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Reviews For: Yaesu FTM-400DR

Category: Transceivers: VHF/UHF+ Amateur Base/Mobile (non hand-held)

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Review Summary For : Yaesu FTM-400DR
Reviews: 92MSRP: $699
Description:
The FTM-400DR uses C4FM FDMA (C4FM – 4-level FSK Modulation, FDMA –
Frequency Division Multiple Access), which has been developed for the
professional LMR communications. It uses this enhanced technology for a
lower BER (bit error rate), resulting in stable communications without
interruptions during mobile operations, even in a rapidly moving vehicle.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.yaesu.com/indexVS.cfm?cmd=DisplayProducts&ProdCatID=106&encProdID=227201D29C822AEFF8482F3367495319&DivisionID=65&isArchived=0
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00923.8
ON9CC Rating: 2015-12-13
Nothing learned from FTM-350 mistakes ... Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I've owned an FTM-350 in the past which I sold quickly, see my review why. I hoped Yaesu had learned from it's mistakes with the FTM-350, but obviously they didn't. Agreed, the display looks nice and the small embedded GPS is also very nice.

But for mobile use, the display is to small. Unless you have eagle eyes, or the display very close to your eyes, the APRS info is way to small for instance (an no, I don't have a problem with my eyes). Generally the menu texts are to small. Just compare it yourself to a Kenwood TM-D710 or Icom ID-5100.

Then the button layout. Who needs a fixed button for MUTE on the display? If I don't want any sound, I'll turn the volume knob to 0.
Why not implemented programmable menu buttons on a touch-screen display. Seems like software to me. But nope, can't choose the layout of the buttons (i.e. I would like to be able to program the ones I use most).

I miss the SQL knob? Don't like this via a menu. Way to complicated.

But the greates flaw of all (again) is the display mounting. LOL! How difficult can it be to make something that for mobile use (where you need to hide the display in the glove box). Kenwood and Icom figured it out ...

Then for instance a TIME display. Why spent development time and money on that? Nowadays there are clocks wherever you look. This thing is (normally) used in a car ... can you think of a car that has no clock?

Nope, Yaesu shows another good example of bad engineering. Obviously designed by people who never use rigs themselves.

And the Fusion system ... haven't tried it out. No coverage in my area. Guess nobody is interested in yet another digital system for which they have to spent money.

Overall I found the touchscreen a little unresponsive. IMO I had to press to hard. Comparing it to the ID-5100, the ID-5100 display is easier to 'press'.

So just as with the FTM-350, I quickly sold this one too. Decided not to spend any money on Yaesu anymore ...

I'll just stick to D-Star for digital ... really enjoy my ID-5100 and ID-51. Guess I'm just spoiled with the superb Icom user interface :)
G0WHY Rating: 2015-12-04
Faulty after 2 days! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Bought this to try with Fusion repeaters in my area. No audio on transmit from the word go. did a full factory re-set which cured the problem. Programmed repeaters, turned off for the evening, and in the morning when I turned the radio back on; no audio on transmit again! Frustrated and sending back for a refund!
N3JTN Rating: 2015-11-13
Not Happy Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.


Had Radio only 31 days


Well my new FTM-400DR that I got on 9-29-2015 Just stop working and blew two fuses and smells like burnt wires. I'm not a happy camper.


KD0WZW Rating: 2015-10-01
wouldn't trade it for anthing else Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had my FTM-400DR for over a year now. I resisted writing a review until I've actually had the time to use the radio for awhile. I've had no problems with mine, updated the firmware a few times, changed programming a ton, and had a ton of fun with it. The audio sounds great, and the nice screen always gets good comments.

The only negative about the radio that I can say is the lack of memory banks. This is a glaring thing to leave out considering all of their other mobile transceivers have included it. Even the FT1DR does. It makes no sense to leave it out...
WP4JK Rating: 2015-09-19
Not Good for the price Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I've had one for almost a year. I had to send it back since i was using it as crossband (no intructions on how enable crossband on manual) and it just burnt. Good customer service i have to say... But radio overall quality is just not worth the almost $700.. Touch screen technology its just not up to the price. Not true dual band as a Kenwood TM-v71a.

I will not buy another.. Actually i sold mine to buy a second Kenwood TM-v71a which is the best i have tested so far...
N8NQH Rating: 2015-08-26
Good radio; external speaker setup Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
After purchasing this radio August 2014... it sat until August 2015 - just got it installed in the car. I had bench tested it at times during the past year though.

Details on how to install an external speaker properly, and my APRS settings here:
www.tim-yvonne.com/ham/FTM-400

(moderators, the above link is to my own domain, it is a personal site with no advertising).

The only negative I can find is the silly location of the "boot" switch (where you have to remove the cover on the radio to access). Although I had bench-upgraded the firmware once already... only after the lengthy install in my car did I find there was even newer firmware available. The install in the car was difficult, and I had to de-install the radio to get to the danged switch.

The GPS received is very sensitive; I get GPS lock even though the control head does not see the sky directly (see my web page for installation details).
VE6CWG Rating: 2015-08-26
3rd times a charm Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Radio is great, service needs help, thus the 4, but read on.

As mentioned in a previous post I had sent the unit back to Yaesu twice for a APRS modem issue (was not working when the unit was in the vehicle when hot outside).

Well, it did it again, and for the third time returned it to Yaesu. This time they replaced the entire main board in the transceiver, and for the past 2 months, and some very warm days, it seems to be working fine now.

Now, if the service department would have listened to me the second time I sent it back, and replaced the main board then, they would have a higher rating. So I guess this is more a degrade for the service experience than the radio itself.

The radio, easy to use, has all the features you can want, the digital modes are the best. I have even done a few pictures with it, pretty cool stuff.
W5BSJ Rating: 2015-08-04
So far, so good Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I only recently installed this radio in my truck but so far, so good. I gave a pretty negative review to my Yaesu FT1DR based on its terrible interface. I was questioning my sanity after ordering another Yaesu rig. Yet to my surprise, this user interface is about as nice as it gets. And the easy touchscreen menu options have allowed me to better understand the Yaesu menus on my FT1DR since many are the same, an added plus.

I have one major problem. AA6TS describes the audio drop out while in automatic mode select in his review below. I too experience this bizarre and obnoxious issue.

Other than that, the radio seems to function perfectly (so far). I have no negative experiences with GPS receiver sensitivity as others have described. The screen sits on my center console of the truck, below the nav screen and by the cup holders. I would think it is a less than ideal location for GPS sensitivity but it locks on quickly and reliably.

APRS is a nice feature. Despite having a great infrastructure out here in NM, I can't seem to get much digipeater coverage outside of ABQ. Maybe it's me.

Programming this using RT Systems, unlike the FT1DR, is a piece of cake. I wish it had more memory channels but it has enough (why have any limit with a 32GB SD card?). I also wish there was better and more scan options. Come on Yaesu, give us some ability to build memory banks.

No need for digital but I like having it. I wish there was a third party or commercial standard everyone could agree upon since there are multiple competing digital protocols impeding progress. Now that I've gone with Yaesu, I'm sure D-Star will take off around here.

Yaesu design engineers did everything right in my book: a micro SD card, affordably replaceable remote head cables, a standard 3.5mm audio jack. I'm quite happy.

I took off one star for the OBNOXIOUS audio drop outs in AMS mode and the lack of memory banks.
KM9Q Rating: 2015-07-12
It's a keeper Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased the radio new in May of 2015. I’m writing this in July 2015. It came with Firmware version 1.9. At this time, you can only go to 1.8 from Yaesu’s website, but if your radio breaks and you send it in for repair, they will return it to you with 1.9 firmware. Yes, there are rumors going around claiming that Yaesu is quietly doing hardware improvements in 1.9 firmware units; some say better cooling of the finals, others say better GPS performance, and others are claiming both. I have no idea if true.

I’m using the unit as a base station in my house. I don’t use APRS and have not tested it.

The bad: (minus 1 point):

The two new fusion models (FTM-100DR and FT2DR) advertise “built in high sensitivity 66 channel GPS”, while this model advertises “built in GPS”. For the money, this radio should have come with that better GPS. This radio’s GPS takes about 30 seconds to achieve lock at the first power up of the day, and about 5 seconds if the radio has only been off a few hours. This is acceptable GPS performance from inside my house, but be aware that many other people are complaining about prolonged GPS lock time. I am concerned that this GPS might not perform well if I have to relocate the radio.

The good:

Excellent TX audio reports, and I have a recording of myself talking in a group. This radio sounds great to me. Excellent receive sensitivity and selectivity. Digital sound quality exceeded my expectations; it definitely sounds better to me than the DSTAR mobile radio I heard.

The touch screen is a delight to use. I have not had to re-read the manual yet.

I transmit on high power quite often, and the radio only gets mildly warm to the touch; that fan can move some air! The fan is not too loud like some radios I have had in the past.

Scanning is quick and works great in FM or digital, and you can scan all memory channels that you don’t have locked out, or scan “select memory” channels only. You can specify that a memory is a “select memory” channel when you program it in.

Both VHF and UHF frequencies can be used on either VFO. Each VFO has its own separate 500 memory channels. You can listen to V/V, U/U, or V/U frequencies at the same time. Only VFO A can do digital, and you can listen to a digital station on VFO A at the same time you are listening to an FM station on VFO B. I have programmed all memory channels the same on both VFO’s, e.g. whatever memory 4 is on VFO A, memory 4 on VFO B is the same thing.

There are 5 mic gain settings, min, low, normal, high, and max. I sound best on high.

This radio is definitely a keeper.

Tip 1: Try and verify that you are getting a 1.9 firmware radio if buying new. I’ve heard that a few 1.8’s are still on some shelves.

Tip 2: Turn on your CTCSS when in AMS mode if your local Fusion repeater provides a PL tone out; most do. This will keep you from being switched from auto digital to auto FM unnecessarily.

Tip 3: Buy a micro SD card, put it in the slot, format it, then after all of your memory channels are programmed in and you have all of your settings the way you like, do both a MEMORY ONLY, then an ALL backup. That way, if you want to reset the radio settings to default, but re-load memory channels only, you can. If you only do an ALL backup, a MEMORY ONLY restore will not be available.
KD5BVX Rating: 2015-07-05
GREAT Radio with a GREAT Display Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Not sure why some have given this radio bad reviews but it seems it is based on a lack of knowledge on their part (don't say it won't do something it will do simply because you don't know how to do it). Anyway, the radio is great - receive and transmit audio is great. The display is bright, clear, crisp - very nice! The SystemFusion features are really nice, as well; of course, you need to be in an area that as a YSF repeater to fully appreciate and benefit from these. Are there a few minor gripes? Sure, same with any radio. But it is CERTAINLY more worthy of a 4 or 5 start review than a 2 or 3. Don't pass up this radio based on a few "users'" reviews - check it out for yourself. YouTube is a great place to watch videos showing some of the features of the radio - just search the make and model (of this or any radio you're interested in). I'm very happy with the radio and Yaesu has extended the $100 rebate through the end of September (as of this review date). Give it a chance!