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Author Topic: Yaesu FT-DX10 versus FT-991?  (Read 631 times)

KG0BA

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Yaesu FT-DX10 versus FT-991?
« on: June 19, 2021, 07:21:36 PM »

I'm considering buying a Yaesu FT-DX10 as my main rig, and moving my FT-991A to backup status.  I love the FT-991A, and I've had great reports on it's performance on transmit, and I'm very satisfied with the receive performance. But, that having been said, I only have a Yaesu FT-847 to compare it to, which was my first rig, and is now my backup rig.

I like what I've been hearing about the FT-DX10, the enhancements with respect to receiver audio quality, and excellent receiver performance, not to mention the SDR technological enhancements.  The transceivers today are simply a totally different animal compared to my FT-847.  If funds were no object, my preference would be the FT-DX101, but it's way out of my price range, so the FT-DX10 is the next best alternative if I stick with Yaesu. 

Over the years, I've always had a  preference for Yaesu products, and that's probably just because that's the brand that I cut my teeth on, although, in the old days, their VHF radios were extremely high quality, and they were about as close as you could get to the preeminent brand, Motorola.  Having no direct experience with other brands, Icom, Alinco, etc...I mean no disrespect to those HAMS that prefer other brands.

I have an Elecraft KAP-500 Amp, and the KAT-500 tuner, which works with the amp, and a Hiel HM-12, all of which I use with my Yaesu FT-991A.

I would like to be able to hook up the FT-DX10 using the same harnesses and hardware that I already have for the FT-991AI.  To anybody that may know, will the Elecraft Amp/Tuner combo and mic setup be plug and play moving over from the FT-99A to the FT-DX10, without having to buy additional wiring harnesses, etc...?

Those of you that have experience with both the FT-991A and the FT-DX10, is the upgrade to the FT-DX10 worth it? 
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K6BRN

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Re: Yaesu FT-DX10 versus FT-991?
« Reply #1 on: June 20, 2021, 06:26:10 AM »

Hi Randy:

The Yaesu FT-991 and FTDX-10 are simply very different radios.  One is not an upgrade to the other.

The FTDX-10 has a better display and improved receiver - the latter being better under very stressing conditions that may or may not apply to you (see "Sherwood's List").  Note that this radio has a traditional analog front end coupled to a DSP back end - not too different from the FT-991 in gross architecture, but a much later and more advanced design.

The FT-991 has excellent all-mode VHF/UHF capability the FTDX-10 completely lacks.  VHF/UHF is so good that I've switched to it for VHF/UHF ops at my stations (main rigs are FTDX-3000s). 

I presume we're only talking about HF ops, here.

Bottom line:  Nothing really groundbreaking will happen (on HF).  BUT, this is a hobby, hobbies are about fun and new radios are fun to play with.  So if you have  the means and the desire, go for it.  A lot of people do.  Which radio is "best" and works the "best" for you is a very, very subjective and personal judgement and depends a lot on antenna used, location, favorite modes, station peferences and ergonomic preferences and simple desire

Have fun!  As you've observed - life is short and we should enjoy the time we have to it's fullest.

Brian - K6BRN
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K6YE

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Re: Yaesu FT-DX10 versus FT-991?
« Reply #2 on: June 20, 2021, 08:54:34 AM »

Randy,

Brian, K6BRN hit the nail on the head:

"Which radio is "best" and works the "best" for you is a very, very subjective and personal judgement and depends a lot on antenna used, location, favorite modes, station preferences and ergonomic preferences and simple desire." I would also include antennas, amplifiers, paddles/keys, microphones, etc.

I could not agree more. Have fun and enjoy the hobby.

Semper Fi,

Tommy - K6YE
DX IS and CW RULES
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K4KRW

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Re: Yaesu FT-DX10 versus FT-991?
« Reply #3 on: June 20, 2021, 10:19:15 AM »

Randy,

Looking at the manuals, the Linear jack is an 8 pin mini DIN on your 991a.  It is a 10 pin mini DIN on the FTDX10.  The mic jacks look the same.

Richard
K4KRW
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KG0BA

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Re: Yaesu FT-DX10 versus FT-991?
« Reply #4 on: June 20, 2021, 06:03:37 PM »

Thanks everyone for your comments.  This is going to sound wishy-washy...But, I'm just so undecided about what to do.  Maybe some additional explanation will help.  I know this thread is probably a subject without a definitive answer. 

I suppose I'm looking for a backup radio almost as much as I'm looking for a new main radio. Don't misunderstand my comments as my seeing this as anything but a hobby to be enjoyed, but I feel kind of a mild sense of urgency in my soul with respect to the backup radio, and here's why. 

If you're into ARES, HF bands are about all that will work if infrastructure goes down, so with respect to my own commitment to ARES, having a backup radio is just part of assuming ARES responsibilities. That's why I have the main transceiver and a backup transceiver hooked up in the shack at all times, just in case the main transceiver goes down. I also have a whole house generator to operate the radios in the event power goes down, for my convenience, and the additional benefit to ARES operation should the need arise. But, with respect to the backup radio, I'm feeling kind of a self imposed obligation to have state of the art product as the main radio, as well as state of the art product for the backup radio. But, I can't seem to find anything that surpasses the FT-991A for the money in various other brands and models, and I would feel kind of dumb having two FT-991A radios to meet the need.  But, it seems that I'm headed for "dumbsville."

In my shack I have the Yaesu FT-847 as the backup radio, which I bought new in 2001, and it has had very little use, as I took a bit of a break from Ham Radio when life's responsibilities had me doing other things. When I retired, I purchased the FT-991A as my main radio, and just put the FT-847 on the Ham Desk as a backup. It's hooked up, and fully functional at all times. But, I still rarely use it, other than to play around with getting signal reports compared to the FT-991A. So, it works fine, in fact, it actually works great.

But, with the FT-847, there are some design flaws that could possibly become non-repairable defects were I to keep it. So, rather than keep it until there's a problem, and there is no guarantee there will ever be a problem, I figured I would retire it (sell it), now, while the FT-847 still has some decent value attached to it, before it becomes more obsolete, thereby funding a state of the art backup radio. Yaesu no longer supports the FT-847, and even parts are going to be scarce to obtain as time progresses.

There is actually kind of a cult following among Satellite users for the Yaesu FT-847, and it is relatively feature rich, specifically marketed as a satellite communications transceiver. It has HF, VHF/UHF, 50Mhz., CAT control, etc...but, it's far from state of the art after almost 20 years. It's almost like a transitional design between today's state of the art and the old solid state designs.  It hasn't been manufactured since 2005. I've been thinking of getting another transceiver as my main radio, hoping to find an upgrade to the FT-991A, then move the FT-991A to backup status.

Some of the You Tube comparison videos I've watched make me wonder how I can justify moving "up" or "over" to some of the more expensive models, including the FT-DX10. What I'm hearing of the audio and receive performance of the FT-991A compared to some of the other more expensive models on the You Tube videos I've watched, has me thinking I really like the audio and receive performance of the FT-991A compared to some of the more expensive models, including the FT-DX10.

It just seems like it would be nice to have two different comparable state of the art models, even from different manufacturers. But, from what I'm seeing, it doesn't seem like there's anything that comes close to the 991A, not just because it also has the Digital C4FM, VHF/UHF, FM, AM, 50Mhz., and HF, but because it seems to out-perform the other brands and models that are in the same relative category for the money with respect to audio, menu driven options, and receiver performance.

I've considered the Icom 7300 as a potential backup, and it is easier to set up data modes because there's just so much on the internet about setting up the data modes on the Icom 7300, that I could use it as a back up, as well as a dedicated data mode radio. Then, in that case, I would just keep the FT-991A as my main HF SSB radio. But, the Icom 7300 does not have even the band capabilities that my old Yaesu FT-847 has, since it has HF, VHF/UHF, FM, AM, 50Mhz., Satellite, etc...

So, it is kind of a bummer that there isn't anything out there to replace a radio that's almost twenty years old, which has all the modes except digital C4FM, other than the FT-991A. It's almost like the FT-847 was kind of ahead of it's time, because it was designed as kind of a "Shack in the Box" concept from 20 years ago, even though it was not marketed that way, but specifically marketed for satellites, back way before "shack in the box" was ever a coined phrase. But, the FT-847 is kind of like a time bomb waiting to go off, not knowing when it might explode with defects that can't be repaired, like all antiquated electronics.

It's kind of a bummer, the industry doesn't seem like it's coming on with many new strong models lately that are in my price range. Maybe it's due to Covid.  I don't anticipate anybody coming out with much new in the near future either, with Covid curtailing every industry's development and manufacturing efforts worldwide, not to mention the chip shortage.

« Last Edit: June 20, 2021, 06:24:15 PM by KG0BA »
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KG0BA

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Re: Yaesu FT-DX10 versus FT-991?
« Reply #5 on: June 20, 2021, 06:25:40 PM »

Hi Richard, thanks very much for that observation.  It would make it much easier to go with the FT-DX10 should I decide to go in that direction if I didn't have to buy a new 10-pin harness from Elecraft, about $50.00 I think. A second FT-991A as backup is looking better every minute. 

I had inquired with Elecraft, which otherwise usually seems pretty technically competent, concerning how to connect the amp/tuner to two different radios so I could switch between them. Because of the pin hookups on the amp and tuner, it's more complicated than just using antenna switches.  Elecraft said they didn't have a harness to do that, nor the technical knowledge to make a home brew type of wiring harness, along with an antenna switch to pull it off.  So, the back up radio would be operated at just 100 watts if need be, unless of course I wanted to get behind the operating desk and switch everything over, which would be a pain. 

Randy,

Looking at the manuals, the Linear jack is an 8 pin mini DIN on your 991a.  It is a 10 pin mini DIN on the FTDX10.  The mic jacks look the same.

Richard
K4KRW
« Last Edit: June 20, 2021, 06:35:32 PM by KG0BA »
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K4KRW

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Re: Yaesu FT-DX10 versus FT-991?
« Reply #6 on: June 20, 2021, 07:22:54 PM »

Randy,

If you could find a nearby ham with a FTDX10 I think it would really help you with your decision.  I have an FTDX101MP  The receiver is amazing.  It sounds like the receiver on the FTDX10 is very similar to the 101.

73,

Richard - K4KRW

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KX2T

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Re: Yaesu FT-DX10 versus FT-991?
« Reply #7 on: July 04, 2021, 07:08:24 AM »

The 991A is a station in one box do everything DC to light wonder radio but don't expect it to be a main station best HF radio but its a step above the Icom rigs like the 706/7000/7100 series but larger in size. It covers allot of ground but in real performance its kind of very average for radio's designed 10 to 15 years ago. The HF performance in the new TEN is way above the 991A its also above the very highly praised K3 and barking at the heals of the FTDX101D but just a single RX rig. IMO there is no comparison between the two cause the RX performance of the FTDX10 is slightly above there FTDX5000 and the FTDX3000 so Yaesu really did there job in improving receive performance at HF.
When there is a weekend when the bands are full of signals or a HF contest you will learn really fast how good the FTDX10 is or if you operate CW and the guy running a 20db over S9 signal 1khz is above you this is were the Ten shines, its dead nuts od as far as a radio which is very hard to overload were the 991A will be swamped out.
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