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Reviews For: Yaesu FTM-100D

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

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Review Summary For : Yaesu FTM-100D
Reviews: 60MSRP: 480.00
Description:
The FTM-100DR VHF/UHF Dual Band Transceiver, an exciting new
way to enter into Yaesu's revolutionary world of System
Fusion C4FM Digital Communications. The FTM-100DR's single
receiver design provides 50 solid Watts of RF power on both
the 144 and 430 MHz amateur radio bands, while still being
host to a feature packed suite of both C4FM Digital and FM
Analog communications capabilities that fit every amateur
radio operators needs.

Designed with simplicity and convenience in mind, the FTM-
100DR's highly visible and compact 160 x 40 pixel graphical
dot-matrix display can be detached from the body of the
radio and remotely mounted providing even more installation
options. This vibrant white LED backlit display provides a
clear and crisp view of the radios current operating status,
not limited to GPS Information, SD Card status, and
Operating band name/memory channel tags (Alphanumeric).

The FTM-100DR operates in three (3) Digital modes and an (1)
Analog mode to suit your needs. This feature packed radio is
our first Digital Mobile equipped with our new Automatic
Mode Select (AMS) function that instantly detects the
received signal mode. The AMS function enables stress-free
operation and eliminates the need to manually switch between
communication modes.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.yaesu.com/indexVS.cfm?cmd=DisplayProducts&ProdCatID=106&encProdID=3F8B6B6AF1EC22B82F01E68C1E0F0BA6&DivisionID=65&isArchived=0
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00603.6
AB0XE Rating: 2015-11-12
Works Great for me !! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have had this radio for about a month. I have used it in my car
and in my home station. In the car the GPS works great.APRS works great in the car and at home .We have several Fusion repeaters in the area so I am able to use the digital mode and it works great unless you have a weak signal. At first the radio overwhelmed me but I watched several YouTube videos on programming and using the radio; they helped a lot. We also have a weekly Fusion net on a local repeater and I have learned how to use the GM mode and am able to send and receive messages. I am glad I bought this rig because it keeps my brain in the learn and have fun mode.
K5XOM Rating: 2015-11-07
Sorry I bought it. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought the FTM-100DR for it's APRS function. It has worked for a short time while I was on a trip and happened to run into some Hams whom were able to get it to track in the APRS.fi site. I had a lot of frequencies programmed into it. When I got back home I wanted to delete some of the frequencies. Evidently I changed some aprs parameters as well. I have spent hours changing parameter settings in the software and or thru the panel buttons to get it to function.
W6USC Rating: 2015-11-07
nice analog and fusion digital radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
picked one from Giga Parts. shipped quick and set up was very easy. the menu is great to go into it
great for first time yaesu users. works and sounds great, it has all the separation cables and programming cable included. the sd card makes changes a breeze you can get rt systems software for $25.00 online and you dont even need the programming cable just program to the sd card and there you go.at $399.00 minus the $60.00 rebate its a good deal.73s bruno
VE2ZC Rating: 2015-10-22
Great radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I own him for about 2 months very happy with him good solid power VERY good audio report on all modes easy to operate, works nice on APRS, GPS it's little slow inside my shack but no problems in car
GW1MCD Rating: 2015-10-09
Not impressed. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I currently use DMR and thought I would give FUSION a try. FTM-100 arrived yesterday. Entered callsign, connected to Dummy Load and Power Meter, guess what?..Although Transceiver Barragraph indicated RF Output the actual O/P was "Zilch".Secind fault ..receive was intermittent. So phoned Retailer and expressed my disgust. Unit being collected Monday and a Refund is to be made.I will stick to my Motorola DMR.
N3OJB Rating: 2015-09-30
No Frills Digital Dual Band Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have had this radio for 2 months.. I bought it mainly for use in my shack as a base station, I'm not big into 2m or 440 but its nice to have and the price wasn't that much more then a regular dual band without digital..

It was easy to set up via an SD Card from my FT1DR. The Automatic Mode Select is a nice feature which automatically receives the digital signals without having to switch over.. The display is bright and easy to read.. Menus are very intuitive and not hard to navigate at all..

If I had to complain about something it would probably be that it doesn't have dual receive, other than that its a great radio..
N7WR Rating: 2015-08-26
Good radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Even though there is zero digital 2/440 activity in my area I bought this transceiver for 2 reasons. One, to have that capability when I travel and, two because with the built in GPS I can find my Lat/Long with the touch of one button. Since I do SAR in very remote areas and may need to give the LAT/LONG for a helicopter LZ this is a nice feature. I used RT systems software to program it and thus far the radio meets and in some cases exceeds my expectations. The display is easy to read in any lighting condition.
VE7LSE Rating: 2015-07-23
So far so good Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Owned this rig for a week now. Overall pretty good. It's in our work van and have made a few digital contacts around the area. Not so much an aprs rig as you can't use voice and aprs at the same time.. As far as I know that is the case.. Gps locks right away. Not had a problem yet with it.. Easy to program memories if your used to how yaesu does it. Easy to read display.. We wish the mic plugged into the head. The mounting bracket could be better. You don't have a lot of options with it. Only mountable on top of a surfaces.
W8MPX Rating: 2015-07-12
FTM 100DR Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
HAVE THIS RADIO FOR 3 DAYS VERY EASY TO SETUP THE GPS IS VERY EASY THE APRS IS EASY BUT TO MUCH PUSH BUT IT WAS NOT THAT BAD. IF YOU READ THE MANUAL IT WILL TAKE YOU SET BY SET I AGREE WITH WA9SDJ THE MIC HAVE SHORT CABLE IF YOU PUT THIS RADIO UNDER YOUR CAR SIT YOU WILL NEED A EXTENSION CABLE FOR THE MIC, THE MIC CABLE LOOKS AND FEEL VERY CHEAP THIS THE GPS IS NOT SENSITY I CAN NOT GET A GPS SIGNAL IN THE APARTMENT WITH THE KENWOOD D72A I DIDN'T HAVE NO PROBLEM GETTING A SIGNAL BUT ANYWAY IS MADE FOR BE MOBILE ,IN THE CAR THE GPS WORK GOOD BUT WHAT I LOVE IS THE FUSION IT SOUND GREAT. BUT NOW I HAVE 3 DAYS WITH IT AND I GO RUN ALL THE MENU I LEARNED IT 1 DAY. ANOTHER THING I DIDN'T LIKE IS THE SMALL SCREEN YOU BETTER GET THE FTM 400D HAVE BETTER SCREEN BUT I WILL KEEP IT I GIVE THE 5 GOOD JOB YAESU
WA9SDJ Rating: 2015-07-08
Terrible firmware Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Needing APRS, and hoping Yaesu would have incorporated community feedback from the less than stellar FTM-350AR, I decided to give Yaesu another chance.

Cons:

- Mic does not plug into remote head like the 8800/9800 series rigs. If you intend to remote mount, you will also need a Mic extension cable.
- Remote head mount is stamped steel with no axis rotation, no front/back or side to side.
- Dial knob is not pushable, this is a huge fail. When navigating menus with the dial knob you must move your entire arm to push the display button on the front panel.
- Unit was unable to format my new 4G SDcard. While attempting to format it just beeps. Had to use my PC to format the card FAT32, then it worked.
- Settings and memory backup file format is .dat. Not something simple like XML or text which would be easy to edit and re-upload. To date no available program to read or edit saved data.
- I've owned this ratio 3 days and it's hard locked 3 separate times, would not power off via the power button, had to pull power to reset.
- Internal GPS receiver sensitivity is far worse than my Nexus 7. Was unable to lock where my Nexus 7 could, had to move to nearby window. Probably not an issue for most while mounted in vehicle though.

As of date of review, no newer firmware was available, no menu option to note current firmware revision either.

Pros:

- Yaesu has finally added a method of flipping the firmware update switch without having to unscrew the top cover.