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Reviews For: Yaesu FT-897 & 897D

Category: Transceivers: HF Amateur HF+6M+VHF+UHF models - non QRP <5W

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Review Summary For : Yaesu FT-897 & 897D
Reviews: 340MSRP: 1049.95
Description:
It is the world's first multi-mode high-power base/mobile transceiver designed to fitted with internal batteries (optional) for portable use. The coverage is HF 160 to 10 meters plus 50/144/430 MHz VHF/UHF. Receive is 0.1-56, 76-108, 118-164 and 420-470 MHz. 7.9x3.2x10.3 inches (200x80x263 mm).
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.yaesu.com/amateur/ft897.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
353404.6
ON6AB Rating: 2017-02-20
A good package Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I owned an Icom IC7400 for more than 10 years. It is a decent transceiver with sharp digital filters but when I purchased an FT897d shortly after, the thing that striked me time and again was the “DSP noise” the IC7400 produced in comparison with the FT897d which is an pure analog transceiver.

The FT897d has a much more quiet receiver because of that.
(Please do not call a receiver noisy (or not) because of a different AF bandwidth setting or a different speaker.)

You can do a test: disconnect the antenna from the FT897d and the receiver noise disappears.
Do the same thing with the IC7400 with the same antenna and the noise remains.

On top of that, the receiver of the FT897d is strikingly more sensitive than that of the IC7400.

After numerous side by side tests, I finally decided to sell the IC7400.

Despite the older analog concept and AF DSP, the receiver experience of the FT897d is much more enjoyable.
Hours on end of 40m ARRL DX CW contesting on 40m at night is not fatiguing at all.
Signals neatly pop up one next to the other. The DSP is AF but in combination with a CW filter, it does a far better job than many IF DSP’s.
Use the IPO. It’s not an attenuator, it’s a preamplifier on top of an already sensitive receiver.
It’s only needed on the high bands.

I realize that the FT897d will probably score lower on the Sherwood table, but in practice its specs are more than adequate, even in a contest.
Even on the low bands if you use the IPO and ATT features the way they were designed for. I’ll chose it against an IC7400 any day. It’s just a better overall package.
G4REK Rating: 2017-01-14
great radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Had my FT897d for a long time now..really nice radio....with the mod 2+ its like a signal generator
rugged as well SWR indicator if one does something silly ....use mine with a Z11 PRO AUTO TUNER ......

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Earlier 5-star review posted by G4REK on 2004-11-20

Extremely pleased with my new ft 897d radio,
Works a treat, nice audio, even without any add on filters it stands up well on the crazy 40 and 80 meter bands at the weekend, dsp is in my opinion as good if not better than my 706 mk2 g. sooner play with this radio than the girlfriend or the ft 847.
KA0SCM Rating: 2015-10-24
Not a bad choice...but.... Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have owned several 897's ... the last one being the "D" model. I enjoyed the portability of the rig...but there were several things I think could have been improved. The first...the menu structure. I thought it was too difficult to navigate through the menu levels to change some things that should have been easy to change. Second...and maybe the thing that bothered me the most was receiver noise...the noise floor was very high....even my trusty old Kenwood TS-430S has a much quieter receiver than the 897...and its just as sensitive. Listening to the background hiss was an irritation...not good for extended listening periods. And I think the display could have been a little larger. Those things aside its a decent performer, not great. I am hoping Yaesu addresses these issues with their next incarnation of this transceiver. I realize its a small Swiss army knife radio in a box...but it could have been better.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by KA0SCM on 2014-02-18

I have owned an 897d for several years now...and have had ZERO problems with it. I equipped it with the internal PS...the matching bolt on Yaesu tuner...a Yaesu MD-200A8X desk mike...and the INRAD 2.9 KC filter. I get outstanding audio reports with this combo...to be sure there are better radios out there...but for what this radio sells for its VERY hard to beat. I have also had a Kenwood TS-2000...and it was a nice radio as well, but I prefer the 897d over the TS-2000...the Yaesu has a hotter receiver for HF as well as VHF/UHF. It's certainly heavily menu driven...but once you have everything setup properly its smooth sailing.
PA9H Rating: 2015-08-17
Versatile! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I own my FT-897 for 7 years now. It's versatile, rugged and very handy going mobile with built in batteries. Ofcourse the TX power is reduced working the batteries. So far it's a good rig but it's definately not living without problems. The well known problem with DC on the filters hit my rig as well, ending it up producing unreadable audio on VHF and UHF. Having it repaired, another time the S-meter went "bad hearing". It appeared that the front end went unsensitive for some reason. And however it's fixed, the accuracy of the S-meter is very poor. Only above S4, the reading is correct. Below S4 ithe bargraph quickly drops to zero. Further more sudden tribo electricity on the GP antenna blew out the front end of the VHF/UHF stage.
There it went again to the repair shop. As the FT-897 really does everything you can dream of, it is a nice transceiver. Because of its small dimensions it is the perfect take away for holidays. Like other reviews mention, this rig is lacking TRX power. It simply does not meets it's specifications. On the other hand, who cares? As other HAM's mention, the FT-897 is in fact the same as the FT-857. Same Rig in a different box. The benefit of this is that button's are easier to operate. The 6,3 mm audio jack is really a benefit in comparison to the small audio jack on the 857! As the FT-897 does so many things and it really can't have a separate knob for each adjustment, you have to put up with the menu's. Like it or not, it's the only way to achieve such a versatile transceiver in such a small box. Yeasu did a good job. A good rig for a fair price. You better consider to have one.
VE3CNX Rating: 2015-08-07
Not bad but useless NB Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased my FT897D new in 2004. It had many good points and some not so good, but only one (1) ugly point, which totally soured me on it:
The Good:
1) Rugged construction Case was military tough
2) Good control knobs
3) Menu was typical of shack in the box mobiles
4) RX and TX was excellent - Good RX, no intermod and full output
5) Ease of use -
The Bad:
1) Accessories were expensive - Auto Tune, batteries, power supply
The Ugly!
1) The NB was totally useless. For a rig that is intended to be used portable, and presumably mobile as well, the NB simply did nothing. When exposed to any pulse noise, the NB would not no much as touch it.
I am a dedicated "Yaesu" man, but this one went on a trade for a FT1000MP Mark V - which of course cannot be compared with the FT897D - but is simply the best HF rig I have owned. (I have three of them, as well as FT1000D, FT1000MP, Kenwood 950SDX, Icom 756 Pro III and others).
For portable use I went with an ICOM 746Pro - which proved to be an excelent choice. I am now awaiting delivery of an ICOM 706MkIIG for mobile use. Will write a review to compare with FT897D after I test sufficiently.

K6AJY Rating: 2015-05-04
kegajy great rig Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I like this rig the 2meters &440 is good & HF it is good rig
KI5SO Rating: 2015-03-06
Must read manual Time Owned: more than 12 months.
These two radios pack more features for the money than just about any other radio at any price! I recently acquired another 897D and am enjoying it greatly. I owned one before and a 857d, and forgot why I bought them in the first place. I wonder why I sold them now...Anyway, once you read the manual you'll find this radio to be a true shack in the box. It will do the Satelite thing too! It does priority and dual watch! I can monitor a two meter frequency while using, actually listening and talking on HF in priority mode! How many less than $1000 radios can do that? It will seek out repeaters in a search mode. It measures swr on every band, yes, 2 and 440. You can line out to a special LDG analog meter. You can put special batteries in it and buy a special tuner that attaches to the side. It is the most powerful, truly portable radio on the market--well, it has been replaced with one that won't do all of this, recently. You can buy an internal tuner that fits it perfectly and powers it for the full 100 watts on hf, 6 meters, 50 on 2 meters and 20 watts on 440. And, yes, there is a way to get the tuner to tune on 60 meters. You have to push the button and make enough noise for the tuner to hunt the match on USB. Once these side attached tuners find the tune, it is memorized and the next time it doesn't take long to get tuned there. On other bands, it reverts to A.M. and tunes with the push of a button. It memorized it, and the next time it just does s "tick" and you are tuned. The accessories really help this radio shine. Here's a bit of extra information: if you lose your 12 volt power cord, you can use an Icom power cord like off of an Icom IC-746pro, it fits perfectly. This radio gets good audio reports and I am enjoying the receive. These can be had now for around $700 stock or $850 to $950 with accessories like tuners, power supply and external meter. Look around and grab one. I have owned lots of radios and I don't blow smoke. This radio is for real!

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Earlier 4-star review posted by KI5SO on 2010-11-06

I have had my Yaesu-897D for about 3-1/2 years now. It has been used on every band. It does a good job on every band. Great radio out of the box. The transmit is good. I have made a lot of contacts with this radio.

One of the nice features about this radio is you can add options such as analog large faced meter, side mounted auto tuner or FC-40 tuner that is controled by the tune command inside of radio. You can add batteries and take it outdoors or install the optional power supply that fits snug as a bug in a rug.

The negatives about this radio is it makes a loud tone when you turn the radio on and the radio makes these toned sounds when it is starts and stops scanning. The receive on the radio is noisy. You have to engage a lot of it's filters to cut out noise and many times it is still present. Also, to get the Mars/Cap mod you must get an expert radio man to do the job. It is not a simple job.

However, the radio is built to last. I am going to use it as a 2 meter/440 rig from now on as I am acquiring an Icom IC 7200 for HF use. It has been demonstrated to me that the noise filters on this entry Icom radio are very much the same as the more expensive Icom radios.

If you need a radio that does it all for a really good price, I recommend the Yaesu FT-897D but be aware that it may be a little noisy at times. If you don't need to use it with the batteries, you might be better off buying the Yaesu FT-857D. I've got one and it will accept all the options the 897D will (except build in power supply), and I think it is a quieter radio.
N5DQT Rating: 2014-11-16
How to scan only 5 repeaters Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I'm trying to program my 897 to scan only 5 repeaters I've setup in its memory. The manual shows the process; setup your upper & lower frequencies, hit Scan & it's on its way, but it scans every single frequency instead of just the 5 frequencies of the local repeaters I access. The mobile unit Yaesu has will easily do this. Other than this process, the FT-897 to me is a great product.
W9WHF Rating: 2014-09-19
I.F. Filter Failures Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have the FT-897D and a FT-857D (mobile). Same radio, different box.Both have had multiple failures of the I.F. filters. Serviced by Burghardt we have learned that Yaesu apparently applied D.C. directly to to the Murata filters, causing them to fail after about 4=5 years in both radios. Apparently the only fix is to use aftermarket replacements and change all three filters. My experience is not unique. The hand mic is also very sensitive to R.F. from nearby antennas. The good--- I have worked tons of DX mobile with my FT-857D/Outbacker antenna. Stations can't believe how strong the Q5 signal is. My FT-857D is on its way for filter changes, again, the FT-897D was done last Christmas.
As mentioned, the receivers have poor strong signal rejection, but its' liveable.
K4YZ Rating: 2014-05-23
Great Multi-Purpose Rig Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought my -897D aboout a year ago to replace my -757GX Mk2 which had died on me after 20 years of solid service. I bought the rig from Gigaparts in Huntsville, AL, who put the MARS/CAP mod in it for me for an additional fee. I would have done it myself but failing eyesight and tremors in my right hand left me doubtful if I could work on a modern circuit board without mucking it up.

I "tricked it out" for portable operation with the dual internal batteries, but as of yet haven't been able to take it on ther road. I also installed the RT Systems 2.3 and 500Hz filters.

I have to admit that I have played with the DSP in the rig, but with the two filters in it and my general dislike for menu-driven features leaves me using the filters alone. Unless you go to the Mega-Buck Big Rigs, you're going to have to deal with menus, so I just "deal" with it...I can't "diss" a feature I knew was in the rig when I bought it.

Also, I skipped the outboard automatic antenna tuner. It's only good for a 3:1 mismatch, and if I were operating in an emergency situation and only had 20' of wire for an antenna, I want a manual roller tuner. A manual tuner won't match an infinite number of mis-matches, however it's preferable to a tuner that won't match at all!

One other thing I would have done differently if I were engineering this rig would have been to use a 1/4" three-contact stereo plug for the keyer paddles rather than the 1/8" one. It's just more solid and less like to break in portable situations. My $0.02 worth adjusted for inflation.

Otherwise, I like the rig. I still give it a 5/5, although I would still buy a -757Mk1 if they were being made today!

73

Steve Robeson, K4YZ
Winchester, TN

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Earlier 5-star review posted by K4YZ on 2014-01-25


I had coveted the -897d for some time, so when the money became available, I bought one, fully "tricked out" for portable work and with the 500 and 2.3KHz filters. I've not had a chance to take it portable, but so far it's been an outstanding rig.

My only issue is having to frequently hit the "F" button and turn the multi-function knob to change a menu feature, but then that's a small price to pay.

I'm mostly a CW op, and the CW is smooth and clickless. SSB audio is soft on the ears, and reports from other ops reports seamless audio.

I'm looking forward to getting it on a hilltop for 6 & 2M ops!

(PS, Guys-it's "YEAH-soo", not "YAZZ-zoo".

73

Steve, K4YZ
Winchester, TN