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Reviews For: Yaesu FT-2600M

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

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Review Summary For : Yaesu FT-2600M
Reviews: 102MSRP: 170
Description:
HEAVY-DUTY VHF FM TRANSCEIVER
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.yaesu.com/ft2600m.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
001024
W4TDX Rating: 2001-01-11
A Good Solid Radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I got one of the FT2600s for Christmas and immediately installed it in my truck. I drive extensively throughout the southeast and wanted a reliable rig. I noted and agree with some of the minor complaints such as no backlight for the row of buttons on the radio. This would have been handy just the other night on a long ride back from the Gulf coast. Also the rig does get quite hot on long QSOs using high power(60w).

On the up side, I drive through downtown Atlanta's intermod alley often and haven't had ANY intermod problems. Nor have I had problems with the radio memory being wiped out. However, I turn the rig off before cranking my trucks engine.

I'm very happy with the radio and would buy it again given the same needs. For the money it's a good solid radio.
KB9TYC Rating: 2001-01-10
Could Be Better Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Well once it was available I had to have one. It has a lot of useful features that I really liked. The scan speed was way faster than my 2500. After using it for awhile, i sold my 2500 and my Icom 2100 and bought another one. The memory was deleted twice on me and I thought the receive was not that great. After about 9 months I bought a Yeasu 8100 and currently use that mobile. The icom I had received 10 times better that the 2600. Overall I liked the 2600 but the receive was pretty bad.
N8XMC Rating: 2001-01-10
Good Radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Talked to Yaesu about memory problem
Tech had told me radio has an EPROM backup
not a lithium battery for memories
when starting vehicle with radio on could effect
EPROM from the surge. As for the radio I also like
the styling and front firing speaker.
K1HC Rating: 2000-12-14
No problems Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had my FT-2600 about a year and I have not had the problems mentioned by other reviewers. Mine is in the car plugged into a 30 AMP extra cigarette lighter behind the center console. I have not lost memories, even when I have left the rig on and started up the car. I like the front facing speaker and the 60 watt power. fingers crossed it will keep performing!
N5IRK Rating: 2000-12-14
What A Joke. Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Good size, apperance, ruggedly built, good features, BUT, how many times do you get in and out of your vehicle in a day? Sometime several. AND, if you FORGET and not turn it off before you start your automobile, WELL, its time for reprograming. What a Joke. And worse yet, they (Yaesu) does not want to do anything about it. To maybe help simplify things, you can go and BUY the software from them. What another Joke, they ought to provide this. If someone has a bootleg copy and a diagram of the cable, send it to me. I have had this radio since April. The salesman whom sold it to me said trade it in, that will take care of it. He can not even talk to Yaesu. I have always had Kenwood radios since 1984, this is my first Yaesu, and last. Overall, DON'T BUY. kost@ipa.net
KD6RXY Rating: 2000-11-24
Good Commercial quality radio Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I purchased the 2600 for a specific mounting requirement in my vehicle. I needed a quality radio with 45+ watts to reach a repeater I use regularly. Worked great out of the box. The front speaker is ok. Not great, but better than a top/bottom mounted speaker in my application.

I wish Yaesu had made given the programmable buttons on the mike more functionality which would allow the operator to access more functions (i.e. squelch). I haven't had memory problems except you can accidently write over the memory by pushing a button on the mic. That can be frustrating!

At least 4 of my friends have FT-2600's and all of them like the rig.
KA1RI Rating: 2000-10-27
Greatest 2M Ever ! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Apparently the problems noted earlier have been solved by Yaesu... I've had this one for almost a month of nearly continuous use - no memory loss, no problems. The local AES repair guy reports that he hasn't seen any back in quite a few months. Anyway -- display is easy to read by older eyes (MINE!), programs quickly and easily with optional software and cable. Not that you'd want to modify one, but IF YOU DO, it can be done in less than 5 minuts by unsoldering one solder blob with photo instructions from the internet. Radio is RUGGED, with a very good front-mounted speaker. I LIKE it...I think you might too! (and the current price is under $200.. try to beat THAT for a commercial quality rig!) 73..de KA1RI
KC8LVQ Rating: 2000-09-30
Poor Choice Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I had the FT2600M for about a year, I noticed the constant random numbers on the display shorty after purchase. Then after purchasing the software program I programed all memories, I noticed some Freq would be erase or duplicated in other memories. While doing a search with the VFO the radio would lock up every time, the only way to clear the display after turning off the power was to unplug the main power cord. I like the looks of the radio and when it was working it did great. But I got tired of reprograming the radio every week. Until Yaesu fixes the problem I would suggest another radio , I purchased the FT 8100 to replace the FT 2600M,,I'm having no problems.
I have seen the price of the FT2600M come down , in my opinion they should pay me to use it,,that is the only way I would have another one.
KC6DMZ Rating: 2000-09-22
Was Bad But Getting Better Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have had a chance to experience 3 of these radios since they were introduced. The 1st one was right after the 2600 was introduced. It had MAJOR BUGS in it. When I contacted Yaesu they tried to make the random # problem sound like it was a feature but if I sent it back to them they would fix it. Go figure since when do you fix something that you never said was broke. It tuns out that this problem was caused by the mike being hot during receive & trying to decode DTMF tones. Well this radio had the lock up problem too so back to Yaesu it went. After it came back The tech notes read "Fully updated." After that it has been a good radio. The 2nd & 3rd Radios were purchased about 8mo ago & have been very reliable. I did manage to weasel the allingment mode out of Yaesu for this radio. It is Quite complex but now one radio is doing 65w (no big deal) & the other is able to lay out 90w. These radios do the broad band Mod very well. If Yaesu gets their act straight then this will be a good replacement for FT-2500 a truly great radio. In between the 2500 & the 2600 I did own a TS-261 this radio in my eyes was very weak. It scanned slow, on a good day it might get up to 45w output & finaly. The TS-261 might be mill spec but the mic, cord & connector are whimpy. 73's
FORMER_KF4GNO Rating: 2000-09-04
Avoid this radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought an FT2600M in December 1999. I installed it into my car. I got to use the radio for about 3 hours total before the memories and all settings erased themselves. The ham store technical people suggested I do a hard reset. This worked for about 30 minutes then it erased the memories and settings again. I returned the radio to the dealer (my expense on shipping). They sent it to Yaesu for repair. When I received the radio back after 4 weeks, I installed into a different vehicle. I programmed the memories and settings the evening before. The day I installed it and turned it on, the radio died again after 15 minutes. I called the dealer and instisted on a refund not a replacement radio. The microprocessor in this radio is unstable. I have now met two other hams who also found the radio unstable. I would not recommend this unit to anyone at any price. I have owned two 2200's, a 2400 and my present FT2500M has been in use since 3 weeks after becoming licensed as a Technician in '96. It still is a great radio. I notice now that some adds by dealers do not even mention the 2600 anymore. Could there be something to this?