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Reviews For: Yaesu FT-8100R

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

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Review Summary For : Yaesu FT-8100R
Reviews: 88MSRP: 699.00
Description:
Dual Band 2 meter/440 Remote capable 1200/9600 data interface
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.yaesu.com/ft8100.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00883.1
KF4NI Rating: 2003-11-10
I got a good one! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought my FT 8100 about 3 yrs ago and it has been a good radio and I have not experienced the problems stated here. I use mine in the car all the time on high power on 2 meters and 440 and so far so good. The mike is a little hot and I have to hold it about 4 inches away to not overdrive the audio. All in all it is a good radio and I would buy Yaesu again.
N1LNJ Rating: 2003-11-10
Bad unit Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought the rig to replace an FT-5100. I put in my car with the same antenna and power connector. Worked fine on two meter, but could not run med or high power on UHF, I got feed back on two meter side. Did same on base, sent to Yaesu, charged me over a $100. Checked on base before reinstalling in car, same problem, never repaired by Yaesu. Put in car used low power on UHF. Just a few weeks ago the rig started smoking, abandon car, thought engine on fire. Took rig apart, a cap right next to internal antenna solder joint burned up. NOT sending back to Yaesu for repair, junk it, have read too many bad reports on this radio, waste of money. Been reading about FT-8800, and FT-8900, seem like nice rigs. The Ft-8100 was a real loser, have owned FT-5100's and FT-5200 for 12 years, no problems at all.
G4NVD Rating: 2003-07-05
Thumbs Down Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Mine lasted about 8 monthe snd the troubles began. Walters & Stanton in the U.K. were superb. They fixed the problems, R.H. volume control not working, No receive on 2 mtrs. intermittent receive, dead as a doornail, as they arose while under guarantee. After the guarentee ran out problems still arose and the rig had to go to Yaesu U.K. for about three weeks (Cost £103). The latest problem for which it is going in for repairs is that on 2mtrs the power dies while indicating full power out on the bargraph. My advice is DON'T BUY AN FT8100R UNLESS YOU HAVE DEEP POCKETS OR ARE A RUDDY ELECTRONICS REPAIR GENIUS!! They are fine when working but they don't work for long.Good luck and 73s de Ernie G4NVD
KB9LZU Rating: 2003-04-08
Older models need work Time Owned: more than 12 months.
My experince from this radio is not great at all. If I hadn't been an electronics repair technician myself with lots of experience with surface mount technology, it would have cost me too much money in repairs.

The original production radios had multiple problems with the front panel. The volume and/or squelch controls would die after so much use. This was related to a design flaw that Yaesu corrected after so many complaints and warranty repairs. The design flaw was: The front panel volume & squelch potentiometers were mounted on a small PCB assy just big enough to fit them. This tiny PCB had traces on it's outer edges that were used to be soldered with the exposed traces on the front panel. Little if at all attention was given to the fact that the traces could break open and cause problems if the nut that holds the pot secure to the front panel came loose. The "fix" was to have the factory wire the potentiometers PCB with jumper wires to the front panel PCB. This takes some know-how, experience and a steady hand when soldering to take care of this yourself.

The other problems are TX and RX related. The fix for this is rather quick and can be done in about 15 minutes. The symptoms are:

1. Loss of receive audio - even though the 's' meter still shows the radio is receiving OK. There is NO audio at all from the speaker on either band.

2. No Transmit Power - When you transmit the transmitter runs virtually no power as the Power Amplifier has no 13.8v feed. You cannot access even very close by repeaters etc.

3. Rear Fan failure - The transmit fan on the back does not operate when you transmit

4. Intermittent (fails when warm/hot) - The radio may work for a short time when cold. When it heats up there is a 'click' from the speaker and it dies in the way described above quite quickly.


All of the above is what Yaesu calls the "rx/tx" line being intermittent or open. The fix is nothing more than a jumper wire accross 2 points that solves all this. The location is on the VHF mother board. You can see a picture of this that I got from a fellow hams website.

http://www.stevelarkins.freeuk.com/dsc00026.jpg

I hope I didn't discourage any Yaesu fans from buying Yaesu in the future. I still like Yaesu and the radios they make. This radio will work fine after the above upgrades. For additional assistance in making your radio work, feel free to drop me an e-mail.

Best wishes to all, 73's



WS4BS Rating: 2003-04-02
Excellent Rig Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had this rig since late 1998 and have never had a problem with it. I also use it for GMRS (WPWP907) and no problems here either. I use an IC-Q7A along with it to crossband repeat. I love it! I have read about many problems folks have had with this rig and considering how many were made, the amount of problems does not seem unusually high. I have ALWAYS run the separation kit. I really do not need the decode in my area so this is not an issue for me. I only wish I had waited until the price dropped.
N9TSL Rating: 2003-03-21
Great so far Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've read several reviews about diffferent problems with these radios but I've had mine for 3 years now with nary a glitch. Used it as a base for the first year then retired it to my pickup (which by the way don't ride very good). Been in my truck for two years. Always run full power. Read several reviews about them running hot but I can't say mine runs anywhere close to as hot as an Icom 2100H that I had or as hot as a Kenwood tm-731A that I also have now. It was my first Yaesu and has been great. Guess I just got a good one. Much better than the last 2 I've bought. A ft-100 then a ft-847. All of which were bought new. Only gripe I have is the menu can be hard to remember if you haven't used it in awhile. You'll probably be getting out the book. I noticed in many of the negative reviews the same problem was experienced either immediately after the radio returned or soon after which would indicate to me that the problem was not really repaired in the first place. I do understand intermittent problems can drive a tech. batty although and sometimes not show up when they test them. This can be very frustrating to the tech. and the customer. Believe me I know this 1st hand since I am a tech.
VE7DJD Rating: 2003-02-06
Next hottest thing to a stove! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I need a replacement microphone.... mine got lost in a recent house move. Anyone got a used one for sale possibly from a unit that is unrepairable?

So far my radio has given me no problems at all. I have hardly ever used it on full power because it gets so darned hot. Maybe that's the reason why it hasn't failed me yet.
I say yet because the amount of heat it generates I doubt my luck will hold.
N7KJ Rating: 2003-02-01
Great dual band radio !! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have this radio for over 3 years. It worked perfectly from day one. No problems to report here.

73, N7KJ
W7SFO Rating: 2002-12-08
Well it died Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Well it made it almost two years. Then last weekend it died a not so nice death. I will be sending in to Yaesu for an estimate on repairs. I still love the radio and miss it so. I did replace it with an ICOM IC2720H, and so far think this radio has many many of the features that I loved on the 8100.....

----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by W7SFO on 2001-12-25

Shortly after I purchased my FT8100 I started hearing stories about all the problems
with them. I figured, I already had it, loved the functions and it had a warranty!

Its been over 6 months now. Not a problem one. Even took it out of the house and
mounted it in my 84 Peterbilt. I really wanted the dual band in there for the runs that
take me further from home.

I know there were some problems with these radios, and I hear they have even
more with the replacement FT7100R. I guess I lucked out on mine. And I am glad as
I really love the features this radio has to offer. However I with all the trouble I have
heard about Yaesu and there UHF VHF units, it might be sometime before I
purchase another.

Kenwood just got some money from me as I purchased a TM-261A as a Christmas
gift. Look for my review of that in the next few months.
73!
K0HB Rating: 2002-11-13
Buy some other radio! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had mine for about 5 years, and it's been in the shop a half dozen times for different flaky problems.

When it's working it's a very capable and feature rich radio, but it's the least reliable rig I've ever owned.

73, de Hans, K0HB