| KC9IMT |
Rating:  |
2006-04-13 | |
| Great Radio! |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I bought this radio as a tech because I wanted more power than an HT... I certainly didn't go wrong! The 7800 along with a small power supply currently lives in my apartment on campus at school as my "base" and I couldn't be happier. The only problem is, since I just got my General ticket, it's about to be replaced, more than likely by the FT897D.
Pros:
- Huge display ... Very easy to read in the car or at home, even from a distance.
- Mic can do just about everything except turn the radio off.
- Front panel buttons make common features easy to access.
Cons:
- I'm not a fan of the mic plugging into the right side of the faceplate... But I also think that the mic cable is too short.
- If you're not a "Yaesu op" the menus can be difficult at first... But give it a week or two.
- I'm not a fan of the "Yaesu beep" either, and unfortunately, it's either on or off rather than having multiple volume levels.
Bottom Line: Take half an hour and read through the manual before even turning it on... I didn't read it until about 2 weeks ago and I wish I had when I first bought it.
73 de KC9IMT,
--
-Chris |
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| VK5LA |
Rating: |
2006-03-21 | |
| Price-Performance King! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I have recently purchased an FT-7800R to replace an Icom IC-207H.
The '207 suffered from front-end overload problems at my location so I sold it.
It's early days, but so far so good with the '7800. No signs of overload yet on the Yaesu.
The radio seems to be very user friendly, and I had no problems getting going - just plugged it in, switched it on and started operating!
I found it so easy to use, I didn't need the manual to program a memory, Add an Alpha tag or navigate set mode...which is how a radio should be.
These are a lot of radio for the money and you can
make your own separation cable for just a few bucks instead of having to pay for an expensive money grubbing Icom separation kit.
The build quality is right up there and the small, rear cooling fan is unobtrusive.
The fact that the unit has a 3 year warranty also influenced my descision to purchase!
If you don't have a requirement for cross band repeating, you won't go past one of these!
Cheers!
Andy - VK5LA |
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| KB7UYR |
Rating: |
2006-03-19 | |
| Great Radio |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I get a kick out of those that say this radio is complex. With a quick scan over the manual I was able to setup this radio in no time. It's very easy to use and works very well. The quality is great, it's fan is next to silent and the audio output is very good. For the price this is a great radio for those that don't need cross band repeat. The display is very good, and bright. I haven't had one issue with the radio. The buttons work well, the memory is stable and the programming is easy. Follow the installation instructions (directly connect the radio to the battery) and you won't have any issues. Programming is through a menu system and very easy. Operation can't be made easier, there's no such thing. This radio sets the operation standard for easy. Did I fail to mention that this radio is easy to setup and use? |
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| N6SBN |
Rating: |
2006-03-13 | |
| Great Reports |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I spent approximately an hour putting in some repeater frequencies. I made a call to the local repeater club president. There was a pause and he reported that the FT7800r was the best sounding radio he had heard. While asking for a reception check, he was able to pick out the door chime on my wife's car, 15 yards away. (as she got out of the car.)
I get the impression that this radio has it together, much like the old, much loved FT2500s we used in the early 90s.
My first impression is very good. |
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| VO1NO |
Rating: |
2006-03-12 | |
| Not Impressed |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
This is an "ok" rig, but I really don't understand the rave reviews.
First, unless my radio is defective, its intermod performance is poor. I usually have to turn it off while driving through Ottawa, and it still suffers intermod in the country with the nearest tower a kilometer away. If I need to monitor something outside the Amateur bands, I'll bring a scanner along. What I would like is a transceiver that I can actually leave on when driving through town.
Second, the menu system is not terribly intuitive. After owning the radio for more than a year, I still need a cheat sheet to change settings.
Third, the knobs are far too easy to knock out of position. I have put rubber washers beneath the knobs, but they still turn when even lightly brushed against. Many times I have been off frequency or had the volume turned down because of this - none of my other rigs were this sensitive.
Finally, the detent system on the tuning knob just plain sucks. One detent should equal one step as it is rotated. Instead, sometimes it's one, sometimes two, sometimes there is no frequency change at all. That makes it very difficult to accurately change frequency/channel while mobile. Come on Yaesu - this isn't rocket science. There really isn't any excuse for this type of problem.
73
Al
VO1NO / VE3 |
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| KC0TDE |
Rating: |
2006-03-02 | |
| EASY TO USE |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| The FT 7800 was the first radio I put in my shack after recieving my ticket. I thought about and looked at dual banders. Talked to hams who had them and decided that it wasn't what I wanted in my shack. Along came the FT 7800 and I was hooked. It is so easy to use. The ease of programing without the computer program is unbelievable. I had the manual open to study but after the first 10 or so frequencies it was moved to the other side of the desk. The naveigation from hyper memory to VFO is simple. I use it constantly while in the shack. The cooling fan is sufficient to keep the radio from heating up on extended conversations. I like the radio so much I am ordering another to set up as a portable to go with my "jump bag" for emergency response when the call comes. |
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| KI4LIV |
Rating: |
2006-02-20 | |
| Glad to have come home! |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
The FT-7800R I reviewed earlier was traded in for the TM-V708A because of how much information was available on the display, plus the ability to monitor two frequencies at once.
I quickly found out that the ability to monitor 2 frequencies at once was a novelty.. I turned the audio of the 2nd frequency all the day except on a few rare occasions.
The information available on the display - the more you want displayed, the more you have to program.. Yes, I realized that there was no ability to computer program this radio when I bought it, but wow, what a pain it became!
I recently bought a new vehicle and while waiting for my antenna and mount to be delivered, I realized that for remote mounting, you had to run an a cable for both the head AND mic - needless to say, this wasn't acceptable to me since the FT-7800R required only one cable as the mic plugged into the head unit.
I'm extremely glad to have come home to the 7800R - I should have stuck with it in the first place!
----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by KI4LIV on 2005-08-20
I was issued my call-sign 2 days before picking up a "demo" model of this rig at one of the big radio stores in Orlando after having read all the rave reviews on Eham.
The demo model was a bit beat up, and the savings weren't that great, but I was assured that if I wasn't happy with it, I could return for full credit towards anything else I wanted, or a refund.
Without cracking the book open, I had all 48 repeaters from my county programmed in within an hour - I'd have to say that it was pretty simple and straight forward considering I'd never laid hands anything other than a CB or a pre-programmed public safety radio!
Being that it was a "demo" model, it was definitely showing that it had been used and abused. Some of the buttons on the remote head looked almost as if they had been dog-chewed, or used as a teething toy! The mic was in decent shape though.
The display on this radio is extremely bright and easy to read - no extranious things to distract you, just the facts! The backlight is gorgious - I wish all my scanners had a backlight that you could see was on during a bright summer day in the car like you can on the FT-7800R!
I can honestly say I don't like the shape of the mic - not that it's uncomfortable, it's just ... well... it's ugly! BUT, in this case, I'll take function over fashion any day of the week! It would have been nice had they of made the lighting in the mic the same color orange as the display instead of red.
After having used this "demo" radio for a week, I was convinced - this is the model for me! Wanting a radio that looked good, I returned it and picked up a brand new one without any issues. I brought it home, installed in my vehicle and was back up and running in even less time than the first!
I would strongly suggest this radio to a new ham any day of the week, as well as to a more advanced ham wanting a no-nonsense dual band if he had no need for cross-band repeater functionality or the need to monitor more than 1 frequency at a time.
Yaesu, looks like you've got a customer right out of the gates - lets hope the radio I got stands up to the test of time! |
|
| KE4EX |
Rating: |
2006-02-10 | |
| A great little package. |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
My friend Tom k2ese said, "get one, you won't be sorry". He was on the mark, I love it. This unit is easy to program, "user friendly". From the time I open the box till I completed programming fourteen freq's, was under an hour. Remote head, aw baby that’s what I am talking about,
Nice, Nice, Nice...
Thanks Tom
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|
| VK2RT |
Rating: |
2006-01-11 | |
| A magic little radio |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
If you have trouble using it then it's time you found a 5 year old child to help you set it up, remember when you had trouble programming your VCR?
This unit replaces my old Kenwood TR-7400 which has given long and faithful service, but does not have the necessary bells and whistles required for today's operation.
I am 60 and had no trouble at all programming the unit. I sat down for about 2 hours and read the manual cover to cover, noted the important parts for program access etc. Then programmed in all the simplex and repeater frequencies I wanted, including offset and tone access etc. Then setup the Band segments etc. and away it went. I am very pleased with it, as I have been with all my Yaesu equipment.
Before purchasing the unit I noted some of the bad reports given in this review area and agree that you can get a rogue unit, but it's rare.
Anyone that has a problem using this transceiver, should stay with their old gear as you can’t hold back progress. If you want a knob or switch to access all the functions then this transceiver would be as big as a house to fit them in.
I recommend this unit…
Bruce... VK2RT
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|
| DG7JX |
Rating: |
2006-01-02 | |
| Poor |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| The FT-7800E (or R) is a cheap TRX with good receiver and transmitter, but has many problems with the user interface. The main dial is sluggish and unsteady, which is extremely annoying! You can't use the FT-7800 without the manual - too complicated. Sold it on ebay... |
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