| M0NNQ |
Rating:  |
2022-04-12 | |
| It’s a keeper |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I bought this on eBay for £650. It came with the FFT board and I have since added the voice recorder and the keypad.
It was intended to be a stepping stone to a ftdx10 and a replacement for my ic718 which had limited filtering - a big issue as I was getting into CW.
Although I am now in a position to buy a ftdx10 I think it would be something of a backward step. You see the 1200 has two antenna sockets and two key sockets (which can have independent configurations). Yes, I use two antennas (a Rybakov and an EARCHI at the moment) as well as two keys - straight and paddle. What am I missing? An indiscernibly better receiver, a waterfall and better digital integration. I’m not interested in digital and not fussed about the waterfall.
So as a mainly CW operator this is a great radio for me. It’s good on SSB as well, by the way, and I’ve paired it with an AKG P3S mic and homebrew PTT.
I can’t see that I’ll be replacing it unless it breaks. |
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| W0HUY |
Rating: |
2021-11-15 | |
| Love It |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| After problems with TS-2000, went looking for a solid radio for my needs. Went to a local HRO and was torn between FTDX1200 and FT991. Well problem solved bought both and put the 1200 in the shack and the 991 in our travel trailer. Best of both worlds. Could not have been Happier! |
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| DB4UP |
Rating: |
2021-11-14 | |
| Solid middle class |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
It was the first SW transceiver I bought new. It took a while until I got used to its many options, but since then it's a pleasure to use it.
The receiver is quiet and sensitive enough for my purposes. I live outside the city where the bands are less "polluted" by SPS noise, PLC modems and whatever more there may be. My antennas are a double zepp for the lower bands and a two element beam for 20, 15 and 10 m. Selectivity is good enough to separate a weak station from a nearby 9+ signal.
The arrangement of the buttons on the front panel needs to getting used to. Those which are close to the frequency wheel are a bit too close in my opinion and frequently I detune the radio while using them. Also, the adjustment of a frequency can be tricky. The frequency wheel is so sensitive that it can be hard to hit the desired point. Maybe there is an option somewhere in the menu settings which can change this behaviour. If it is so, I haven't found it, yet. Generally, the access to the numerous menu settings by scrolling through the whole list of items is a bit awkward.
The LCD display is large enough and offers all information needed. I was disappointed by the FFT-1 module. Yes, it offers RTTY, PSK31 and CW decoding, but it doesn't make the bandscope function permanently.
The radio has two antenna connectors which can be assigned to any band. It offers a lot of connectors, but no USB port. Nevertheless, the SCU-17 unit resolves this problem, but you have to buy it.
I'm not sure what I expected from the digital noise reduction. It can improve the readability of a voice signal for the cost that it will sound like speaking through a chimney. The speaker itself sometimes already sounds like being placed in a barrel and both effects together may not be very helpful. Still, the speaker is not bad and reproduces voice and music transmissions loud and clear enough that I don't miss an external speaker.
Summarized, it's a radio with really good HF properties. If you get used to use its options, I don't think that it will disappoint you. Some points, like the missing USB port and the limited band scope function, are not "up to date". Ask yourself, if you can live with it...I rate it with 4 stars and maybe some "comma-stars" on top ! |
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| W2FDH |
Rating: |
2021-07-04 | |
| Update: Just a solid radio |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
This radio does an excellent job all around. The filtering is solid and works as it should, it's easy to remove interfering stations, menu is really easy to navigate and as with most modern Yaesu HF rigs, it has an easy to use menu system (as mentioned above) that allows you to easily customize your audio. The sound coming out of the internal speaker has a really nice sound to it.
Update July 3, 2021:
As stated above, this rig does a great job with both TX and RX.
Now that I've had this rig for almost 2 years, I've learned the many of the rig's different receiver settings and man does this rig sound great (I also got the SCU-17 and FFT-1 board to add even more features to this incredible radio). The customization of the roofing filters, the notch filters (both the regular notch filters and the DNF (Digital Notch Filter)), the attenuator, the DNR (Digital Noise Reduction), Contour, RX Bandwidth, etc., etc., etc., this rig is not short on ways to alter the incoming signals. (there is a website for the menu settings on the Yaesu FTDX-3000 and work the same, or similar to the FTDX-1200. I believe the website is called stingyham (dot) com. I can pull even the weakest stations out of the noise.
If you are fortunate enough to find this radio for sale on the used market, (for a bare bones model $750 - $800 to one that is fully loaded for $800 - $1100) GRAB IT!!! You will not regret it.
Check out the website that I mentioned above!!! You'll be amazed at just how good the receiver is in this radio!
I hope that my updated review helps someone that was on the fence about purchasing one.
73 de Frank/W2FDH |
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| W3ALG |
Rating: |
2021-06-21 | |
| No Disappointments With This One |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| This was my first "big" rig when upgrading my equipment. I purchased this radio when it first hit the market and have never been disappointed with its performance. Living in an HOA and operating with attic antennas, I never had a problem and worked 123 countries and all states. It has the power that you need and at an affordable cost, is a pleasure to use. Hopefully it will keep performing for many years to come. |
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| 2E1RDX |
Rating: |
2021-06-20 | |
| Fantastic Value |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| Fantastic Transceiver great Receiver and great Audio, I use a Astatic Teardrop M575-M6 and get lots of compliments on great audio, anyone interested in using a FTDX-1200 with a SDR connected no mods needed just purchase a RCA Y Adaptor 1 RCA Female to 2 RCA Male splitter, cheap on ebay, or Amazon, connect this to the 2 utune ports on the back of the FTDX-1200 plug in your RTL Dongle or whatever SDR you use then press and hold the mhz/utune button to the left of the vfoB you will get RX IN show up in orange above the signal meter your sdr will now receive of which ever antenna the FTDX-1200 has connected fully protected nothing else required, this also works with any other Yaesu with Utune sockets, great radio enjoy |
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| W6RMC |
Rating: |
2021-02-27 | |
| Significant Improvement |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I was looking for something new to replace my aging TS-2000 and the FTDX1200 looked interesting. So, I went to HRO in Oakland and did a side-by-side test using the same antenna and same signals.
The Yaesu won hands down on receive.
But it isn't a "Shack in a box" like the 2000. I want a radio that does a few things really well, not one that does a lot of things "ok".
I'm just working through the manual and the feature set is incredible.
**UPDATE**
4+ years later and I'm still enjoying this rig.
I get excellent signal reports SSB and CW.
I think I'll keep this one a while longer. |
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| W8YFL |
Rating: |
2021-02-19 | |
| Really enjoyable |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I had been looking to upgrade from my IC-718 which I'd had for 13 yrs. I previously had had a FT-301D and the FT-707 and enjoyed them both. The Icom never had the receive of the old Yaesu rigs.
So when HRO was closing out the 1200 in the fall of 2019 I pulled the trigger, and I'm so glad I did. I can't express how impressed I am with this radio. It is such a pleasure to listen to with speaker (sp-767) or headphones.
I hope to keep this one around for many years. |
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| KT8DX |
Rating: |
2021-02-18 | |
| Simply put - best rig I've owned |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
UPDATE:
Well, I drank the coolaid and bought a Flex 6400. Used it for the past two years while the 1200 sat on a shelf. I generally sell radios rather than have a "back up" but for some reason did not sell the 1200. The 6400 was great but decided to sell it and put the 1200 back in service.
While it doesn't quite have the receiver the 6400 did, I find it more fun and intuitive to use. Glad I didn't sell it and I'm having fun with it. It certainly has more amenities for CW than the Flex did.
I've been a ham since 1975 and have owned quite a few rigs. With the exception of the TS-940 I used to own this is my favorite radio. Controls are solid and not tiny little pots like some other radios I've had. It is ultra reliable unlike the many Ten-Tec's I've owned. The ergonomics are great, receiver performance is fantastic, CW features are wonderful. I go through radios and get tired of them easily. This one I've had since they first came out and feel no need to "upgrade". If I did it would be to a FTDX-3000 only to have the Panadapter output, real-time scope, and second receiver. I see Yaesu has discounted these further now - if you are on the fence you can't go wrong pulling the trigger on this radio.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by KT8DX on 2015-11-18
My Omni VII developed some issues so I was faced with a repair/replace situation. Probably 350 to 400 to fix and to replace with another Ten-Tec (Eagle) would cost around $1400 or so. So - I went down to the local DX Engineering store "just to look". Well you know how that goes.
Anyhow, bought the 1200 and sold the Omni VII. What did I lose/gain? Audio I think is much better on the 1200 - less distortion. Better NR. Selectivity seems to be there although I haven't had it in a contest yet. Radio is MUCH more attractive and colorful! Shiny objects have always been fun. I find the scope useable as is - no complaints. Its not the Flex pan adaptor but has its application as long as you accept its limitations.
My biggest loss? Binaural receive which I loved on the Omni. Other than that, rig is fast, fun, a pleasure to use, and attractive. Bought the nifty manual but haven't needed it really. The menus are laid out well.
Unbelievable for the price of less than $1100!
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| G0LFQ |
Rating: |
2021-01-16 | |
| Great radio for the cost |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| The Yaesu FTdx1200 represents great value for money. If you see one second hand, buy it because the prices are so low for a radio of this capability. The DNR and NB work well to give a very quiet RX, even using the built in speaker, which makes listening that much easier. It has a logical front end which makes it a pleasure to operate, the only "niggle" being the power adjustment which is located in the main menu but you can counter this by utilising the CS button to quickly gain access to change the power output. You can spend thousands more but you wouldn't gain too much other than less desk space and a hole in the bank account :) |
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