finally, it got to the point that you couldn't see what frequency you were on. Tough to operate like that!
Replaced the FT-1500 with an FT-1802. We'll see how that one does. Thus far, I've had very poor luck with my Yaesu mobiles. My first disaster was the FT-8100, then the FT-1500. Hopefully, Yaesu has gotten the FT-1802 "correct". If not, this is the last Yaesu mobile I'll own.
I'd rate my experience a "0", but I actually like the FT-1500, and it worked great when it was reliable.
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N1RIK
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 14, 2006 10:00
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Great Radio. Couldn't believe it
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This radio was actually the first radio that I EVER bought brand new. I couldn't believe that I spent only $130 on special from Ham Radio Outlet in NH 5 years ago. I remember the very first radio I got in 1994 as a teenager was an Azden PCS-4000 (which kicked the bucket a few year later) w/6 amp power suppy cost me $175, AND IT WAS 12 YEARS OLD WITH NO FEATURES. Currently I'm in the market for a Icom-706MKIIG, but I'm defenatly not getting rid of this radio. The receiver is great (a lil suseptible to intermode), durable (has survived a MAJOR car wreck which I almost didn't survive. It only lost a knob), and full of features. I recommend this radio to anyone. Most important of all was the cost of this radio. 50watts @ 8amps is impressive, not to mention you can beef it up to about 70-watts with no problem after doing the power adjustment in the "sevice menu". I might try to buy another one of these down the road just to keep on backup, but it defenatly is a keeper, and I won't get rid of this radio for ANYTHING. On the Cons side, it does get a bit warm when TXing long, and maybe a cooling fan might not hurt it. Still it indures the heat. The radio is like one giant cast iron heatsink. You could probably fry an egg on it while making a long QSO, HOWEVER, mine still runs like it's new with no quirks. A+++++
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VK2XDZ
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 7, 2005 09:27
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the bees knees
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Purchased new about four years ago,my first amateur radio.Have since replaced it about a year ago with a dual band rig,but if you want 2m fm only then buy an ft1500.
Even though I don't use it anymore,she's such a great radio,I'm going to hang on to it.
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W8AAZ
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Rating: 4/5
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Sep 26, 2005 17:28
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Nice compact rig
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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First off-get a 3/4" neoprene rubber washer at the hardware store and insert it under the volume knob! The knob moves so easily that your volume will constantly change from the lightest brush or touch. Will drive you nuts. Use a small blade screwdriver to carefully pry the knob up-it is too tight to pull off with fingers. The shaft is plastic, not hollow. D shaped shaft. Push the knob back onto the washer to the point it has enough friction to stay where you set it. That said-I like the aphanumeric display. But it is alot easier to program with the Yaesu software and cable. I could justify that due to owning two. Frankly, to my ear, the built-in speaker audio stinks. I always use these with external speakers, even mobile. I put some brush on humiseal on the inside speaker diaphram to add mass and lower the resonance-helped somewhat. But too much bother. Just buy a good ext. spkr. And be sure to give it plenty of clearance mounting-it WILL get quite hot running the full power out. I stay at 10 or 25 max when I can. But what do you want for 100-150$? It surely exceeds it's price point-20 years ago it would have been a 350$(+) radio with those features. Yaesu must be giving them away or have an ulterior motive, I cannot imagine the ham market is big enough to payback the manufacturing costs at these prices! Nice radio overall, but it still has to obey the laws of physics. No failures seen in my two. Recommended with caveats. (like, program everything you'll need BEFORE mobile operation!)
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WB5GEO
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Rating: 4/5
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Aug 11, 2005 12:59
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Great Rig with one little problem
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I picked up my FT1500 for $100.00 back in August of 2001, and mounted it on the console in my jeep. Using on-glass antenna, this rig has given me great service and hit repeaters I never thought it would with the Junk Shack antenna.
However, it has one negative, as the volume and channel selector knobs break off way too easy. This seems to be due to the fact that Yeasu cheated and used hollow shafts.
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N2ZVT
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Rating: 4/5
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Jul 11, 2005 05:58
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I own 2
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I bought my first FT-1500M in January 2001 ($139). Put it in my pickup by looping a cable through the mounting bracket. Hung it on the 4WD shifter. Plugged the power cord into the lighter socket. Added a mag mount. It is used almost daily. Still is. I like this radio so much that 2 months after I purchased the first one, I bought another one for a base rig. Works great.
Hit the * key, brings up the squelch. Direct entry from the mic. This was a huge factor in my purchasing this radio. I had an alinco that could not directly enter freqs. This was a PITA, especially mobile. Gave the alinco away as soon as I bought the Yaesu. Display is easy to read. Alpha tags, if you like them, I like to see the freq.
One button WX channel. Extended receive let me monitor some local PD, FD and EMS freqs (150 mhz range).
The only nit I have is that the radio does pick up some intermod. Someone told me that using a 2 meter only antenna will lessen this (I use an old dualband mag mount). It doesn't bother me enough to switch it.
Some have said not to have your radio on when starting your vehicle. I have left my radio on while starting and stopping my truck for years.
No problems. The cig lighter gets turned off when starting.
The heat sink (body of the radio) will get warm to the touch, almost hot, on long winded transmissions. Never a concern.
4.5 out of 5.
N2ZVT
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