Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: Yaesu FT-100

Category: Transceivers: HF Amateur HF+6M+VHF+UHF models - non QRP <5W

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : Yaesu FT-100
Reviews: 112MSRP: 895.00
Description:
A compact mobile HF-VHF-UHF all mode transciever.
Product is not in production
More Info: http://yaesu.hamgear.eu/ft-100.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
151123.8
NO9E Rating: 2000-01-03
Designed as purely mobile, not stationary rig. Time Owned: unknown months.
I bought mine 10 days ago and checked it in a portable setup in FL and then compared
against TS-850 at home shack. It puts out power as advertised. Almost every function
needs pressing a few buttons but memorizing all the functions does not take long. FM signal sounds great. SSB signal is good but signal reports were 2 S down from TS-850 and the
last rig sounded "fuller". I attribute it to RF signal processing in TS-850 as opposed to AF processing in the FT-100. BK is excellent but the sidetone level is fixed and cannot be decreased by AF Gain, an irritating feature. The loudspeaker sounds tinny, and there is no headphone jack in front. Also the stick-out antenna cables are inconvenient to me. The fans are quite loud and continue operating for 10 sec after the end of transmit. AM selectivity is poor without the AM filter, as expected, but also WFM selectivity is very poor (+- 500 KHz). On the other hand, noise blanker was excellent and saved my stay in Florida. DSP bandpass filters are good but noise reduction and notch filter are marginal. Also, high-SWR protection seems to be very good.

The radio is ready for mobile installation, and its shortcomings are mainly important for stationary applications. Thus in my humble opinion it is a great mobile rig but a poor choice for stationary work.
N0FQN Rating: 2000-01-01
Great little rig for the money Time Owned: unknown months.
I sold my FT-900 to WA4RX in order to get the FT-100. I was leary of such a small package with so many bands having good quality on HF as well as the VHF/UHF. I operate a AP8A vertical, ground mounted with the ground plane kit. I've gotten great reports from DX (SSB and CW) with it and the same with local rag chew sessions on 40 and 80m. I detuned the AP8A vetical to see how the FT-100 front would react. It made little to no difference. I've owned a FT-900 and 990 and I would consider the front end of the FT-100 as good as they were. Love the DPS and auto notch filter. Still learning on the functions. My VHF/UHF antenna was the good old copper catus. That's right a copper tube homebrew and it's sitting in the garage, leaning against the wall. As far as VHF/UHF operation. I haven't seen a glich yet. I can hit all the repeaters(2M and 70cm) and get good audio reports. 2M SSB worked like a champ. Unfortunately the guy I was working was running a 706MKII and his audio was terrible. He had to turn on his processor just for me to understand him. I tried everything from my end and he was only a S7. He switched to a all mode kenwood and sounded great. I gave this rig the worst case antenna test I could come up with and it performed extremely well. I'll try it on the Tri-beam and dipoles next. I have no idea why other people are having difficulties with the rig. Perhaps, I was a lucky one and got a good one? I've yet to play with ATAS system but it's on my list to try. If you feel amprehensive about the rig, I'd go to a dealer and play with the rig and compare. I didn't have that luxery but I'm not unhappy with it. I would highly recommend it.
K0FUN Rating: 1999-12-28
Great Little Radio -- Lots of features Time Owned: unknown months.
I have been using this rig for several days with excellent results -- Lots of DX and other QSO's on 160 - 10, etc. The HF preformance is great. CW does require the optional filter (I use the 500 Hz) but the dsp filters help too. AM preformance for SWL is very nice as well (with the optional filter installed.)

I'm not a VHF/UHF nut but the rig seems to work fine on local repeaters. One small problem here is that on some repeaters I am hearing a low frequency tone which others don't hear and I don't hear it with other radios.

I sympathize with the folks having all the trouble with the FT-100 but mine is working great.
W4YCI Rating: 1999-12-28
Returned!!! Time Owned: unknown months.
Bought the unit and the ATAS100 antenna with the hopes of having a "streamlined" mobile set-up. Got good sig. rpts on HF but VHF/UHF was a disaster! The ATAS100 antenna would not tune properly as specified in the manual. Yaesu help-desk NO HELP - RUDE ! Returned unit for trade and took a $500 loss. Dealer said they were experiencing a rash of returns on this model. Have a 1000D and think its great. Bought 706 MkIIG and High Sierra antenna and they work great. Dont waste your time or money on the FT-100.
VE4RRB Rating: 1999-12-28
Worst Radio I Ever Owned! Time Owned: unknown months.
Worst radio I ever owned! One burnt up right out of the box in less than two minutes... the other in less than three! Yeasu should know better than to use the ham community as their quality control! Shame on Yeasu!

Bought the Icom IC-706mkiiG and I'm very impressed with this GREAT little rig! Yeasu could only hope to achieve their level of quality! I would only hope that Yeasu would come clean and admit they have a problem with the FT-100... instead of hedging the issue.
KB7LGK Rating: 1999-12-17
Great little rig!!!! Time Owned: unknown months.

I have had the FT-100 for about three months, and it has been a great piece of equipment for me. No problems what so ever. I used to be an ICOM and Kenwood only guy, but now my opinion of Yaesu has changed. I am impressed. The manual is written very well, and they also include a DX map with callsign prefixes for all the different countries. GREAT STUFF!!!

Patrick
PY5EG Rating: 1999-12-16
FT100 BAD EQUIPMENT AND POOR ASSISTENCE Time Owned: unknown months.
I bought my FT100 5 months ago, and after 1 day of operation the power droops down to less than 1 watt. I sent the equipment to YAESU, (from Brazil),1 month later they sent the rig back, works ok for another 4 hours and the power now only in VHF and UHF droops to 0 watts.
I have several other equipments of YAESU, FT1000D, FT 847, and FT900 and all are OK
KC0BS Rating: 1999-12-16
Fantastic Turnkey Mobile Operation Time Owned: unknown months.
I have been using the FT-100 and ATAS-100 for 4 weeks now. Installation and setup were a breeze; the easiest I have ever experienced with an HF mobile. It worked the first time I turned it on, and I have worked the world with it already. The menu operation makes all of the functions easily accessible, and the Display is PERFECT night or day. The Noise blanker is INCREDIBLE, and the DSP is VERY flexible. The spectrum scan indicates stations up and down the band--an absolutely incredible feature on a mobile rig. It was a big investment, and worth every penny!
N4IJO Rating: 1999-11-14
Updated Review Time Owned: unknown months.
I posted a review about a week ago when my FT-100 burned up on the first QSO. I received a replacement from The Ham Station last Friday and installed it yesterday. I have made a large number of contracts with the new rig and everything is GREAT! The combination of the FT-100 and the ATAS-100 is fantastic now that the radio works. Signal reports are very good and the audio reports are even better.

By the way, Dan at The Ham Station did exactly what he said he would do in rapidly replacing my burned up rig. I give The Ham Station a big "Well Done" and highly recommend them to anyone looking to purchase equipment from an honest customer oriented business. Dan is a man of his word!


----------------------
Earlier 0-star review posted by N4IJO on 1999-11-03

I purchased the FT-100 and ATAS-100 combo on Saturday October 30th at the Jacksonville Florida hamfest. I installed it in my automobile the next day. When I first turned it on it appeared to work fine, however, as I made my first contract with the new rig it died within the first two minutes of operation. It would not receive or transmit on any band on AM/SSB/CW.

I purchased the unit from The Ham Station; they have promised to exchange it for me right away.

Any new radio can experience problems, therefore, I will withhold my final judgement on the unit until I get the replacement unit installed and see if problems crop up with the new rig.

By the way, the folks at The Ham Station have been great to deal with and, assuming that they ship me a new rig right away as they agreed, I would recommend they to others.
N9XL Rating: 1999-10-08
Very Pleased with performance and features Time Owned: unknown months.
I bought an FT-100 in July from HRO. All my operating is 18 wheel mobile, and I've had nothing but great reports. The layout is very well thought out for a menu driven radio. My FT-900 was a little easier to operate while mobile, but it had a much larger face for all the controls. In light of it's size, the 100 does a good job of making menus navigatable. I've worked about 85 countries moblie since I got it. Contrary to another review posted here, the one time that I did have a bit of a problem, Chip at Yaesu tech support was very helpful and I guess he didn't move up, or is still fielding tech support e-mail. The minor problem that I had was to do with a bad ground and that was on me, not Yaesu (someone was wondering, I'm sure of it). There are several other mobiles running FT-100's who are friends of mine and we can be found most days on 14.302.5. If you'd like to hear one or find out more about the FT-100 give us a shout. 73, Mike N9XL/M