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Reviews For: Yaesu FTM-10R

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

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Review Summary For : Yaesu FTM-10R
Reviews: 53MSRP: 460
Description:
Dual band transceiver with multi-band coverage.
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00534
ONKAN Rating: 2008-10-24
FTM-10 in mobile use Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Great tranceiver ! Installed in my car, reports give transmit audio as broadcast FM, a lot of possibilities inside this dual band small box. A little difficult to program at the begining, but after few days, no more problems. No regrets !
73's de ON3KAN Jean-lOUIS
HP1KL Rating: 2008-09-15
Well built! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I got mine from HAM CITY and installed it, as I had originally planned, in my mid-size SUV with a thru-glass 2 meter/75 cm antenna. I mounted the detachable control head over the rear view mirror and secured the main chassis to a large bolt that supports one of the rear "jump seats." The extendable cable was just the right length by running it along the lining where it meets the top of the doors. I am amazed at the sensitivity on both VHF and UHF -- especially considering the thru-glass antenna, which naturally is not the most efficient. I do much utility frquency scanning and have noticed that reception on the 850-860 Mhz band is not as good as it should. My IC-Q7A handy talkie does better inside the car, even with a small racing-type antenna (again, not the most sensitive). Changing antennas on the FTM-10R did nothing to improve 800-Mhz reception. Yes, the radio is difficult to program, but it is very well built, sturdy, and just the right size. Unlike the IC-208H, the FTM-10R includes the separation cable and a great variety of mounting hardware. The HAM CITY price was also unbeatable.

PS - I was "shot down" for writing a "review" before I actually purchased the radio. I had only intended to mention the possibility of mounting the control head over the mirror or visor, which is what I did eventually. It works fine and no one suspects I am not using a mike!

73's -- Tony/HP1KL
KA8Q Rating: 2008-08-18
Fine niche product Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The FTM-10R does an excellent job for those who need dependable FM in an outdoor environment. I installed one on my Yamaha Rhino 660 which is used for landscaping and clearing chores around the home QTH. It has proven to be a reliable performer through rain, sleet, snow, mud and dust. The head unit is mounted to the dashboard with the (non-weather-proof) main body in the glove box. I've not used the bluetooth unit, prefering the handheld mike which I'm also pleased with. The audio amp could use more oomph but I'll fix that with an amplified speaker. I don't think the designers realize what 92 db SPL does to a 3-watt amp. I especially appreciate the dual-watch which allows me to listen to FM radio or an accessary MP3 disc while monitoring the local repeater in background. I believe there are more appropriate dual-band FM's for in-car use but for a radio that has to function while exposed to the elements, the Yaesu FTM-10R is a dandy.
ZS6MDH Rating: 2008-08-17
Brillient Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have installed this unit on my scooter(BMW C1). I think its really perfect for this. Although the radio is not easy to setup, everything else is just great, really how often are you going to set this thing up anyway.
I get brilliant signal on 2m and 70cm under most situations, the unit head is waterproof, which is great for the bike. the buttons are big so they can still be pushed if I have big gloves on. the unit is also really small and I had no problems installing it. The display works in all environments I put it to including really bright sunlight.

I also bought the blue tooth headset, this unit I'm not too impressed with. Although it does help a bit with the wind noise, the bike noise also comes through plenty. the ptt button is very difficult and unkeys easily while in mid sentence. the power button for the headset also does not work very well. The good thing about the radio is I can use other headsets, so I'm looking around for one.

Overall the radio is great, headset not so much.
KK8ZZ Rating: 2008-07-26
A turkey Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I bought one of these when thy first came out at Dayton last year. Know that there is no programing software, and Yaesu says there won't ever be any for this dud. Very hard to program, no controls except the main knob are labeled, and unless you have a Harley, guys, this is an SOB to mount. I sold mine. Hated it, and I've had a LOT of rigs over 35 years in ham radio (OK, most of them at one time or another!) What was Yaesu thinking? Run, don't walk, from one of these turkeys no matter what the price is. It will baffle you, then confound you, then really tick you off.
KE5MOJ Rating: 2008-06-30
Save your money. Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I bought this radio through an ebay auction. A local ham had placed it on the auction site and listed it as brand new. I received the box, and it contained everything. He said that it did not match his needs. I gave it a try in my car for a month. The programming is difficult, I am used to the Icom 2200H which I consider easier to program. I noticed something else, compared to the 2200H, the radio was a little deaf. Most of the distant repeaters I could hit with my ICOM, I could no longer hit with the FTM-10R. Local repeaters worked fine, but so far I have been unable to clear the memories of incorrectly added frequencies, hear distant repeaters, or even program the radio. The instructions from the manual I found lacking and discovered if you wanted a revised manual, you have to download it off the internet. Which I did, but even though it was in English, I still could not understand it. I also bought a dtmf mic and module to connect to the control head. The previous owner had tried the same thing and must have broken the connector as it broke off when I touched it. Fortunately, the mic can be attached to the base of the radio. Overall, I am sure the radio could do better, it has alot of abilities which actually make it harder to use. I have since taken it out of my car and replaced it with my 2200H. So much for 70cm band.
N3LJS Rating: 2008-05-08
Bluetooth Time Owned: N.A.
I bought the bluetooth headset and it is very poorly design. To big and clumsy. If you turn your head to fast the boom flops around like fish out of water. Yaesu should should start over and design something better. It does work very well...............

I only had the radio for a few weeks, so far so good......




N3LJS
VA3PK Rating: 2008-02-29
Interesting Radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased this rig at the Orlando Hamfest in Feb'08. I bought this radio with intentions of installing it on my Honda Gold Wing motorcycle.
I was attracted to the radio due to its bluetooth capability and rugged case. my thoughts were to use two bluetooth headsets (Rider and Passenger) so that both could use the intercom with the occasional ham radio contact. I have purchased the optional bluetooth pieces only to discover that they will not work as hoped for in a mobile situation. (They are really not usable under a full face helmet) I have just taken delivery of the CT-M11 and MEK-M10 external headset connection cable and connector for the control head. I will wire these up (extra resistors required for ptt) to an in-helmet headset.
I also purchased the MH--68A6J hand mic. The dtmf buttons on the mic allow for direct freq entry. very helpful when trying to fill those memories.
So far I am impressed with the rx on the radio. It seems to hear well using the tower mounted comet antenna. Overall, i would rate thequality as being excellent with a lot of functionality.
The one thing that I can say that I do not like is the method that YAESU has taken to connect the control head to the radio.
Out of the box, there is a 6 inch cat v style cable that is terminated from the control head.
They were thoughtful enough to include a longer cable (10 ft maybe) that requires a termination at the control head. My intentions are to remove the control head from the bike when leaving it unprotected at an overnight stay at a hotel or such. The current setup requires the the cable to be unplugged at the radio and remove the control head with 10 feet of cable. This will not work for easy removal/installation of the control head.
Other than this, the radio seems to be winner for "different" installation. So far, its a "5" in my mind!
I will add to this once the warm weather arrives and I actually get it fully installed on the bike.
Peter VA3PK
JDEVARIE Rating: 2008-02-05
Good weird radio! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I had been looking for a separatable small dual bander to install in my car (Volvo S80). I first saw this radio at HRO in NH and was impressed by its size but was unsure as to how to deal with accessing the features. I did not find it intuitive with the model I played with at the store. Then I read the reviews here and was a little surprised to read so many negative comments. Then read some of the user comments at the yahoo groups and other newsgroups and came to realize that in order to have an opinion you have to use the radio.
So, my idea with this radio was the ability to install a small footprint device on the dash or nearby in my car. The fact that this radio has a small control head was a plus. I did not like the idea of having to hold the control head in order to speak into its microphone, now that I have the radio I know that the mic gain is amazing and that it does not matter where the control head is but I did not know it then. I was seduced by the prospect of using a "wireless" microphone for my daily driving so I also picked up the bluetooth headset and module. Shortly after getting it I decided to install it in the car. I separated the control head from the radio, installed the main part in the trunk of my car. I purchased the yaesu mobile dual band antenna (supposedly made for this radio) along with a mag mount for it. I ran the antenna feed to the trunk and since my volvo has the battery there, the power lines were kind of short (shweeet!).

The control head I installed on the center console just in front of the shift lever. I then turned on the radio and tuned my favorite machine. The audio initially came from the speaker on the main part of the radio, a quick check in the manual and I selected the speaker on the control head. Very good audio coming out of that speaker. You can also turn all the speakers off and use only the headset.
I then proceeded to pair the headset which happened without any glitches. I set up the VOX and noticed that I needed to use the "High" setting for it otherwise my transmission would be cut off regularly. The High setting allowed me to speak normally virtually with no cut offs. The first audio report using the headset was that my audio was too high and being distorted. I lowered the mic gain to the "low" setting and things improved greately although someone has commented that I have some "booming" audio even at this setting.
The performance of the headset using VOX has been surprising to me after reading the reviews here in Eham. I have had no issues whatsoever. Of course, it is difficult to turn off and it will key the radio if there is enough noise in the car cabin. The other day I hit a pothole and it keyed the radio. But, that is what VOX is and how it works.
So far, I have been happy with it. Everyone I talk to give me good audio and signal reports even on simplex frequencies. It is nice not to have to deal with cables and microphones. It is a weird feeling coming from a weird radio.
I am however disappointed at the fact that you cannot program the memories any other way but manually. I hope someone figures out how to do it via bluetooth since it is really a pain in the neck. I just programmed about 10 frequencies the other day and it was a royal PITA. I have big hands if you know what I mean.
Anyways, my application is nowhere near the intended use of the radio. However, I have read of lots of people having good results on ATVs etc. I am very happy with my installation so far and the radio's performance. No complaints here except for the memory thing. I think Yaesu missed the plane here. I think I even like this radio better than my Kenwood TM-D710A.

regards,

Jim
KB5TJJ Rating: 2008-02-02
Needs Work Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased this radio and the bluetooth headset and charger. About the only thing I liked about this radio was the blue display.

For those who don't know how the bluetooth portion of this radio works.....

You pair the bluetooth headset to the radio, using typical bluetooth pairing techniques. After doing so, if you wish to talk on the radio, you press a button on the side of the earpiece. You need to apply slight pressure to the button, which causes you to push the headset into your head. On long transmissions, the slightest release of pressure on the PTT causes the radio to unkey. In many transmissions, I didn't know I had "fallen out" of the repeater and continued talking, only to be told I dropped out.

I tried using the PTT button on the top of the control head, but this only controls the control head's microphone.

The vox feature was okay, and maybe excellent depending on how you look at it. Using realistic scenarios, I tested the VOX. I found it keyed up the radio when the cell phone rang, or I let someone know what I thought about them cutting me off. Now granted, this means the VOX is working. But these are times you don't want it to work.

When I tried to shut off the VOX when the phone was ringing, I couldn't access the menu while transmitting. I had to place the mic in the center console to get it to un-key.

Since the weight of the headset kept wanting to angle downward, and would always flap away from my ear, I tried a standard bluetooth cell phone earpiece. After pairing, the only way to talk was to press the answer button. This button would lock the mic open until you pressed it again.

What I envisioned with this bluetooth function was to drive down the road with a low profile headset, and when I wanted to talk, just press the PTT on the control head, which was laying on my lap. This would allow me to not have to raise and lower a mic up to my head, and be more comfortable at driving.

I know we will eventually have more radios like this, but for the first attempt, some revisions need to be made.

I took the radio back and got a refund.