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Reviews For: LDG FT-Meter

Category: SWR & Wattmeters & Dummy Loads

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Review Summary For : LDG FT-Meter
Reviews: 49MSRP: 49.00
Description:
Yaesu's popular FT-857 and FT-897 transceivers are wonders of compact efficiency. These do-anything, go-anywhere transceivers were science fiction just a few years ago, but ham's today are using them in shacks, mobiles and on dxpeditions from the back yard to the top of the world.

About the only problem with these radios is that us hams who are old enough to remember when stuff like this really was science fiction are also old enough to wish that the display was just little bit bigger. As we grow in wisdom and experience, we also grow to depend on bifocals; those tiny little screens are just plain hard to read! Add to that a strong desire to see a real live meter needle bouncing on voice peaks, and you find yourself wishing Yaesu had thought all this through when they designed the radio.

Well, in fact they did. A little known feature of these radios, noticed only by compulsive manual readers, is a meter jack on the bottom of the front panel. You have to figure that Yaesu knew they needed a bigger display all along, but just left it as an exercise for the user. Well, help is here! The LDG FT-Meter is a low-cost, plug-and-play solution to all your FT metering needs.

The FT-Meter presents a lush, highly readable 2.5" meter face with calibrated scales for signal strength and discriminator reading on receive, and power output, SWR, modulation, ALC action and supply voltage on transmit. Each function is s electable from the radio's menu. Easily visible from anywhere on your desk or dash, the FT-Meter is illuminated by any external 12 vdc source. The FT-Meter comes fully assembled and ready to go; just plug it into the radio and you're in the picture like never before. Order yours today
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.ldgelectronics.com/FT-Meter_purchase.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00494.6
WW1I Rating: 2013-10-23
Arrived DOA Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
My meter arrive with an obvious bad DC female plug. LDG wanted me to pay to ship their new dead meter back and then wait for repair. On the other hand, DX engineering emailed me a return shipping label and shipped a replacement the same day.
AE5J Rating: 2013-02-22
Quality Investment Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Nothing I can add except that if you have an FT-857, buy one of these. I am very pleased with the meter and it has added a great deal to my enjoyment of the little 857. Best $50 I have spent in quite some time.
VK4NWX Rating: 2012-08-07
A friend Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
One of the best little accessories you can buy yourself for the FT 857&897 radios, easy viewing up to arm’s length away, if you have not so good eye sight or need to see your meter from long distance go for the FTL (Large) meter. But otherwise this meter dose a good job and shows everything you need to know. Well done LDG.
N2UGB Rating: 2011-07-12
Best fifty-buck investment Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The addition of this unit to my FT-857D has really turned it into a first-class base station. I find it easy to view, certainly more than the good but ball-park readings of the bar system on the rig. Wouldn't be without it now. Probably get another to mate with my other 857.
N6PG Rating: 2011-03-23
Very useful Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I have the DTMF mic addition for my 857 and the mic gain was over driving it. It wasn't easy to see with the small meter on the radio, but this LDG meter was great for looking at ALC, Power, and SWR. I could adjust things much easier, and see the effect.

I really like being able to look at the meter and see clearly where the SWR or S signal is. It's not like the small meter on the radio, which is almost worthless.
AH6OY Rating: 2011-01-26
Great Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Today I was saved by the man at LDG. He bet a nickel with me saying he bets the AGC was turned off. Yaesu shuts off the signal reading function when the AGC is turned off. Signal reading returned. If you ever loose the S meter reading that's the problem. I'm running a FT-897D and not sure if this effects the other FT's but wouldn't doubt it. Keep the AGC on.

Can't beat combining what the radio will display along with the FT-Meters display giving extra. Even the voltage reading is a plus so you have a better idea than the flashing battery light.
S: Signal strength
ALC
PWR
SWR
MODULATION
VOLTS: Power supply voltage on RECEIVE or TRANSMIT
DISC: Discriminator reading on receive

All it needs is a little arrow pointing to the rare DX.

It's a keeper. Signal and SWR on transmit is what I commonly use it for. In the field the voltage is a good idea.

This device compliments my FT-897D part of the Yaesu collection rather nicely. It's a keeper.
N4KC Rating: 2010-09-13
Nice idea...and it works Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
So I bought something I really needed that cost $70 from HRO. I needed to spend over $100 to get free shipping. What else did I need? I had thought about getting the FT meter ever since I put the new 857 in the truck so there's my free shipping. It appears to be a well made device...not lab quality, mind you, but seems to be very close...and really does give helpful info. Most of the time I am watching power on the rig's tiny, little display and SWR on the FT meter but it's fun to switch it around sometimes. That's helpful since my HF mobile antenna uses various loading coils and is not that broadbanded so I can now tell when I'm on the ragged edge before I see that little, bitty blinking "SWR" on the 857's readout. And I'm using it as an S-meter on receive. Now if I can just figure out where and how I want to mount it instead of lying on its back in the cup holder.

Oh, and that free shipping cost me $49. But it's worth that and more. (I'm the kind of guy who will spend $5 worth of gas to drive to the cheap station to save $3 on a fill-up! I know. It's a character flaw.)

Don N4KC
www.n4kc.com
www.donkeith.com
http://n4kc.blogspot.com


K1TWH Rating: 2010-08-24
OK, but S is part hidden Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I've not kept my two FT-Meters. They worked as advertised, but I had a hard time orienting them so that 100% of the S-Meter could be seen without placing my head down on the desk. If I had a second shelf to place the meter, such that I was even or looking upward, then the whole S-Meter would be visible. If I were LDG , I'd place the DC voltage scale up top & make the S-Meter the next arc down from the top. -WB1FPA
K6DPY Rating: 2010-05-30
Necessary and right price Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Being new to the Yaesu FT-857D I found this meter necessary -- to understand what is going on with the transceiver. The 857 displays similar information on its small LCD screen, one at a time. This meter does it more clearly, plus now you can see two different measurements at a time, e.g. PWR on the meter and SWR on the LCD. And the price is right!
M5AEO Rating: 2010-04-09
Great! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
It's a lovely, well thought out, piece of kit. Not too expensive either!
Highly recommended.

M5AEO