| 2E1VAR |
Rating:      |
2022-07-06 | |
| Great upgarde |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
So I'm upgrading from an FT2DE. Biggest gain is the audio, sounds great, massive improvement over the FT2 which I struggled to use outside. Sounds sweet on AM/FM, personally I find C4FM a bit toppy but unlike other reviewers I went into the settings for digital audio and selected to boost bass, works a treat. Assuming you don't insert micro SD cards with a hammer there is nothing wrong with the slot either.
Scanning is fine, I don't need to see the freqs flicking by while it does its thing.
Not that it's my thing but I found broadcast transmissions to come through well on the included antenna on both MW/SW and FM. I couldn't hear my local repeater in the house on the FT2 unless I stood on the table with my foot in a bucket of water. FT5 receives it fine so big tick there.
Obvs FT2 accessories carry over which is nice.
Due to the nature of the socket you can't get an SMA to BNC adaptor to fit, the ones with the flat base that support the antenna anyway. The ones with no support that mash your socket will work fine :)
Despite a few button changes it operates the same way as the FT2 so I was straight off without using the manual. Programming software is free but if you want to load via SD card you must pop a card in the radio, format it, back up to memory then pop the card in your PC and read from SD card. Make your changes, write to SD card then back to radio and load back up from SD card.
GPS is loads better too, no lock with the FT2 in the house, no issues with this one. All in all I'm delighted. £400 in the UK, £50 cashback and sold the FT2 after 5 years use for £200 so pretty happy. |
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| KC0TRK |
Rating:     |
2022-06-20 | |
| First Impressions |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I come to the FT-5 with VX-5 and VX-6 still in the shack. The display and new features drew me in. Truly, the feature set is remarkable. I find no fault with the sound output or clarity of the -5 when adequate signal is present. My biggest issue at this early stage is learning to make the best of the battery power available, which seems to be less than optimal. A second battery is recommended. Charge times are exceedingly long. (I do RC-where battery technology is much further advanced.) The digital side is amazing in clarity. Hopefully, many more will take the jump. I'm working on setting up the VFO scanning limits. More to come.
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| 2E0TKT |
Rating:  |
2022-05-24 | |
| Fail |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Owned for 3 days and would have been 1 had the retailer not shut for the weekend.
The SD card slot is so flimsy that the foam surround is crushing the slot making it tight or too small to even put a card in.
Others report of the same thing happening within forums and on YouTube. Seems a random worldwide issue.
I'll wait to see if Kenwood come out with a TH-D74E replacement. Yaesu never again. |
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| W2GT |
Rating:     |
2022-03-24 | |
| The audio is much better to my old ears!! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I literally bought and sold THREE FT3drs before I gave up completely - I'd fall in love with the pictures and order one, just to get it set up and realize how awful the audio was from the internal speaker. To my ear, the FT5dr audio is very much improved, it's still not as loud and clear as the ID51, for example, but it's pretty tolerable. I use a handheld several hours a day to listen to broadcast FM and monitor the local repeaters, I can actually use this handheld for this use scenario. |
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| N0ANE |
Rating:      |
2022-01-02 | |
| Another quality Yaesu C4FM product with a few changes |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
UPDATE Few weeks later: The feel and performance is making it a favorite. Still miss the ease of GPS C4FM readings that the FT3D has. The receive audio becomes more pleasing and preferred over the FT3D the longer I use it. I am aware of many new FT5's on the air since I bought mine. In listening to others, I'm convinced the transmit audio has a slight edge over any of the other Fusion radios. The large number of used FT3D's for sale is evidence of the success of this radio. No regrets.
ORIGINAL REVIEW: First, the one or two star reviews here are not true to my experience or what I hear from owners on the air. Many users of the FT5 are very pleased and have no regrets. My own experience is close to the same.
As a matter of context, I have owned all of the Yaesu C4FM portables and mobiles. I also am an owner of DR-1X and DR-2X repeaters. I am very pleased with these products being made available to us in this hobby at prices we can afford. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have a few differing views on the direction Yaesu is going.
This is a well built, solid HT that has tremendous capability to those who want those features or know how to use them. With the new design, there is a more enhanced rubber edged base for grip and for stability when sitting upright. The receiver is top notch and the performance is consistent with the previous Yaesu C4FM portables. The attempted improvement in audio to compensate for the complaints about the FT3 audio (I would call pinched) is noticeable but not stunning. The excellent standard of audio from the FT70 has yet to be equaled by the new FT5DR. But it is a decent replacement for the FT3, which was discontinued because parts were no longer made. Give credit to Yaesu for trying to engineer improvements into the FT5 based on comments about the FT3. At least they are listening. Is the difference worth it? Mostly yes.
The audio from the FT5DR has a better overall tone to it, though it varies with each signal received. The analog can blow you out of the room with good communications audio. But the C4FM reception depends much on the source. Some audio is noticeably improved with better lower frequency response and a more pleasing sound. Other digital audio users can sound thin and less robust. The software now comes with an equalizer for the receiver digital mode that will boost bass or treble. I didn’t prefer either one. To my ears, those settings introduced some slight digital artifacts that left the audio less natural. Your ears may find otherwise.
The FT5D is weightier than the FT3 and slightly larger. Thankfully (unlike all the other manufacturers) the batteries and accessories remain the same on all Fusion HT’s. You will find the features are very similar to the FT3 but they are accessed slightly different. I don’t find the new button layout beneficial in any way. The “back” button, frequently used, is now way to the right side. The FT3 layout was much more instinctive. The controls on the new radio all becomes accessible once you make the mental adjustments except for one frustration. Why is Yaesu no longer making GPS readings on C4FM a primary function? Sadly, like the FTM-300, you need to make two keystrokes to get to the GPS distance information. Again, like the FTM-300, it could easily be a primary or secondary button on the radio. Why have such excellent information and bury it??
The big discussion of the “MEM SCAN” replacing flashing numbers in scan is a matter of mental adjustment. If it says, “MEM SCAN”, it’s scanning memories. Simple as that. The varied color options on the display has no appeal to me, but may to others. The screen is still pleasing to the eyes and has lots of information, as with the FT3. The power button seems to be a bit too recessed for me but again, you make the adjustment. Maybe it was too easy on the FT3? The new belt clip might be a winner for some, but I never used it.
Battery life remains the same as the FT2 or FT3. I scan continuously and so I won’t promise you big battery life. I buy affordable Ebay batteries that come with the Yaesu name and I keep charged spares available. If you want bells and whistles, it comes with a power price.
That’s my review for the first week. No horror stories and a quality radio. There are a few tweaks I have mentioned but all forgivable. Overall a nice radio that will keep C4FM alive and well.
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| KE2SJ |
Rating:  |
2022-01-02 | |
| Was it a Lemon, or Just a Lousy Radio |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I saved up my money and bought the FT5DR. My dual band HTs can hit two dozen or more repeaters on high power. The FT5DR could hit only three. On high, it put out between 1 and 3 watts. To be fair, my other HTs put out 3-4 watts into the same meter and dummy load. I bought the radio from a major retailer who made me go through hell before they would authorize it to be sent back to Yaesu. I don't know how many weeks I'll be without the rig, and Yaesu may find that nothing's wrong with it, in which case it's going on ebay for parts and I'll be out several hundred dollars. Shame on Yaesu. |
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| KC8RZM |
Rating:      |
2021-11-26 | |
| Significant Improvement Over FT-3DR, Previous Issues Addressed |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
This is a significant upgrade from the FT-3DR which I sold due to poor audio and lack of sensitivity on the HF bands.
Yeasu appears to have addressed the above issues in the FT-5DR. The FT-5DR's audio is much improved and there's more of it too. Sensitivity on the HF bands is also significantly higher.
I hope Yaesu can address the scanning issue others have mentioned in a firmware upgrade.
Also note, Yaesu has just released it's own programming software for this model, just downloaded it from their website.
All in all, I'm pleased with my FT-5DR, it's a great little handheld.
Just a little update, after further use of this handheld, it's done nothing to change my initial impression and review. This is a terrific little handheld and a keeper, so well done Yaesu.
I don't understand all the negative reviews here, the other reviewers' impressions of the FT-5DR don't align with my own experience using this radio at all. |
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| VE3WF |
Rating:      |
2021-10-26 | |
| Very good |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| After reading some of the reviews on here I'm wondering if some of the reviewers even bought this radio. The speaker audio is excellent. Radio has a high quality feel and work perfectly. Programming is a breeze with the new free software. Memories can be stored into banks which is a must for myself. The dispaly is beautiful. I find it very easy to use. You can change items on the fly without a problem unlike many chinese radio's I have used. The price is high but it's a flagship radio. I feel it should come with a drop in charger but I was able to find one for $25. Excellent radio with a high price tag. If you can't afford it buy something else instead of leaving a negative review. |
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| W6NIK |
Rating:   |
2021-09-25 | |
| It's not worth the price or the ear pain. |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I believe that I was one of the first hams to have this radio in the US, and probably the first to return it...
I briefly owned the FT3DR and returned it after a single weekend because the audio was so bad. It was harsh, tinney, and when the squelch broke it actually hurt my ears. Which is the same with the FT5D, with one caveat, the Digital side of the audio is better. When going from the FT3D to the FT5D, they increased the audio speaker by 250mw, but what truly helped with the Digital Audio was a menu setting for a Digital EQ. This setting did pretty well for the C4FM audio output of the radio. The kicker is, they didn't include one for the analog side, so it sounds just as bad as the 3D. In fact, I let another ham look at it and when a transmission came over, he looked at me and said that sounds terrible.
The radio operation seemed fine to me for the time I had it. Usually I am not a fan of Yaesu menu operations, but this one wasn't that bad. I was able to navigate around the radio pretty well. I actually really liked the new belt clip option. As for the "SCAN MEM" and "SCAN VFO" 'issue', it's not an issue and Yaesu on last report will not be changing that.
Ultimately, I returned the radio because of the poor audio. I wanted this radio for everyday carry to have with me to listen to all day long. To me, the first thing a radio should be is listenable. This radio is not. I have many other radios and do not consider myself an audio snob. My VX-6R is fine, ID-51 is fine, FT-70 is fine, FT-65 is fine, heck a UV-5R sounds better! Yes, I made Yeasu aware of my audio concerns in a nice letter to them, but only time will tell if they take that to heart. IF they do, I may buy this radio again. |
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| NP3ST |
Rating:     |
2021-09-24 | |
| good radio. |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| well ..i spend the money...got one, and try all features and tested all complaints that other encounter, but mine is ok, no issues with so far, don't like the fact that while scanning cant see the frequency, but nobody and nothing is perfect, maybe YAESU will take care of it. radio is to expensive, just have few things different from the 3dr,but on this model the audio problem is gone. on my opinion, i like my 5dr. |
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