| WN6V |
Rating:  |
2012-05-04 | |
| The ultimate HF radio |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I find some of the reviews humorous ... I bought mine new, Ser: ON770009, in March 2002 from HRO in Portland, Oregon, USA. I have been thinking about changing to an FT-2000D and every time I do my contacdt at HRO Portland asks me "why?" Now, why I chose to write a comment was because a ham in one of the reviews said no radios came from Vertex/Yaesu as a "D" model. Well, on the back of mine is a decal reading Vertex/Yaesu FT-100D although the front panel says FT-1000. My warranty card from Yaesu also says FT-1000D. Interesting, yes? But, HRO is right ... why change out the radio? Yes, I do not have the new 60m channels, but then I have them on my FT-857 in my Chevy truck and never hear any transmissions on them ... at that, since I first got my amateur license in 1981 (N6KGI) in San Diego and then upgraded to WN6V in 1983 all I have ever operated is CW (I was a submarine radioman in the US NAVY and CW came easy)... first on an FT-102 until I got the FT-1000D. I may never upgrade the radio until I hear there is a better radio (of course I'd like an FT-9000, but can't afford it!) |
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| WA0ZZG |
Rating: |
2011-11-24 | |
| Last BoatAnchor |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I've had this radio several years. Purchased it as a fixer-upper. It had been used as a CB radio. This radio is the last of the 'big iron'. You won't find that type of linear power supply, analog filtering, and ducted cooling in a modern radio. Recommend a copy of the service manual to any owner. This will be the last HF radio you will have a good chance of maintaining yourself. Having the additional filtering of the 'D' version is nice and is highly recommended. How it became a 'D' is not important. Expect to do some cleaning of the cooling system and some modifications or upgrades. Learn about Inrad. Learn how to set up diversity reception. I like CW in stereo. The headphone jack is stereo and is set up for 32 to 56 ohm headphones. Not eight ohm headphones. The linear supply isn't that efficient and works better on a 220V line. Your operating table won't be blowing away, this one weighs sixty pounds, and no handle. I like the in-out feature of the keyer speed control knob that's not mentioned anywhere. This radio is like purchasing an old painting done by a major artist. It's a work of art, but it's still old and takes some caring for. Every ham in the world knows what the numbers 1000D mean, and having one doesn't suck.
Dave WA0ZZG
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Earlier 5-star review posted by WA0ZZG on 2003-02-24
Finding an affordable 1000D is not an easy task.
That's why when the opportunity presented itself,
I couldn't pass it up. I thought I was buying just a regular FT-1000 from someone that used it as a CB radio. I was expecting to get a fixer-upper. When I took the bottom cover off, I just about fell over. It has EVERY filter in both receivers, and all the 'D' options installed. I spent a lot of time going through, inside and out, with some special cleaner and an old tooth brush. It was filthy. Most of the dirt came off. It was't smoke. Looked like food. Gutting a 60 pound radio isn't easy. Got the service manual from Yaesu on a CD-ROM. Alignment revealed that the SSB section was still right on.
The AM and FM exciters had been 'played with' and were way off. My old radio was a FT-900. It makes the '1000 receiver positively spooky. Any signal off the side of the filter skirts drops into a black hole. The second receiver board reminds me of the one in my FT-900. I feed it from a short verticle. It feeds my right headset. Main receiver feed the left. Signals with QSB don't fade in and out, they swim around in my head. You can set some really strange affects when listening to SW stations. Now I'm beginning to understand why I was told that this will be the last radio you will ever buy. But don't expect to do much portable with it. It's around 60 pounds, and no handle. Suggest you run it from a very stiff 120V line. The 200W transmitter may be very clean, but it's not very efficient. I suspect the output transistors and power supply will do 300W, but leave it alone. The only weak part is the small relay that feeds the main receiver. It won't tolerate much abuse. Never leave this radio connected to an antenna when not in use. A minor surge will fuse these contacts. The next time you transmitt, the RF will burn out the front end. Never use this radio if you DON'T plan on getting one. You will be spoiled.
Dave....
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| AA6VB |
Rating: |
2011-11-22 | |
| Trip Down Memory Lane |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I purchased an FT1000 in 1991 and installed all options except the BFP-1 and the TCXO. Kept the radio for 16 years. It worked flawlessly and I never had any sort of failure.
The rig had a couple of annoying issues, which I lived with, including the fact the NB created distortion when engaged, and the blocking dynamic range was poor. There were many times when I was trying to work a weak station only to hear it "disappear" when another station, close by, caused the rig to "desense". This, to me, was the real weak point of the radio. I did not find the IMD issue to be a problem, especially after installing the Inrad roofing filter and the W8JI mods. All in all I liked the rig a lot, which is why I kept it for such a long time.
On a final note, Yaesu did NOT ship all FT1000s to the dealers who then upgraded certain rigs to a "D" version. Yaesu shipped FT1000s and FT1000Ds, in factory sealed boxes, and the end user installed any desired options.
Good rig, but has its weak points (as most do).
73,
Bob/AA6VB |
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| W1EY |
Rating: |
2011-11-22 | |
| "Factory" FT-1000D Tops! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I have had 2 FT-1000's one and upgraded 1000 and one a "factory" D. I disagree with W2NER's assertion that there were NO "factory" D's. I talked to a customer rep at Yaesu in Cypress, CA and he confirmed that there WERE D's from their source. True there was no serial number differentiation, but the factory 1000's had a TCXO installed, while the D's had a TCXO1. My "upgraded" 1000 had the TCXO (not the 1) and the rep said it was not an original D. My later "original" D had everthing it should (including the "1" and the BFP1) and ALSO had a factory stamped box with a "D"! Although my D was an early 1991, the late versions did have the face ID plate showing 1000D.
It is true a dealer "could" update a 1000 to "D" status, it DOES NOT mean that ALL "D"'s were sourced in that manner. You can verify my comments in the first paragraph with Yaesu in CA if you wish.
My 1000D was truly the best constructed and operating Transceiver I have owned. The receiver was tops and transmit clean. Although missing some of the later digital advances, it must be rated in the time it was designed and produced. Therefore it is definitely a "5".
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| W2NER |
Rating: |
2011-11-22 | |
| I love this radio... |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I just sold my FT-990 and got a FT-1000 with the stability option (TCX01). I changed the SSB filters over to INRAD 2.8's and moved the 2.4's over to the 2.0 position. I love this radio! Receive is the best I have ever had and I have had many including the FT1000MP Mark V. The misconception I have noticed about the FT-1000's is, with the exception of the options BFP1 (to make it true dual receive), TCXO1(stability option), XF-B, XF-C, XF-D and XF-E (filters), the FT-1000 and FT-1000D are exactly the same in every detail. Yaesu never shipped a FT-1000D, the dealer installed these options. So, It bugs me when I see listings for FT-1000D's for sale with the statements "a real FT-1000D not upgraded". That's horse poop!! Every FT-1000D was shipped as a FT-1000 and UPGRADED to a "D" at the dealer.
If you find a FT-1000 or the "D", grab it! If your not into CW, a FT-1000 with INRAD SSB filters can't be beat! |
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| K7FDX |
Rating: |
2011-11-05 | |
| A Radio for the Ham who Loves Radios |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
My humble opinion: if you don't like the 1000D, you don't like transceivers.
I sat on the fence about six months before buying a clean used example; that was six months too long.
The receiver is flat amazing. Cutting back the RF gain results in the over-used descriptor "signals rise out of the noise."
I've obsessively compared the 1000D to my TS-590S for several weeks. The 590S does much more, and the noise reduction is very nice. However, I keep going back to the 1000D, and feel the receiver is significantly better.
The 1000D has selectivity equal to that of the 590S, but is less troubled by QRM. For whatever reason, one just does not "hear" the QRM to the same degree. Also, the 1000D NEVER goes into blocking. It's truly amazing.
The transmitter is a work of art. One can precisely adjust the power output, and there is no ALC overshoot. The processor is perfect, and it drives an amplifier to perfection.
Working DX is a pleasure. Signals that barely wiggle the meter with the RF gain cut back sound crystal clear.
It's not modern or complex. It's not as flexible as the latest DSP rigs. However, it works to near perfection. If there is a better analog rig, I want to HEAR it. It's work the risk of repair (or non-repair) to own one.
A radio for the Ham who love radios.
P.S. Mine is bone stock; no mods.
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| K7YNO |
Rating: |
2011-09-09 | |
| Excellent Radio - Easy To Repair |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I own two mint condx FT-1000D's, one since new in 1992. I use one only for digital modes, the other for SSB and CW.
I blew out the pre-driver transistors in one of them by running too much power on PSK into a poor SWR (100-watts max is OK into a good load in constant carrier modes). Easy to disassemble, diagnose and replace the blown transistor pair. Works perfectly again.
Recently had the mic audio stop working on my SSB rig. Downloaded a service manual and after one hour of diagnosing found a PCB trace with many layer changes (that powers the mic preamp) had failed open (probably a marginally plated via); added a jumper wire and it works perfectly again. I am happy that these rigs are nicely modular, making them easy to troubleshoot and repair.
With a Heil DX-4 cartridge the Tx audio is very effective. Having up to 200-watts output is very helpful for driving big linears. |
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| W3FW |
Rating: |
2011-02-03 | |
| THE BEST OF THE BEST |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I SEARCHED FOR MORE THAN TWO YEARS AND WAS FINALLY FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO FIND A LATE(YEAR 2000)FT-1000D,VIRTUALLY NIB AND THE CASE WAS NEVER OPENED. I HAVE OPERATED ALL OF THE $12K TRANSCEIVERS. THE 1000D BEATS THEM ALL IN SENSITIVITY & SELECTIVITY. RECEVED SIGNALS ARE EXTREMELY CLEAR AND AUDIBLE. IT RESIDES RIGHT NEXT TO MY LATE FT-1000 MARK V FIELD,LOADED WITH ALL OF THE INRAD FILTERS,AND THE 1000D IS ALWAYS EASILY THE WINNER. IT WAS BUILT TO MILITARY SPECIFICATIONS AND WILL PROBABLY NEVER BE DUPLICATED. IT IS BUILT LIKE A TANK AND IT IS IN A CLASS BY ITSELF. IT IS ONE OF MY MOST PRIZED POSSESSIONS. NOW,IF I COULD ONLY FIND TWO MINT MATCHING SP-5 SPEAKERS,IN THE FACTORY BOXES,MY FT-1000D WOULD BE EVEN MORE OF A HAPPY CAMPER. |
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| WA9CWX |
Rating: |
2010-12-19 | |
| Great radio if you appreciate quality. |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I bought my first 1000 in 1991, after being impressed by the FT-one I had owned for 6 years prior. I like well built gear, something that has permanence and integrity as the undercurrent of the manufacturing process.
Since that time I have looked at, used, and considered other high end rigs. Nothing strikes me as having as much intrinsic value as the 1000.
I bought another used 1K in 1999 for $2500.00 that needed some very minor alignment done before it was back up to top of the line operation.
I heard thwey were discontinuing the 1K a few years later, No second guessing, even with two perfectly working 1000's I went right to AES and bought my new 3d one. I use all three. However, my firast one from 20 years ago, works just fine even today. I operate nearly 100% CW, seldom use my amps, and love the sound quality, selectivity, and general sensitivity of the 1000. It even beats my R7, and definitly beats my $2000 JRC545, even on BCB DXing.
I have heard of the click problems, noise blanker failings, and need for roofing filters. I have never changed a thing on my 1000's, they each have the stock filters, 200, 500, 2000, 4.8...and nothing else added. But, If you want to add additions, there is nothing in the world that can make a cheaper, less quality machine become a star.
Having the 1000 and adding extras is like taking the top of the heap, and just improving it a bit. Spend the money to get this top of the line rig, add what you want later, as experience dictates. One way or another, THIS is the rig you want to own. Nothing is in its' class, Nothing! |
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| OH1TT |
Rating: |
2010-12-02 | |
| Number one |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Had several rigs;
FT757GX,FT-897D,FT-990,1000MP,2x1000MP MARK-V,second
with Inrad's,TS-850SAT,IC-756PRO2
This one is the keeper.Best receiver,no menu jungle,DSP crap not needed.
Love it.
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