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Reviews For: Yaesu FT-8900R

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

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Review Summary For : Yaesu FT-8900R
Reviews: 171MSRP: 469.95
Description:
10M, 6M, 2M & 440Mhz Quad Band Radio with Dual Band Receive.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.yaesu.com/amateur/pdf/brochures/ft_8900r.pdf
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
221714.2
K9KJM Rating: 2008-03-16
POOR Memory management Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The Yaesu FT-8900 functions well as far as it's radio features go....... Works about the same as the fine FT-8800 dual band. (Transmitter, Receiver, Intermod rejection, etc. All MUCH better than the (crummy) Icom 2720H radio.

But the 8900's memory channel management is a disaster!

Whatever you program into a memory channel on the left side of the radio also goes into the same memory channel on the right side of the radio. And vice-versa.
IF you try to then "skip" a channel for memory channel scanning on one side of the radio, That same data ALSO goes to the other side of the radio!
The 8800 does not program like this at all. The 8800 allows you to program whatever you want to the left side of the radio, AND whatever you want to the right side of the radio.
You can "sort of" get the 8900 to function as a true dual memory channel radio by using the "preferental memory" modes, But that is a far cry from actually being a true dual band radio that allows each side to operate on its own settings.

Unless you really NEED 6 or 10 meter FM, Avoid this radio and get the FT-8800!

(BTW, I have asked other owners of the 8900 how to get it to program like the 8800, And so far no one has been able to answer this question.
I also asked Yaesu tech support, And never did receive a reply from them.)
N1UVW Rating: 2008-02-01
Very easy to program Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased my FT-8900r 2 months ago. I've had time to learn the programming of this radio. I think its very easy to program , I also purchased the Icom V8000 for 2 Meter 2 months before the Yaesu, and still can't figure it out!, don't get me wrong I love my Icom, but comparing the Quad band Yaesu for programming ease,theres no comparison. Ive learned the FT-8900r in no time.
Also, Theres a feature called "Smart Search", which when you're in a new area and not sure of local repeater or frequency's, it will search the band that you choose for frequency's, PL's , and offsets. I'll let you know if I learn of any glitches that I come across . For now I'll give it 5/5.
KC2RYW Rating: 2008-01-06
mystry freq loss Time Owned: more than 12 months.
No problems until I lost a frequency,yes, just one. The radio won't recieve 146.655 unless it's tuned to 146.660. Verified all other freq;s, including other 2m are working properly but this particular one.Can't find a reason for it in the programming, use yaesu software,and there are no settings that appear to be able to control one frequency this way. 70cm,10m,6m and all other 2m workfine.Haunted maybe. Yaesu at a loss.






G0YAP Rating: 2007-10-12
Just One More Thing.. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Just to let you know off a little problem of all my 8900s. If you use the radio on x band all is ok till you switch back to normal. Then you get a loud hissing noise on the tx audio ( you cannot hear it but the rx station can). To stop this, just switch the rig OFF then back ON. All is then ok. Just a small bug and very easy to live with, just remember to off/on after x banding. :-) Ian G0YAP
W6PSA Rating: 2007-07-23
Great Radio Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
This is a good radio. I've owned it for 7 months without a single problem. The only negative thing I can say is, the fan on the back of the radio hums (very low). It doesn't both me, but other stations can hear it when I'm leaning to close to the radio (2ft. or less). Other than that it's a good buy.
KC2PUF Rating: 2007-05-30
Very good radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Zero problems. Zero complaints. Use separation kit. Always used mobile.Have several Yaesu mobiles and HT's so programming was familiar.Use crossband in Races drills. Hit's everything I'm looking for. Don't really need 10 and 6, so car got an 8800. had 3 yrs.Have diamond super-gainer on end of it. Probably 500 hrs use on it.
VR2VIX Rating: 2007-05-03
Great rig with a BUG Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have owned this rig for about 2 weeks now. This rig worked fine with me, it's cooling fan works great even with its compact size.
The audio output is high enough for me, I can always operate this rig without an external speaker.
The quad band Tx and wide band Rx gives me a lot of entertainment even when running as a base with a 2-band antenna.

However, I've encountered some sort of software BUG with this rig.
The symptom is obvious. I got noisy audio when Tx on every band. (Audio with 80% of white noise and 20% of my voice)

I've been encountering this problem for three times, and I've conducted a simple investigation on this. The power output of the rig is not reduced, as I am still able to reach many distant repeaters. The distorted audio can also be restored to normal by power cycling it, as well as engaging the X-peat function of the rig.

So I'm wondering if this is caused by the rig's internal firmware and A/D audio conversion.

This rig is a great rig, disregarding it's occasional audio failure. I would also like to know if there is any other HAM who is also encountering the same problem as I've mentioned.

My email address: my callsign at gmail dot com
WN9E Rating: 2007-03-26
Awesome Radio Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
This was my first mobile. Purchased it about a year ago as my incentive to upgrade to General. It's been an absolutely rock-solid performer! The cross-band repeat has been very useful when used with my hand-held. The dual-band capability is great as I can monitor both a local repeater and my local simplex net with a single radio. I'm using with a Comet UHV-4 antenna mounted on the very front of my truck hood. Great antenna-rig combination. Highly recommended!
KC9JJW Rating: 2007-03-14
Great mobile unit. No problems. Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have owned my FT-8900R since last summer. Enjoy its ability to scan one bank while working another. Also like the Cross band repeater function. Was a little difficult to program at first and was a bit hard to figure out how to remove a frequency once programed. Sold it this week to make room for a single or dual band radio. Dont need the extra bands in my area and HF FM isnt really good in this area. Looking at at all mode radio as I am upgrading my license very soon I hope. Overall a good radio and would recommend to anyone. Havent had any hardware/software problems.
KC2TX Rating: 2007-02-18
Excellent Radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought an FT-8900R when they first came out. I haven't ANY of the problems others have reported here. Yes, it can be difficult to program. However there is 3rd party programs that make this radio a snap to program. I notice that this is one that you don't see often on ebay. When you do, it often sells for close to new. That alone should tell you something about the radio. Icom, Yaesu, Kenwood have had lemons time to time, especially when you consider the thousands they sell. This radio gives you 2 more bands for a little more than a duobander sells for. As you can probably tel, I'm VERY happy with this radio.