| G7PAF |
Rating:  |
2005-03-11 | |
| dont bother with a wire |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
All in all i am very impressed with the MKV Field
Having used an assortment of radios from the big 3 over the years i have to say i do like this one
first thing that struck me was the clarity of the audio was never a fan of the older Yaesu rx audio but this one can be shaped to sound realy good.
my only niggle i have with this radio is the internal ATU ..it sucks and i mean SUCKS BIG TIME
It realy struggles with my G5RV.
now considering i have a pro2 which tunes the wire on any band along with an ft-847 with the FC-20 atu and that tunes the wire noooo problem
my old TS-690 with internal atu also tunes the 5rv without any protest.
try on the field and it just rolls over for it's belly tickling.
even the book says the tuner is not suited to the 5rv...wots that all about
i have disabled the internal tuner and use an mfj intella tuner to good effect.
it does tune the cp-6 without a problem but for some the wire antenna is the only way to go if you want the radio then get an external ATU as the one in the field is well NAFF |
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| VE7KP |
Rating: |
2005-03-04 | |
| good value radio |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
This is my first new transceiver in several years, and am very pleased with it.I had heard some reports that it was too difficult with the menus and memories etc., but I found that once you read thru the manual it was very easy to get everything set up. My main rig before this one was a Kenwood TS-140S so of course I find a big difference with the FT-1000 MP Mk V Field. The radio was on sale at Radio World for $2249.00 Canadian, so
it really is lots of radio for the money. |
|
| VA3ROM |
Rating: |
2005-02-27 | |
| Really Good Radio Bordering On Great |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Would give it a 4.5, but a 5 is more fitting than a 4. No radio on the market is perfect. No matter how much you pay. Having said that, the Field is probably the best priced and featured rig on the market for someone who wants to take a step up from those "all-in-wonder" radios that do a little of everything but nothing really well, to something that is a "meat and potatoes" radio.
Yaesu manuals tend to be cyptic in certain areas and almost sound like "engineer speak" assuming that someone who buys a Field has a Ph.D. Thank goodness for FT1000MP web sites! There are some minor engineering nit-picks that I can live with and some things that I wish had been done differently. But, it's built like a tank and has excellent shielding, sits next to my computer and doesn't pick up hash, and it doesn't turn my FT7800 on and off like my Icom 706 did.
Once I found the web sites and entered some optimized settings for the Field, and spent some time working CW and PSK/SSTV/RTTY and SWL'ing (don't have a mic, who needs one) I'm thoroughly impressed with this radio. As an RO for the coast guard I've used a lot of different high-end radio gear in nearly 30 years. The Field is just plain sexy, decent up front, and a joy to operate. If this radio can't put a smile on your face after some digital QSOs, well time to hang up the cans, and lock the key down.
The rf engineer from whom I bought the rig put in the IF front end amp INRAD mod which drops the noise level down 2 or 3 S units, compared to the same signal on the sub-receiver. With the various EDSP/IDBT settings you can get HF bands sounding very quiet and therefore hear weak signals. The 1.8KHz INRAD and AM filters really tighten things up. I do see a need for the 250Hz CW filter, which I'll be adding. I like using "old-fashioned" filters up front on the signal the IF instead IF DSP or audio DSP filters.
INRAD advised that there was no need for their roofing filter mod when using the IF amp mod along with the 1.8KHz/6KHz filters. The improvement wouldn't be noticeable enough to warrant the cost. Nice company that doesn't want to take your money.
All-in-all the best bang for the buck, and has really put the spark back in hamming for me. |
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| WA2AR |
Rating: |
2005-02-19 | |
| An old friend |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| My second MP. I sold my original MP to finance a project. Mistake. I missed it ever since. Got my new Mark V Field and this is everything I loved about my original which was an outstanding radio. Vertex cut to the chase and built on heck of a series in the 1000MP. I'm proud to rep their products in the LMR industry. Their products are just great. See ya all on the bands. |
|
| NP2B |
Rating: |
2005-01-29 | |
| very nice radio |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
Nice unit, lots of features. A few "nits"
The unit has an IF notch as well as an AF DSP notch. It is very cumbersome to change from using the IF notch only, the AF DSP notch only, or both.
The RF power knob is very tiny and placed in an awkward position.
Optional filter selection is too restrictive. You ought to be able to use any filter on any mode. Also, the manual is a bit unclear on how the filter selection process works. Otherwise the manual is superb.
When using the Field with the Quadra amp, you have to MAKE SURE the keyer is off. (understand that the radio works fine with the Quadra, but don't do it the way the Quadra manual tells you to!) Please understand that I have a Quadra and I like it very much, but the book is a mess! I wrote a review on that too!
I have installed the Inrad 1.8KHz 2nd & 3rd IF filters and their performance is outstanding, I also have the roofing filter mod on order from George. It's not that the radio really needs it, it just seems like it will make a very nice radio, even better.
While it sounds like I've done a lot of complaining, there are many features that make this radio really nice, features that I forget to use because in 48 years of hamming, I have never had a radio like this before.
All in all, I think that the Mark V Field is an excellent radio, and I would do it again if I had to!
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|
| W4IRA |
Rating: |
2005-01-15 | |
| Happy Camper |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Had this rig for over a year now. Used nearly daily. Run her on Phone, SSTV and RTTY, I am very happy with my Field. The front end mod is a must. If I had to get picky I would say the Vox controls could be set to menu adjustment, that would be wonderful.
The Icom Pro and Pro II are great rigs, performance wise I can only speak of side by side test foor three weeks. My Field edges out the two in noise and Adj. freq. rejection, big time. The display screen is neat but filters do the trick.
Had a MK 5 for a week. Other than the 200 watts,
ugly expensive power supply. I could not find the MK-5 did anything my Field couln't do.
73
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|
| ZL1BHQ |
Rating: |
2004-12-11 | |
| A great rig |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I purchased my FT1000MPV Field 16 months ago and have used it extensively in Contests and DXing. Am really impresed with the receiver, more so since the installation of the INRAD IF mod, but have on back order their Roofing Filter and cannot wait for it's arrival to experience the superior receiver improvements as lauded on the Contesting.com reflector |
|
| W7IS |
Rating: |
2004-12-08 | |
| Best value in ham radio |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| When I first bought the Field, I was not happy about the older type display, the menu and memory options that were not exactly what you could call user friendly. But once I used it on the ham bands for a few months, it won me over. None of the other manufacturers are currently producing an affordable contest grade HF rig like the Mark V. It’s a larger rig for mobile, but with its built in 110V power supply and Aux input for 12V, it works seamlessly in a motor home. Changing internally between 12V input and 110V AC without missing a beat. If you have 110V hooked up, it becomes the preferred supply but if you disconnect the 110V ac, the 12V input takes over seamlessly. Really well done. I originally had trouble with RFI. But after I upgraded the station grounding, its not a problem (even running a KW amp). I ran 3/4 inch flexible copper pipe from the ham shack to an outdoors ground screen. And then used 3/4 inch copper braid from all the gear to a common copper ground buss running behind the equipment. Then installed an Ameritron 5 position Coax switch outdoors so that when the rig is turned off, it grounds all the antennas and disconnects them from the rig. So there is only one coax run coming into the house. That also helped with RFI and protected the rig from lightning strikes. After hooking up the PC for rig control, then I was also able to use the PC for CW keying with a speed key connected to the front keying jack as well. So I'm not using the built in Iambic keyer. This is one great HF rig and you wont be disappointed for either contesting or rag chewing. And if you add the optional crystal filters, it just gets better :-) Frank W7is |
|
| KI9A |
Rating: |
2004-11-30 | |
| great! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Wow. I just got one of these gems, after selling my 1000D, & I'm glad I did! Over the past 26 years, I have used about every high end rig out there, under demanding contest condx, & this thing is the best so far. Never used the IC-7800 or the new big $ Yaesu, but, this thing is great.
The noise fighting tools are wonderful, but I wish the dual RX was cross-band like the D.
I'm not a big 1000/1000D fan, I think the rigs a very over-rated. Maybe 14 years ago they were tops, but, not now.
If you are looking for a fb rig for under $2k, this is it!
73-Chuck KI9A |
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| AD9P |
Rating: |
2004-11-23 | |
| Excellent |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I had the chance to try the Icom Pro 2, and the Kenwood 2000. Both very good radio's. But the Mark 5 is simply the best. I used it in the Sweeps, es in most cases I don't last very long because of the QRM.. But this radio made it fun. In my opinion it still is the best.
Al
AD9P
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Earlier 5-star review posted by AD9P on 2002-05-29
I love it. It just sounds better to me. I had the chance to compare it with an Icom Pro 2, es a Kenwood TS-2000. The difference between the three radio's was quite small. The Kenwood was better on CW . Weak signal CW was surprizing with the Kenwood. The Yaesu just flat sounds better. It is a far more impressive looking radio. The fit es finish of Yaesu is better than the Kenwood , or Icom. I am a bit worried about the Yaesu if it needs to be serviced. The built in power supply sold me on the Yaesu. About the same price as the Kenwood, es several hundred dollars cheaper then the Icom. A very impressive radio.
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