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Reviews For: Yaesu FT-127RA Memorizer

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

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Review Summary For : Yaesu FT-127RA Memorizer
Reviews: 3MSRP:
Description:
220 MHz version of the famous Yaesu Memorizer VHF 10W FM mobile transceiver
Product is not in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0034.7
WB5ITT Rating: 2013-02-25
Great rig for its time (rare find today) Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Don't know where K7VO got his 25watts from, but the 127RA is a 10-15w mobile only...The two version only differ in frequency coverage (this was done after 220-222 was reallocated). The original 127RA covered 220-225, the later version only 222-225 and has one less IC (a 4008 CMOS adder chip to correct the display vs the PLL divide by). The radios are same as the 627RA 6m and 227xx 2m versions, though the 127RA and 627RA front panel and memory execution are like the 227RB and NOT the 227RA (in case you want a matching set). Yaesu never made a matching rig for UHF (instead, they came out with the 720R series that would work 2 or UHF or with a switch box, both bands with one control head (but not at the same time). For a dedicated 220 radio, the 127RA is hard to beat (hears slightly better than the Midland 513 and similar radios from those days). Be aware Yaesu did make a crystal model called the FT-127...no R, etc...it is 12 channel, xtal controlled and was meant for the Class E CB band that never came about. Radio is better than a Midland 13-509, etc series which a lot of repeaters have been built from.
N8EKT Rating: 2006-02-20
GREAT OLD RADIO! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
VERY GOOD RECEIVER.
VIRTUALLY INTERFERENCE FREE.
K7VO Rating: 2004-07-18
Built like a tank, keeps going like the Energizer Bunny Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The FT-127RA is the 222MHz version of the famous old Yaesu Memorizer series of rigs. The 2m versions (FT-227RA and FT-227RB) were incredibly popular and have received solid 5 ratings on eHam despite being 25 or so years old. The 220 Memorizer was also one of the most popular 220 rigs of it's day. The FT-127RA was my very first 220 rig. I ran it for quite a few years and never had a problem but I finally did sell it off. Now I've got one again and it's not going anywhere.

There were two versions of this radio. The early ones put out 10W. Later models put out 25W. There is no difference in model number. I have a later one.

The rig is very large for a mobile rig nowadays. Construction is incredibly solid. Receive audio is very good and I get complimentary reports on the transmitted audio with the stock YE-17 microphone.

Operation is a little different than most rigs. It is assumed that you are working a repeater and the 1.6MHz negative offset is the default position. Two memories (M1 and M2) have two switch positions (SIMP and RPT) for simplex and repeater. In VFO mode you are alwyas in repeater mode. A push button allows for a +1.6MHz offset and memory M4 stores just a transmit frequency and runs split with the VFO determining the receive freequency for odd splits. There is no memory backup in the rig so memories are lost if the rig loses power.

The Yaesu Memorizer was one of the first series of rigs to offer an optional CTCSS (PL) board. It's pretty rare. The TONE SQUELCH switch is on the back of the rig, making it quite inconvenient to turn on or off in mobile operation. Also, the factory board is an encode/decode board (hence TONE SQUELCH) so if your local repeater doesn't retransmit the PL tone you'll be able to open it but not hear the audio. You may find it better to use an aftermarket board, such as a ComSpec, and wiring it to the switch. The tone encoder/decoder is a single channel type. 1750Hz tone burst is standard and controlled by a switch on the bottom of the radio.

The display is a big bright red LED as is typical of the era. This is great for base use but it is almost impossible to read at an angle in bright sun in a mobile installation. An analog S/RF meter is directly below the frequency display.

Despite all the limitations I did rate the radio a "5" because in most places the number of 222MHz repeaters is quite limited and the number that have different PL tones is even smaller, so these aren't the big issues they'd be on 2m. Performance and build quality are both excellent.

I picked one up for $75 from an eHam classified posting. The 25 year old rig needed two front panel lights changed and the tone burst switch to be replaced but was otherwise perfect. These rigs are pretty easy to work on and really take an effort to destroy. They keep going and going.
For the price you simply cannot go wrong with this radio despite it's age.