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Reviews For: Yaesu FT-5100/5200

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

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Review Summary For : Yaesu FT-5100/5200
Reviews: 28MSRP: Discontinued - Typical used pric
Description:
2M/440 dual band mobile transceiver. 50 watt VHF and 35 watt UHF.
Product is not in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00283.7
KA9UMJ Rating: 2003-01-07
Great radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought my wife a ft-5200 (remote mounted) because of the ease of use. The only problem we have had was a worn out microphone. Does that say anything. We have used the heck out of this radio with no problems. 7 years old and still ticking.
W4KPA Rating: 2002-11-09
Good if used conservatively Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I used an FT-5200 for five years in two different mounting arrangements in a 1992 Ford Taurus. Generally it's a good radio if you recognize the limitations that stem from its small size and relatively light construction. Mine made three trips in to Yaesu for repair. The first was to have its internal connections shored up. The screws holding the circuit board needed to be tightened, and the ground connections need to be resoldered. The radio basically shook loose from vibration. I had the radio mounted directly to the car frame in the trunk (which gave me an antenna feed line of about 14 inches). After this episode I moved the radio inside the car to a location that was insulated somewhat from vibration. The second trip was for replacement of the fan switch. The third was for replacement of the two meter power module. The fan switch was a simple malfunction, but I think the other two were related to the radio's physical construction. Yaesu's small radios don't handle heat dissipation and vibration very well. This radio will work like a champ in a home installation. It will work fine in a mobile installation if you (a) reduce the power output to 25 or 30 watts; and (b) pay attention to where you mount the radio so that vibration will be absorbed. Just don't pay too much for the radio. New equipment is so cheap that used equipment is worthwhile only if it is a real bargain. I wouldn't pay more than $75 or $80 for one of these.
KH7CZ Rating: 2002-11-09
A great radio. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Six years ago I got my first 5100 used. And I loved it. So I got a second one and used it as a base. I also ended up with a 5200. But after a year of looking I could not find the seperation kit anywhere so I sold it. One thing I noticed on all 3 is the display backlight burned out very fast. Still two big thumbs up.
Mark KH7CZ
VE3YF Rating: 2002-07-17
Old Faithful Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Hi:
I had this radio FT-5200 for 8 years and for the most part it has stayed in the shack. The rig during the warranty period had to be sent back twice for power related problems as the rig would suddenly shutdown or even wouldn't even turn on. Since that timeframe I have not had any problems with the rig. The radio does seem to run hot even when on the receive mode, not uncommon to hear the fan come on. One other thing, the 5200 could have came with more memories, but in my neck of the woods not a big problem.

73 De Mike
VE3YF
W4DXL Rating: 2002-07-13
Works Great no frills Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Picked up the FT-5100 used at a hamfest. It works fine and has given good service as a base station for a few years now. The programming is a snap if you have used other Yaesu radios. The Kenwood TM-732A which came out at the same time has more features but the FT-5100 is still a fine transciver.
KE4SKY Rating: 2002-05-15
Simple and Reliable Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have two FT5100s which I use for RACES spares, mounted in quick-detachable mobile brackets bolted into waterproof Pelican cases with a 17ah AGM battery, a Lakeview economy dual-band 1/4 wave mag mount, an extra 25 feet of RG8-X, AC extension cord and a 1.5 amp Schumacher automatic battery maintainer.

The FT5100 does tend to run hot, so we replaced the fan control thermistors in ours with a cooler one which starts the fan whenever the PTT is keyed. When the final on these goes soft it still puts out 25w and most people cannot tell the difference anyway.

I've left these on crossband repeat on mountaintops over a weekend exercise powered by a deep cycle marine battery and never had a whimper. I'd love to find a couple more of these.

73 de KE4SKY
Virginia RACES State Training Officer
W2PA Rating: 2002-05-15
Feature rich and reliable Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had the 5200 in my car continuously since 1993 without a problem. I usually operate both 2m and 440 on high power setting as my long commute is over a hilly area. The main unit lays unmounted under the driver's seat with the front panel mounted in the center console ash tray below the car's radio. It's internal speaker isn't enough to be heard from under the seat so I use a pair of walkman type speakers that give you one band per speaker for a nice separation. An undocumented feature for extended frequency range on receive is enabled with a certain key combination I can't recall now (search the web for it, then write it in your manual).

The only defect I can find in this highly reliable rig is that the numbers on the microphone keypad wore off after only a couple months of use. Maybe they've fixed this in more recent models.

Chris, W2PA
KC4FWC Rating: 2002-01-02
Good but has flaws Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Power modules are mounted in a position where they can not dissipate heat very well. 2 meter module burnt up. Replaced it with a 25 watt module and put a faster fan on the rear end. Also turned the 440 side down to 25 watts. Great rig for commercial testing (can scan through tones while transmitting) when taken out of band. Internal speaker is small, but there isn't much other choice. Nice to detach the face plate. Easy to use, common Yaesu functions as with their other radios. Overall, I should have run the thing on low power or turned the high power down to 25 watts in the beginning. Using a power module in that small of a radio is pushing the limits. I'd recommend this radio if you have a reliable wattmeter and can turn the power down.