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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
KJ4IIB Rating: 2012-05-13
GREAT RIG !! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
GREAT RADIO !!!!!!YES IT DOES HAVE A LITTLE NOISE IN IT SOMETIMES...BUT ITS NOT A $3500.00 OR MORE DOLLAR RIG.YOU GET AN ALL IN ONE RADIO,YOU GOT TO GIVE UP SOMETHING FOR ALL THAT.MADE SEVERAL CONTACTS WITH MINE USING THE MD100 MIKE.TOLD SOME CONTACTS I WAS USING AN ICOM 7800.7700 AND EVEN A YAESU FT9000.(OK...SO I LIKE TO KID AROUND) ALL THEY COULD SAY....WAS GREAT SIGNAL AND AUDIO...THEY NEVER KNEW THE DIFFRENCE.I BOUGHT A CLEARSPEECH SPEAKER FOR MINE,IT WORKS WONDERS! I WOULD BUY ANOTHER ONE.KJ4IIB
W7AV Rating: 2012-04-23
I don't get it!! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
What is the big deal about the FT-897D in todays market (2012). Maybe 10 years ago the 897 was a decent radio, but it's old technology being sold as new. I bought one 4 months ago to take on a trip to Central America. Nice small footprint with built-in P.S., but other than that that I found the menu's confusing, the receiver very broad (would have to buy filters at a terrible price), no way could you work CW with any kind of pile-up. The DSP is not IF but audio. Again, this may have cut it 10-12 years ago, but not now with radio's using todays technology. I bought an IC-7200 to take and it runs circles around the 897D for the same price. Yes I had to buy an out board P.S., but not those expensive filters. Time for Yaesu to step it up and produce current technology like their newer radio's.
W4YJ Rating: 2012-03-29
Amazing! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Picked up one of the neat rigs a few weeks ago and have had it long enough to write about it. Truthfully, this is the first Yeasu rig I have REALLY liked in a long time. I have had the FT 950 and the FT 450 new and others along the way. Had a FT 901D many years ago and it was very good. But this 897 is great! It has the best noise blanker for line noise that I have ever used. Makes a bad line noise of S9 disappear! Great output and get nice reports of good audio also. This one is a keeper! And YES, I would buy it again!!
VA2DV Rating: 2012-03-07
10 years update Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought one of the first 897's back in 2002 when they came out.Eventually sold it to upgrade the shack a few years later but missed the versatility.Went thru many base station rigs including recent IF-DSP models but never found something I could bring along with minimal fuss.
So fast forward last year.I sold my beloved Ft-950
and ordered An Ft-897D with the fc-30 tuner and Fp-30 power supply.It served me well as a base station
and as a portable shack in a box.I added an Inrad 2.6 KHz filter wich greatly enhance audio quality for ragchewing.I dont have high-performance HF antennas so I never had problems with intermods or desensing.I do use the IPO fonction on the lower bands and keep the DSP noise reduction on to reduce the white noise.I've made everything with this radio including Dxpeditions , mobile , VHF-UHF ssb DXing and satellites.A low cost kit is even available to add basic SDR fonctions.
I'll be hard pressed to find something better for my style of operating.
WI0T Rating: 2012-03-01
Good Radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I had an 897 and an 897D from 2004 through 2011
(first one took a lightning strike).

Good all-in-one radio, stock filter is good for
SSB (I had the 2.0 Khz ssb filter to compare
against) but it does need a CW filter.

DSP and NB work well.

A little noisy for CW work. Very good for digital
modes.

User interface is what you would expect of a
compact radio. Menu system is okay. There is a
slight learning curve, but it's not bad.


----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by WI0T on 2006-09-09

This is good all band, all mode radio. It's
amazing what you can get for less than $900.00
in 2006 dollars (how much would you spend in 1976
to get all of this capability ?).

For CW work one will need a CW filter (Inrad or
W4RT has the same collins filter for less $$). For
SSB, I have 2.0 Khz filter, and the improvement
is marginal. Pass if funds are tight.

DSP and NB work well. The menu system takes a
little getting used to, but it's not that
complicated.

The radio works very well with the soundcard
digital modes.

Wish: I would have the RF-Gain/Sqelch knob
seperate, not 1 knob and a menu selection to set
the knobs function.

----------------------
Earlier 4-star review posted by WI0T on 2004-05-25

I've had the FT-897 (not the D model) since December 2003.

Pros:
1) The DSP works very well (I've not had any sort of noise the NB would work on, so I can't tell if it works good or not.)

2) It plays well with the digital modes.

3) Tunable memories.

4) Better receiver than my old FT-757 GxII

Cons:
1) Tuning up requires changing the keyer to manual (unless someone else has a better idea).

2) It really needs a filter for CW (500 hz W4RT works very well), otherwise nearby signals will thump the passband.

3) Full break-in causes the relays to chatter quite a bit.

4) Rf-Gain/Squelch combination control requiring a menu change is not very user-friendly.

Things to watch out for:
1) Must use AGC or turn the RF Gain back. Otherwise there will crackles in the audio output.

2) Get used to playing with the DSP/NB/AGC/filters to get the best receive.

3) CW Keyer is much more touchy than my old 757.

4) For the non-D models, using softjump or widebander to open up the transmit causes loss of ARS on all bands. Yes you can set it, but as soon as you move the VFO, it goes away. so tuning from 146.67 to 146.73 will necessitate you resetting the ARS to - offset. This was such a pain I undid the mod...

5) I'm not sure I'm thrilled with their band stacking concept. Especially when 1 of the bands is 60 mhz (but can't transmit there, so why ?). Could be just me, but it seems to be more of a pain than I find it worth. I've adapted though...

Misc:
1) The 2.0 Khz Inrad filter helps quite a bit on SSB, but (as one can guess), but the effect is not as dramatic as the 500 hz cw filter has (2.3 khz to 500 hz vs 2.3 Khz to 2.0 Khz...)

2) I noticed the radio was somwhate quieter with the TXCO-9. Jury is still out on that option.

Overall I'd buy this radio again. It just takes some getting used to.

I would also recommend FT-Basic to load the radio's memories and Donner's digital Interfaces to control the radio for the digital modes.

73, Rod WI0T

K8JCP Rating: 2012-02-12
Great portable transceiver Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
The FT-897 is a very reliable radio, and a good transceiver on its class. Took me some time to familiarize with the menu structure, but after I did the radio is pure enjoyment.
I own one for 11 months and took it on international travels and on week ends trips. It is also great on SW listening. Currently have it in the shack side by side with the FT-847,FT-950 and FT-2000 till next trip. No problems at all.
VA3VU Rating: 2012-02-08
Amazing Rig Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Coming up on 2 years with it! I bought it after being away from the hobby a few years....great rig...nice features, love the VHF/UHF also...I have the 897D model with 60m, and waiting for Industry Canada to give us hams up here the go ahead. I think it is the best radio in it's price range, and the DSP is really good.
WH7DX Rating: 2012-01-17
Nice Radio 897D Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Nice Radio. Not too big. Well put together. Huge Freq. Coverage. 100W on HF. Simple choice. I needed something for 2M and 70cm and a backup for emergencies running off batteries if needed. I'm going to setup a Solar Panel or two for battery charging if needed (Deep Cycle Marine Batteries etc.)

WH7DX
N3KCM Rating: 2011-12-31
Fun rig but... Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had two of these rigs. First one plain, second one fully dect with batteries, filters, tuner, etc. Just don't like the way the menu is set up and the fact that you need an external meter to get an accurate reading. I think if Yaesu perfected on a few things and added IF DSP, this would be at the top for sure.
KK4HP Rating: 2011-12-14
What a Great All Around Radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I picked up a used FT-857D for mobile use and used it in the shack to familiarize myself with the operation & menu structure before putting it in the vehicle. A now former Icom owner, I was so impressed with the FT-857D, I had to have the FT-897D for the shack. I find it far easier to navigate the Yaesu menus over an Icom. It has an impressively hot receiver, it's compact enough to put in a small travel case (though a bit too big to run mobile). It has a solid feel, the DSP functions almost as well as the optional IF filters. The fan isn't too noisy, though I use it with a Heil PSE-6. The speaker is a bit small and being on the top, it isn't in the best location. Overall I am really pleased with this radio, it has been consistently racking up the DX contacts while my Icom rig sits idle. It's one heck of a shack-in-a-box and for new hams, you'd be hard pressed to find a better value for the money.