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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
KB9TMP Rating: 2001-09-14
FT-8100 Junk Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I also have the high power TX problem with my 8100! Had I known about it before, I would have never bought mine. I wrote Yaesu tech assistance and after I checked all the things they said to check (that would be MY fault) they said send it in to their repair shop to be checked. My solution was, I turned down the TX wattage to 35 on the vhf side now every thing works right, except my 50 watt radio is now 35 watts! I also know of two FT-1500s that have the same problem. Bottom line if it says Yaesu on the front and transmitts at more than 5 watts don't buy it. If you own a Yaesu radio and some one tells you your breaking up but your meter don't show anything wrong you may have the "Yaesu Tx Virus" also. Right now I'm waiting for my Geo. W. Bush hand out to pay for the new Kenwood TM-G707A I'm wanting!

73 and God help us Yaesu owners!

----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by KB9TMP on 2000-08-27

This is the first Yaesu radio that I've owned, and it won't be the last! This radio does everything you could ever need plus some. I use mine as a base with a Comet GP-9 dual band antenna. I think eventually I'll get another one to use as a mobile. The Yaesu sales litrature doesn't even come close to what this radio can actually do!
KC2GOW Rating: 2001-08-31
Radio Stinks More Than Dirty Socks! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I have used the radio and have a friend that HAD the radio.... It spent more time in a box than being used! That radio was shipped back and forth to yaesu so much I think it saw the world in 5 weeks! The radio is so awful i do not recommend it to anyone!!!!
EI2IV Rating: 2001-08-24
Great when it works !! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I own mine about 4 years now and I am surprised no one has mentioned the processor noise they develope on RX. Every unit I know of here in Cork has had a spell back at Yaesu UK to repair the problem of this noise which is abt S4 and drifts across the band mostly on vhf.
Mine was repaired about 2 years ago and since I got it back after 4 weeks I placed a fan from and old PC psu on top of the radio to keep it cool and it works great since,
The problem has reoccured on most of the others with out an extra fan !!!!!!!!
The units own fan also slows up on high power so is of little use and the heat sink doesn't deserve a mention !!!!
The radio works well when it works what more can I say ?
AA8YE Rating: 2001-08-24
This radio is a JOKE!!!! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought the 8100R 2 years ago and I have had nothing but trouble with it. The radio has been sent to the shop 3 times and everytime I get it back there is another problem. TX works 20 percent of the time, RX volume on the UHF side is stuck at 1/2. Sometimes when I key the microphone it goes into the scan mode. My break is over here at work so I can't add the next 5 pages. I really think Yaesu should recall this radio. I own a FT-101 and have had no problems at all. Maybe Yaesu needs to go back to the drawing board when they first went into business. SORRY YAESU!!!!
KF4LHP Rating: 2001-08-01
Sell it for scrap metal! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
For the money, this is a poorly-engineered radio. I bought the PL decode board, which will not fit where it is supposed to. After about a year, the UHF side completely died, sent it back and the UHF and VHF TX was replaced. Now there is a broken trace on the connector from the UHF volume/squelch knob to the board in the control head, which makes the UHF side useless... strongly do NOT recommend this radio to anyone.
N2YEG Rating: 2001-05-04
Unreliable Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Purchased 2 units about 2 years ago, no problem with one, the other is back at Yaesu for the 3d time. It's always the same problem-no output on one or all power settings on VHF. The first repair, just out of warranty, but repaired no charge, was to replace the "rx/tx line", whatever that is. The second repair (Jan. 01), again no output was to replace the antenna pigtail (?!). I questioned the tech, and he assured me that this was the problem. As an added bonus (that I paid for) Yaesu installed some upgraded internal shielding. The turn around time was 11 weeks! The unit then died 29 days into the 30 day warranty, again no RF output, but this time there was the unmistakable smell of burning resistor (the kind of smell that makes your heart sink). I just received a card from Yaesu acknowledging that they received the radio, also informing me that the turn around time is 4-6 weeks. A call to them pleading for a "rush" repair was met with complete indifference. Feature wise, this unit is no better or worse than others (2 Kenwoods). Internal speaker is a joke, but I would't consider not using an external mobile speaker. Transmit ausio is too hot, I get many complaints about outside noise. I am now using an old Shure dynamic PTT mic, and the reports are amazing, no background noise and better fidelity. Out of band sensitivity is pathetic (800mHz specifically), but this IS a ham band radio. No more Yaesus for me!
KG4LNE Rating: 2001-04-26
Liked it at first! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I own two FT-8100's and don't really understand the glowing reviews here. Purchased the first about 6 mo's ago and another about a month ago for the home base unit. Recently the new unit developed Tx problems on high power where the tx carrier appears to drop out at the receiving station. However, the unit still appears to be transmitting when this occurs (level on the SWR/Watt meter never appears to change!). Looks like it's still transmitting somewhere! The mobile unit hasn't developed problems yet.

My Complaints:

1) RF pigtail is a joke - nothing "pro" about this arrangement.

2) Heat is a problem with these units (hence the fan). Depending on a mechanical fan to keep the radio from going up in flames is a joke; bad mechanical and packaging design IMO. This unit gets hot at high-power in normal use.

3) Speaker and audio is poor. The speaker is thin and extra cheap. I have to crank the audio near wide open in the truck sometimes (when road noise is high) - this just gives lots of distortion. Almost impossible to keep a conversation going in these situations.

4) The UHF section does not put out 40W as specified. I measure around 35W on my units. The 2M section delivers 50W as long as you can live with the heat.

5) Programming and the buttons are difficult to use. It's hard to make changes (other than channel change) while driving in traffic - try changing a PL tone while driving! The programming software is almost a necessity if you have more than a few channels to program.

6) The receiver is not very selective; its pretty sensitive on weak signals but I'd much prefer to have a more selective receiver than pickup loads of IM and wash from the many business bands etc here in town.

7) The mic and audio is thin sounding. The cheap electret condensor mics used are plagued by breath and wind noise. The mic element is of cheap cordless phone quality.

8) No way to jump directly to a frequency via the keypad; takes forever to get to a frequency via clicking and turning the VFO knob. Would it have been too difficult to add this in firmware?

9) The 10 day return/replace policy is pretty crappy; what about 30, 60, or 90 days? Yaesu's marketing literature goes into great detail about how good their products are - why don't they back it up?? Probably to avoid warehouses full of returned units I suspect.

10) Transmitting on the UHF side sends spurs/noise into VHF side and opens up the squelch unacceptably IMO. I often have to turn down the audio or change freq on the VHF side in order to use UHF side for tx.

Other than the gripes above, I like radio. The orange display is nice looking and easy to read in the dark or in bright sunlight. The unit also scans fairly quick and has a number of other features I like. The crossband repeat seems to work well also.

However, I'll probably avoid Yaesu gear in the future. After spending $800+ on these two units I now feel I should have made another choice. Perhaps I'll try Kenwood or ICOM next.

As for the glowing reviews, I'll be happy to sell my recently purchased units to those wanting more!

Bob
KG4LNE
AF4YA Rating: 2001-04-17
Could be better Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had this unit for over a year now and thought it was about time to rewrite my review. All in all feature for feature this unit is a great deal, however there have been a few to many problems with it to suit my taste. Here's a list of some of the problems I've had.

1. When the unit is in VHF/VHF and you are scanning memories on the right VFO and have the left VFO on certain frequencies in the 146MHz range the left side will break squelch to a rythm, unless you crank the squelch way up.

2. AM aircraft frequencies cannot be tuned on the right VFO, along with 222Mhz and others, and the left VFO has trouble with some UHF frequencies.

3. There have been a couple of times where the PTT button has frozen.

4. I had this unit in a pickup on some gravel roads and I hit a bump. Afterwards I tried to transmit and it wouldn't. I couldn't figure it out, it wasn't a very large bump at all. I also noticed the left VFO wouldn't recieve. Still trying to get it fixed.

5. No Tone Search feature or direct frequency keying through mic. Very irritating.


Otherwise, this seems to be a decent rig. I was very happy it at first, but I'll probably not buy another. I've known a lot of other hams around here with this rig that have similar troubles. Some have had high SWR, low power output, trouble with the volume and squelch knobs, etc etc.

Overall I'd rate it as a good rig other than the above troubles.

73s
Nick
W4BVD Rating: 2001-04-17
Great Radio--But... Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had my 8100R for over 4 years. The first year it was great. Then it started having RF interference problems. When keying up on high power, RF gets into the processor and causes the display to display gibberish and also causes the transmitter to lock up. Yaesu is aware of these problems and suggested ferrite beads on cables, etc. They then suggested that I send the unit back so shielding could be added to the processor chip. The problem is intermittant and appears to be somewhat temperature dependant. I am using it with the remote kit at present. The problem exists even when the head is attached. The radio works great most of the time, hence the 4 rating. It would be nice if Yaesu would supply a shielding kit with user install instructions. I don't want to be without my 8100 for 4 weeks or more!
W4MKM Rating: 2001-04-17
Good experience with FT-8100R Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I am surprised to hear of the problems noted by others using the FT-8100R. I have owned three of them along with two FT-8500' s, and have experienced no problems of any kind with any of the units. My original FT-8100R and FT-8500 were zapped in a direct lightning strike or I would still have them also. I have used them and am presently using them both in the house and the cars, and again, no failures of any kind. Either the guys having problems with theirs were unlucky and just got " lemons", or I have been lucky and just got " good ones ". My experience with all Yaesu products has been so good that I probably would never purchase another brand.