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Reviews For: Yaesu FT-1802M

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

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Review Summary For : Yaesu FT-1802M
Reviews: 87MSRP: 199
Description:
The Yaesu FT-1802M is a ruggedly-built 2 meter transceiver with 50 watts of RF output. It features extended receive from 136 to 174 MHz. It has illuminated front panel keys and boasts 221 memories. There is also a 10 channel NOAA weather bank. You get CTCSS and DCS Encoder and Decoder circuits. The FT-1802M even has a unique a CW trainer to practice Morse Code. It also supports one-touch access to Yaesu's renowned WiRES-II Internet Linking System. There is a security password to help prevent unauthorized use.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.yaesu.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
14874.1
KF6IIU Rating: 2023-05-25
Least expensive for the features Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I needed a high power 2m rig I could use for special events and not be broken hearted if it was lost or trashed, and chose this one. Meets all expectations for 2M operation. Our Emcomm group is somewhat standardized on FT-60's, and this radio has a lot of menus in common with the FT-60, so it is easy to locate all the features. Also, like most Yaesus, the display and menu are very easy to use, and you can the air simplex

I chose it over Icom because it was less expensive, and over the FT-2200 because it was the same price but did not have a recessed UHF connector - on the 1802 you can connect the antenna without tools or skinny fingers.

The only problem I've had with it is the external speaker jack will not accept some 1/8" plugs, they tend to pop out. I don't know if this is design or defect.

It gets warm, but only if you transmit at high power for several minutes.

Slightly more difficult than Icoms to interface with TMCs since audio is not brought out on the mic jack.

Head is not detachable, but no other radio in this price range has detachable head either.

N9UY Rating: 2013-12-05
Adequate Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I am about to put my 1802 up for sale after owning it for about 5 years, the only reason being I wanted something with a detachable faceplate. It has been in my vehicle the entire time. I have had no problems or issues of any kind during this period. I have never had any complaints about my audio or signal.

This radio has been reported to run hot and indeed it will if airflow around it is restricted in any way; I have mine mounted on a stalk with free air circulation all around and it never gets more than warm, even on 50 watts.

Since I also own a Yaesu FT-857D, the extensive menu system in this radio is not as daunting as it might be to one encountering it for the same time - there are a lot of choices you can make in how the radio operates.

My biggest beef is that the repeater tone scan feature is clumsy to operate and not at all intuitive. This should be a button function, not a menu one. I also wished that it would display the voltage at all times (again like the FT-857D) not just at startup or from the menu.
KQ4KK Rating: 2013-11-20
Went DEAF in 2 years Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Was purchased for a Middle School Technology/Radio Club. Only used about 2 hours a week at most.
It went DEAF, just like the KENWOOD D710s with bad filters. Put the radio in NARROW BAND and it is currently receiving fine. Same way the D710s were. Looked on internet. A 13 min video on how to replace the BAD FILTERs in the 1802.
Guess I'll watch the video and replace the filters. Out of warranty. Looks like the whole Amateur industry got taken by these bad filters.
AC5RM Rating: 2013-01-27
Love it! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I am a brand new ham with little experience in radio. I purchased my 1802 used from an older ham that was getting out of the hobby. I've had it about two weeks and love it.
With the manual, programming it was a breeze, even for a newbie like me and I've gotten nothing but positive reports on the radio's sound. I was concerned after reading some of the negative reviews here and nearly did not buy it because of them, but the price a better deal than I could pass up. Boy, am I glad I bought it. There seems to be a ton more features I haven't played with yet, but that'll come. For now, though, it has made my hour long each way commute very enjoyable.
I've no complaints about the overheating issue as of yet, even with extended conversations. I have no issues hitting repeaters 30-50+ miles off, even off of a magnetic mount mobile antenna.
All in all, I find it to be a good little radio, one I would buy again. In fact, I'm looking at one for the home shack... As a newbie, I may have a better rig down the road, but I am very pleased with this litte rig.
N3EYQ Rating: 2013-01-05
Subject to failure Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The radio was returned within warranty period and is now deaf my Icom HT hears much better on a rubber duck...This radio has issues.
N7WR Rating: 2012-09-01
Excellent for the $$ Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Bought a pair of these when they first came on the market. One for the shack and one for my pickup truck. Not long after I decided to put a dual bander in the truck so I took one of the 1802's and mounted it on my ATV where it has resided since. It is "protected" from the weather by a cover that I placed over it BUT it still gets rained and snowed on some and it certainly gets covered in dust. It has survivied 5 winters with temps 25 below zero on occasion and 6 summers in 100 degree WX. The ATV is kept inside a barn when not in use and all manner of bugs and critters crawl over it. Never have had any problem with the radio. Works great and it is nice to have the power of a mobile if I am out 4 wheeling in the woods or plowing snow. Built like a tank as it has survived a whole lot of serious bouncing around over the years

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Earlier 5-star review posted by N7WR on 2006-10-13

As well constructed as the public safety radios I use at work. The programming software is very user friendly. Given the price, this is an excellent buy for a compact, easy to use radio. One tip. If you select narrow band audio you will want to (using the menu) crank up the mic audio a bit, otherwise the audio reports you will get are likely to be "weak".
KI4GTJ Rating: 2011-11-01
best bang 4 your buck Time Owned: more than 12 months.
get's grear reports s9 599 on 146.520
KJ4LCC Rating: 2011-08-12
Passable Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned this product for a period of three years and used it almost daily during that time period.

It (and its successor, the FT1900) have the lowest MSRP of any big-three VHF mobile, and it shows.

Good Points:
-Tiny footprint
-Loud audio
-Good signal quality
-Price
-Full-featured- smart search, CW trainer, mic gain, etc.

Negatives:
-Receiver is prone to intermod- it behaves more like a triband, wide rx ht than a 2M mobile.
-No real heat sink. It has a heavy aluminum chassis but no surface area like a normal heat sink.
-Cheap build quality, especially in the front panel and hand mic.
-Prone to alternator whine
-VFO knob has poor tactile adjustment. A slight bump will knock the radio off frequency or memory channel.
-The handmic has a number of programmable keys, but the radio only allows limited functionality with them, rather than allowing the user to configure any menu item or power setting to the keys.

I was OK with this radio until purchasing a competitor's 2M radio. After owning that mobile and seeing how much better operation can be, my opinion of this unit has dropped. Driving around with the squelch pegged at all times and still having S7-S9 noise (via the radio's meter) break in half the time I drive under a power line or go near a pager is driving me crazy. The alternator also whines over this radio like a cheap uniden CB.

In operation, audio is loud, but tinny at high volumes. Signal reports have been fine, and adjustable mic gain is nice, but I find that this radio heats up very quickly and cools slowly due to the heavy solid chassis with no heat sink. If I had two of these, I could make waffles.

W1WH Rating: 2010-06-23
DOA after 13 months Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Similar to other comments, my 1802 went DOA about 13 months (i.e., "just out of warranty") after I bought it new. During the time it was a so called functioning radio, it was extremely sensitive to noise. It also seemed to run hot so I guess it was just a matter of time. Yaesu should be ashamed to have their name on this one.
KJ4KKI Rating: 2010-06-08
good so far Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I've only had mine a short time. I bought it used x 1 year, for $70. I can't complain about it running hot...so far it hasn't. Any radio with a heat sink will run hot. I have solid reports on tx, and rx sounds great. Much better than my FT-60, and it sounds really good. I do wish the VFO knob had more definitive clicks. It's easy to bump. If it was dual band, I could listen to public safety past the effective distance of my HT due to increased sensitivity. I've had none of the noise complaints one fellow in Florida complained about. People in our ham club who have them have nothing but praise for them. I think if you find a new one in a warehouse somewhere, or a good used one...buy it. It's a very affordable, easy to program VHF (only) radio for a new ham. Solid Radio sells very affordable USB transfer cables. (http://stores.ebay.com/solidradio) G4HFQ in England writes Yaesu programming software and sells it for $15. Compared to ADMS, that's a great price. (www.g4hfq.co.uk/)