| M0ECZ |
Rating:  |
2006-11-14 | |
| A great mobile 144/430 |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
This is a great little radio (and it IS little).
I found the menu system and memory set-up easy to use after the first day or so of use.
Audio output from the tiny speaker is a bit scratchy but this may be fixable by adding a better quality external speaker.
After having a dual receive radio at home (TS-2000), going back to a single receive only radio for mobile use was not an attractive thought. The 8800 fulfils the dual receive functions admirably.
Like other reviewers, my only criticisms are with the very small, un-illuminated buttons and the size and sensitivity of the volume and squelch controls.
As things stand in the market today for 2M/70cm radios, there is nothing else that I would buy in place of the 8800.
I would have given it a 4.5 if it had been possible to do so.... |
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| KC0RBX |
Rating: |
2006-10-25 | |
| dependable |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I have owned this radio for about 3 years now. I have been very happy with its performance. I have had no trouble with the radio and have not had any intermod problems with it. It was very easy to set up to work the International Space Station and cross-band repeat is easy to set up too. Entering memories is a piece of cake. My favorite feature of the radio is the hyper memory which allows full memory parameters to be entered for cross band repeat. Push the hyper memory channel you set for cross-banding, go to the cross-band menu, and turn it on! Bang! You're ready to go! I like others on this site wish that yaesu would have backlit the buttons on the control head as well as the p buttons on the mh-48 mic. The mic could have had a few more options on it as well. It is for those reasons that I have given it a "4". |
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| N4CDB |
Rating: |
2006-10-20 | |
| Impressed so far |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I just got my tech license in August and this is my first mobile radio. I have to say I was amazed at just how small the unit is which works well in my small truck.
I wanted to give the radio a 5 but the complaints that others have kept me from doing so. I really don't see why Yaesu decided not to illuminate the front panel buttons. I'm sure I'll get to know them by feel eventually and may not even use them much, but it seems like a very nice addition that wouldn't take much. Along the same lines, I don't understand why every button except the P buttons on the mic are lit.
My only other complaint is (again as others have said) the volume (and to a lesser degree squelch) controls. If you're adjusting the radio while driving and you hit a bump, you're liable to blow your eardrum out as you shove the volume to full blast. I wish that these were made like the VFO dials where they have detents and "click" into the next position rather than moving freely. This wouldn't completely solve the problem but I think it would make the changes less drastic and you could get to where you meant to be quicker and easier with greater accuracy.
Overall, though, this really is a great little radio. I'm excited about the audio reports I've received and the improved sound over my HT in the same external speaker. I can't wait to try my hand with the crossband feature.
Hopefully I'll have more to add in coming months. |
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| K1HPD |
Rating: |
2006-10-13 | |
| great product |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Most of my equipment has been Yaesu (5100 2600 2800 7800 FT50 FT60 VX1 VX150 VX5 857D) and when it came time to upgrade my dualbander (FT7800) the FT8800R was hard to resist. Two full radios in one box, what a concept and yeasu carries it off well, plus easy to use crossband repeat. As I am very familure with Yeasu programing I forwent the software. It took about 1/2 hour to program both sides of the radio. I like the ability to mix VHF/UHF on the same memory band. As I take several out of state vacations every year I also like the the extra memory storage. I am able to set up repeaters in the areas I drive through and stay at. The radio is built like a commercial rig. Even mobile if I can here it I can hit it and it fits in the coin tray on the dash of my Jeep Wrangler. The only complaint that I have seems to be a common one, the size of the buttons and the volume and squelch knobs. This by itself is a minor inconvience and not enough to to change my score on this fine radio. |
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| LA4NMA |
Rating: |
2006-07-11 | |
| Great radio |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I bought this radio a month ago, and also ordered the programming cable for it. It's so easy programming the radio using software on your computer.
This radio has the best receiver I've come across so far, excellent sensitivity and selectivity, and no images as far as I've been able to find.
The radio sounds great on the air, the mic (MH-48) produces strong, full modulation on both bands.
I've worked SO-51 satellite on the rig, using just a 130cm dualband GP antenna, and the radio pulled out the signal from the satellite just fine, this being a satellite in orbit 800km above the ground.
The hypermemories are great, I use them all the time to switch to a different segment of the over 200 memory channels I have programmed into this radio, or to quickly recall the crossband repeater frequencies I use.
The dusplay is easy to read, and the backlight can be dimmed to your preference for when you're operating in a dark environment, for example in your car at night.
The volume and squelch knobs are somewhat sensitive, I'd like them to follow a logarithmic scale instead of a linear one.
As a scanner it works out fine, scanning just about the average speed for a ham radio, about 10-15 channels per sec. I scan the local repeaters that I can reach all the time, 4 of them, and something else on the other side. Lately I've been scanning the maritime VHF channels to figure out the channels with the most traffic on them, and it goes thru all the channels in less than 10 secs.
I wish there was a way to software freeband the radio just like the VX-7R, cause soldering SMD's can be tricky without the right equipment.
The menu system is set up alphabetically and is easy to use. One push on the center set button, then wheel the selector knob to the menu item you'd like to access, then press the selector knob once and make your selection, thenpress and hold the selector to set the item and exit the menues. Or you can press the selector and then the set button to exit the menu. Easy to use and I didn't even read the manual to figure it out.
My radio came with an N-connector for the antenna, instead of the SO-259 usually found elsewhere in the world. This is the FT-8800E version. I wish the ARS plan could be edited because Norway uses some different repeater shift areas on the 70cm band than the norm elsewhere in Europe.
The fan on the back end of the radio comes on every time you press the PTT, even momentarily, and stays on for about 30 secs after, could have been an annoyance if it was noisy, which it isn't.
All in all a great radio, I'm thinking about getting a second one for my car. |
|
| JOHNH |
Rating: |
2006-06-06 | |
| Great rig, but not quite perfect |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
This is a feature rich radio that only has a few problems that I have noticed. They may not be an issue for you, but I thought I'd pass them on if it can help potential buyers know more about the radio.
One big problem is the volume/squelch knobs on the radio are way too small and too sensitive. Where you install the radio and the angle of your reach to it will make this a non issue or a monster issue. I have trouble trying to adjust squelch or volume while my truck is in motion, and if I am on a bumpy road or anything less than smooth, it is very difficult to make the adjustments without blowing the volume way up or accidentally adjusting the knobs too far in one direction or the other. This is probably the worst thing about this radio, and for me, it is a significant problem.
Another issue is the buttons on the front panel are not backlit. Huge screwup by Yaesu. The buttons are very small and hard to read and see without a domelight or maplight, so this is a pain.
Another issue is the radio does not have a priority scan feature. It does scan and has dual watch, but it should have priority scan. Even the cheapest scanners have this important feature.
The PL detection function is nice, but it is way back in the menu and a pain to use. Again, there are rat shack scanners out there that automatically show the PL/Digital tones without you having to dive off into a menu and screwing around with it. This feature should be made easire to use.
This is otherwise so far a great radio. Get the software. It is difficult to program via speaker mic, and to some degree it is hard to retain the information on how to do it all. |
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| KC0SHS |
Rating: |
2006-05-28 | |
| Not the best |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
Moved from a 8100 to the 8800 simply because I wanted the RF squelch to help with the high intermod here in a metropolitan area. However, there was poor thought on the placement of the software features and button assignment. The worst part, I lost the ability to temporarily skip a scanned memory bank leaving me to listen to repeaters that are full of chitchat instead of pressing a front panel button to skip over it. The software features are placed on the panel in such a way that useful features are buried deep in the menus while useless features are given front panel permanent assignment. Spinning through obscured poorly abbreviated menu items while trying to drive is impossible and any of the simple functions have to be performed while the vehicle is stopped so you can give it your full attention.
The only use of the snapshot memory is to put the radio back to normal after you have presses some unknown function on the front panel that you can't even comprehend the reason for such a mode. This only works if you know enough to save the radio when it is in a good state before you screw it up! (This radio gets that way allot if you don't stop the car and give it your full attention when pressing the very small buttons) The funny part is how many times I hear other amats with their radio in a weird mode that were not able to figure out what was wrong with their radio. They have just been living with it that way!
The only one good salvation of the 8800 over the 8100 is the RF squelch. |
|
| N6HBJ |
Rating: |
2006-04-27 | |
| Really like it! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
This is a crackerjack radio! Over 1000 channels and 20 memory banks total as well as 6 configuration buttons to instantly access your preferred setup or scan individual memory banks if you choose. Left and right VFOs are completely independant with seperate controls for each.
I keep this is my truck and really like it.
The only negative part is that the push buttons are small and unlit so it is hard to see them at night without turning your dome light on. It gets to be kind of a pain at times. That's why I give it a 4 instead of a 5.
Mike - N6HBJ |
|
| W2KRP |
Rating: |
2006-04-18 | |
| Just may be the perfect dual bander |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| This is one rig that I wish i could base on a scale of 10 rather than 5. If I could, it would be a 9.8! Yes I would take off the .2 for the not backlit buttons. That is the only "flaw" I can find with this radio. I purchased this a while back to replace an Alinco DR-635T. I did review that radio and gave it a 5/5 but will need to redo it as the more I travelled with the 635, the more intermod I was getting. Sure it was working fine by my QTH but as soon as I got it out on the road, BOOM..... Pagers, Fire, Police, everything under the sun was getting into the receiver. Between Exits 13 and 18 on the NJ Turnpike the radio was useless. Now comes the FT-8800R. Not a burp, whistle, noise, hiccup, well you get the idea. ROCK SOLID FRONT END! Both TX & RX audio is superb. Running to a Diamond SG-7900NMO antenna and if I can hear them they will hear me. Can get into repeaters from Bayonne and area well into PA south and west and Conn. north with no trouble. And I'm not talking link repeater systems. :) IMHO this Yaesu FT-8800R is the standard on which all other Dual Band Mobile radios should be compared to. Nice job Yaesu................ |
|
| KE7EYY |
Rating: |
2006-03-24 | |
| Superior Dual-Band Mobile Radio Compared to every Kenwood I own |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| This radio is phenominal. It has an excellent reciever which is great for me as I live in a heavlily mountainous area. The TX power is great as well, I commonly talk simplex to users 35 - 40 miles away from me on 2 meters. The X-Band repeat features works flawlessly and is lightning fast to setup and turn on. This radio is far superior in eliminating Intermod than all the other Kenwood dual band mobiles I have owned. Even with the super sensitive reciever I rearly lock onto rogue signals during my commute. I love this radio so much I just ordered a second one to replace my base in my house. I would highly recommend this radio to anyone who wants crisp audio, excellent reciever sensitivity, and a nice small form factor radio at a very reasonable price. |
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