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Show all reviews of the Yaesu FT-8900R
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of the Yaesu FT-8900R.
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KG6JFN
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Rating: 4/5
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Mar 11, 2005 21:22
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Send this review to a friend!
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At the top of the heap!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Yaesu has done it again! The FT-8900R remains versatile and functional after two years of service. Yaesu products have always been known for functionality and ease of operation. The menu system is as simple as one two three. Push the center function button rotate the knob to select the desired setting, push the dial in, set the function, then push the dial when done and push the center function button to get back to VFO or MEM operation. Easy to read and understand acronyms (Abbreviations) of each function are readily accessible.
The cross band repeat function is possibly the easiest I have ever used. After you have chosen your desired frequencies and tone settings, go to the menu. Rotate the dial until you see X-RPT, then push the dial in two times and it’s on,.. It even gives the “Ta Dah” Sound! To turn the repeat function off, push the center function button and you are back to normal operation.
As good as the FT-8900R is, there are some drawbacks to the radio that must be noted. First of all this is a quad band radio (10m / 6m / 2m and 70cm) but there is only one antenna output (SO-239) for all four bands. Sure you could obtain a Quad band antenna, but you will be sacrificing performance over convenience. Not to mention most hams prefer horizontal operation on 10 & 6 meters, as opposed to omni directional. This is more feasible for mobile applications where performance is expected to be minimal with a quad band omni antenna. If you are considering using the radio as a base station, an external duplexer will cure the problem but expect to pay in the neighborhood of $100.00 for a new one. Trying to find a used one (On Ebay, QTH, QRZ, ARRL, Eham.net) that separates 10m & 6m from 2m & 70cm is next to impossible.
Feedback on Audio! Why Yaesu did it to their stock microphones I have not a clue. For those of you that are like me, and do not yell into your microphone, you are going to get some negative audio reports. Yaesu has put a solid plastic disk in front of the microphone element, which makes light talkers hard to understand as they are very quiet. To ease this problem, I disassembled the microphone and removed the disk. Additionally only two of those holes you see on the front of the Mic. are open,… one is sealed up. So I heated up a small diameter safety pin with a pen torch and opened up the third hole. When reassembling the mic, I included a small piece of cotton that I flattened to use as a simple “Pop Filter”.
For the advanced user you can dig into the manufactures menu and reset the audio deviation. Mine is set at DEV 14 because I usually talk in a quiet whisper and need the added gain. To access this menu go to www.mods.dk.com and look up the procedure if you are having additional audio problems after the microphone modification. Be doubly sure to write down the manufacturers original settings before you start tweaking the dial and twisting the knobs. Playing with these settings can and will destroy the radio later on if not sooner, if you are not absolutely positive that you have the correct menu setting.
Crossed up in X-RPT Mode! I know that I just got done raving about how great the cross band repeat on the FT-8900R is but there is one problem that may be encountered. While coming out of cross band repeat and back to normal operation sometimes the radio transmits noise along with your audio. The only way to describe the noise is that it sounds similar to the noise from your television when it can not find a station, only not as loud. To cure the problem, just turn the radio off for a few seconds and then turn it back on. Note that I have only encountered this problem a handful of times in the two years that I have owned the radio, but it should be noted.
The Setup, By KG6JFN! As long as this post is I should be a novelist. This is how I have my Yaesu products set up, so you can get a background on operation. I am using an FT-8900R as a base radio, powered by an Astron 35A power supply. The radio is terminated by a Diamond X-200 2m / 440 dual band antenna. My solution to the duplexer is a Diamond brand three way antenna switch. On the other side I have a horizontal beam for six meters and a Shakespear 10m omni for listening to the local AM rag-chewing.
I also use an FT-8900R in my car. The main unit (Body) is mounted in the rear of the vehicle and the YSK- 8900 separation kit offers remote head (Face Plate) operation. The antenna is the Diamond SG-7900 dual band with a UHF “PL-259” mount. My wife would not allow any holes in the car so I am using a Pro-Am triple 5’’ magnet system. The Magnet base is NMO so I am using a Pro-Am NMO to UHF adapter. SWR on the 2m side is 1:1 on high power (50w) and the 440 side is 1:1.7 on high power (35w). For 10 and 6 meters I use a Yaesu FT-100D with a mobile quad magnet and ham stick system, therefore the 10 and 6 meter sides of the 8900 are never really used in the mobile. It may be a little bit of overkill but I sure do love using them in the vehicle.
73's Stephen, KG6JFN
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