| N4MJG |
Rating:  |
2023-07-12 | |
| Great Rig ! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
My 8800 is back on the is since 208 was in my truck and I cant drive no more since my 2019 stroke so it now at home using 2 and 440 meter radio while using he most of time this rig is a keeper for sure it very easy to set up ! I have no problem at like others do I love this 8800 r so much
73
Jackie
N4MJG
I brought this radio about 4 or 5 years ago I love dual frq.
I never having any problem with this radio. plan on keeping this rig !
And I love the cross band too !
73
Jackien
N4MJG
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Earlier 5-star review posted by N4MJG on 2009-03-01
i never have any problem with mine,if you can't delete frq you can always write it over it.that what i had do do with mine i fiqure it out,i play with mine.so far so good !
73
Jackie
KG4ORX
Tullahoma,Tenn
WWW.KG4ORX.COM
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Earlier 5-star review posted by N4MJG on 2009-01-11
I'm still having fun with my rig ! without any problem with this radio.you must read and understand how this rig work before you ask,anyway have fun with this radio.
73
Jackie
KG4ORX
Tullahoma,Tn
WWW.KG4ORX.COM
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| N7AQQ |
Rating: |
2019-06-05 | |
| Update on speaker audio |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I reviewed this radio about 3 years ago. Still have the rig in the same vehicle. My initial review still holds, with one update. I did purchase the Yaesu mobile external speaker to use with the radio. It made a world of difference in readability of the audio. I was forced to mount the external speaker on the passenger side near the floor next to the passengers feet, but it still booms the audio out more than loud enough to hear it well anywhere in the van with no trouble. This example just shows how lousy the in-radio speaker is. The radios audio section has more than enough power to drive a good speaker properly, so no worries there but most will find an external speaker to be a necessity. As the old adage goes...You cant't work them if you can't hear them! |
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| KF6VTA |
Rating: |
2019-02-12 | |
| Amazing performer |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
5 years and stilll working as day one. Who cares much about backlite buttons or muffed sound from speaker... yes... it is like that... but the intermod rejection and the reliability of the radio are superior. Uy one while you can because if you won’t... you will regret it.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by KF6VTA on 2015-01-15
I liked it so much that i bought a second one. This radio is literary "Intermod Free". I live in a very congested RF area, specially on the UHF band. This radio handles Intermod "The right way" No noises, nothing but the intented frequency. I tried kenwood, Icom ( by the way this one was the worse ) and Alinco...Nothing works better than my beloved FT-8800R. Radio is sensitive, has independent squelch both both bands, great display ( I wish Alpha and numeric would be together without having to choose individually ) , great audio ( when you connected to the MLS-100 External speaker. The internal is no good at all and the audio sounds muffed and poor. Power when you need it,, this radio pulls out 50W without hesitation. Rear fan was louder in the past, seems that my newer unit is more silent than the one i have from 2010, they might improved the fan somehow. Specs on both are the same and they work as cloned radios. If you have a chance buy the Programming software, it is very usefull when programing many frequencies and names on both bands. Robust, durable, strong construction will stand the vibrations of your car. The new packing for the new edition is extended and Yaesu includes the separation kit inside!!! Mounting the radio with faceplate separated from body is simple and Yaesu gives you all the easy tools to make it happen without trouble. YEs!, i wish they iluminate the front buttons, oh well...Nothing is perfect. For me at least..The best dual bander Yaesu has made in analog. Super recomended...Get one before they get discontinued ! |
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| KG5ABW |
Rating: |
2016-09-23 | |
| KG5ABW |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| Have had the 8800 for 2 years. Great radio. email me if you have questions from my address on qrz.com |
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| KG7TBQ |
Rating: |
2016-01-20 | |
| Solid radio |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I've had an 8800 for about 3 months now. I love the performance of the radio and the ability to dual scan and monitor is what makes this radio awesome. There are 4 things about this radio that I don't like. 1- The stock speaker is absolute crap if you plan on monitoring while driving, which 99.9% of us do. You can't hear anything while driving. It sounds very muffled. Just for reference, I'm 20yrs old and my hearing is fine. 2- No 1 push button locking feature for the unit. You can only lock individual sides of the radio. 3- The buttons have no back-light, which at night, you can't see what buttons you are pushing. They are very small buttons and recessed into the unit well enough to the point where it is hard to feel for them in the dark. 4- The dimming feature only has 4 options (off, low, medium, high) Okay, the high setting is great for the day even when I have my sunglasses on, but if the radio is in your field of vision while driving at night, it is insanely bright, so you have to back it down to the lowest setting. With my other radio (ft1900r) that I used to have in my truck, I had it set on the number 4 out of 10 setting and never had to touch it.
Overall, I am happy with the radio and it's performance. Just those 4 ergonomic issues are my only issue I have with it. I would suggest this radio purely off its capability to dual monitor frequencies. The only accessory you will need for this radio is an external speaker (And a separation kit, if it doesn't come with it already) |
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| W4GPL |
Rating: |
2015-10-05 | |
| I love this radio! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Everything about this radio is great. Easy to program, good audio, excellent receiver. The remote mounting kit is simple and extremely convenient. I had always been shy about buying Yaesu but now I'm a believer. If you get this cute low profile dual bander, you won't be disappointed! |
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| KR4OP |
Rating: |
2015-09-27 | |
| Great Radio |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| First off, I gave this radio 5 stars because it is without a doubt a very nice dual band radio. It's easy to program and the audio reports were superb! However, if I were to describe it in one word, I'd say it's "sensitive". The volume is sensitive, the squelch is sensitive, the ptt is sensitive. You just barely touch anything and it's activated. Another issue is the front panel buttons and the mike buttons. THEY ARE VERY TINY! You need a good set of fingernails to work them. Also, the sound level on different bands is erratic. On the police/fire band the sound is low, on the 2m/440 band it's normal, on the air band it's loud. There doesn't seem to be a happy medium for the overall sound level. Other than these things I've mentioned, It's a really nice rig. I mounted mine mobile and I plan on purchasing another one for the base unit. One final comment, if this rig had a mike like the ones on the Icom mobile radios, it would be darn near perfect! Hope this info helps...73's dit dit |
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| N4KXO |
Rating: |
2015-05-15 | |
| Minor issues |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| The menu buttons are very small and not backlit. That's the only reason for not giving it a 5.0 The squelch/volume control is very small for us folks with fat fingers. But maybe that's my problem the way I had to mount the radio in my van. However the dual band radio itself is a real winner. Tons of memory channels. Comes with a separation kit. (Mine did) Programming it with the RT Systems software was a snap! Adding an external speaker in the mobile provides more than enough sound in noisy road conditions. |
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| VE7REN |
Rating: |
2015-02-28 | |
| very nice!! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| this is a follow up review to my jan 2014 one.. I agree with all the positive remarks on this rig.. if works flawlessly,easy to program tones,etc,etc.. no heat issues.. the only thing I would like to see are backlighting on the lower keys.. it is difficult to use in a dark environment..i originally gave it a 3. after 13 months and many hours of tx time,it has proven itself.... would I buy another,, yep you bet.. when yaesu offers the discount of 80 and free sep kit,, sure.. its like having 2 radios in one,and versatility |
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| LISTENER007 |
Rating: |
2015-02-28 | |
| Very GOOD indeed... |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I bought my FT-8800 about a month ago (beginning of Feb' 2015) to replace a radio I'd bought only about 3 or 4 months before and simply grew tired of very quickly,, and there has been no looking back..
The FT-8800 is a very good radio to use and quite easy to set up and/or program. The setup menu is accessed by the central 'SET' button on the front panel and the options provided give a good choice of preferences - very straight forward and quite typical of this type of radio. Once your options are set and memory channels are programmed in, it's very plain sailing from here on, as it has been for me for over a month now, and this is the way it should be. Memory channels consist of more than 500 per each band, equaling over 1000 in total but who'd really ever use that many anyway.? But, they are there if you want or need them and can be used in a variety of different ways. Me, I'm "old school" and just use them like I've been using programmable memories since day one, mainly for good old voice contact via the local repeaters with the occasional simplex QSO for good measure. In this type of setup, the FT-8800 shines brightly as it apparently always has. I can now see why so many recommend this radio..
I use mine strictly indoors, from in my room and if there was one gripe, NO, one "question" I could ask Yaesu, it would be - "Why, did you make the bottom side of the FT-8800 the shape it is?" also while we're at it, "Why are the cooling fins on the underside of the radio?". Whoops, that's two questions.. Now let me explain... First, having a slightly round shaped head underneath, means that it's impossible to use on a desktop because it slides all over the show each time you use the mic or try to use buttons or knobs, with its odd points of contact - across the back on the fin ends and one at the rounded off head up front, which lifts the front upwards. Second, I thought heat rises, so why the cooling fins underneath. That also creates a third situation.. I had to use stick on rubber feet to both lift the radio off the desk surface and stop the rounded head from making contact and also to stop the sliding, but sticking these feet onto cooling fins is a little hard to do. This is an odd situation, but I got it all working after a while of figuring out just how to go about it.
Apart from this, the 8800 has performed flawlessly since the first time I pressed the PTT. I especially like the 1 - 3 & 4 - 6 buttons down each side of the display which, if used, hold all your of settings and gives you 6 different choices of setups at your fingertips. That is very cool. I tried a couple of them and "I like it"...
I also found that using the FM-Wide/Narrow option set to Wide, if permitted in your locality, gives the mic audio a lot more punch. It was alright set on Narrow but really great set on Wide and made a noticeable difference according to feedback from others.
It would have been nice of the buttons were illuminated for night work. That would have been like icing on the cake, but it's no major concern to me as I seldom use it in the dark, just every now and then. The mic light, red, also could have been a slightly brighter colour, maybe orange or green making the buttons a little easier to see (red is a very hard colour for the human eye to focus on,) but red is "nice" and if driving it would be unobtrusive, just a little dull...
If this radio gives me years of service, I will be very happy. It is a straight forward radio which has been around for a few years now and has seldom given any owner even a moment of worry according to what I read, and that sums it all up for me. In a nutshell - the Yaesu FT-8800 makes me smile from ear to ear. Why didn't I just by this radio in the first place, like I was originally going to...???
I give it 9.5 out of 10 for what it IS... |
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