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Reviews For: Yaesu FT-950

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

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Review Summary For : Yaesu FT-950
Reviews: 277MSRP: 1840
Description:
The Yaesu FT-950 is an HF/6m transceiver which features IF DSP as well as 3 kHz, 6 kHz and 15 kHz roofing filters. The transceiver can be interfaced with the DMU-2000 to add additional functions such Band Scope, Audio Scope, X-Y Oscilloscope, World Clock, Rotator Control, and extensive transceiver status displays, in addition to station logging capability. The optional RF µTuning Kits may be connected via the rear panel, providing improved selectivity to protect the receiver from close-in interference on a crowded band.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamhf/0950.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
152774.6
KK8ZZ Rating: 2011-05-08
Pretty Amazing Radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Tested against IC-746PRO, TS-2000 and IC-7000. Audio is clear and extraordinarily crisp on RX.. gets good audio reports on TX. Yaesu gave a great deal of thought to arrangement and layout of the front panel.. buttons are grouped by function, vertically around and under larger knobs or switch panels. This feature alone makes the radio stand out from many of Icom's offerings. The display is large and bright, and for the very first time in HF radio experience, each jack on the back panel is CLEARLY labeled in black letters against the silver-gray panel. Imagine.. a back panel that we can actually read in the dim light of radio desks! The option to install the IF-2000 digipan unit will have to wait for a while, but in the meantime, it has become my main radio. I've never been much of a Yaesu guy, despite owning and using FT-857D, 897D and 450SAT. This one is well worth its cost.
WA7PVE Rating: 2011-04-30
best radio I ever owned Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
My wife bought this radio for me in March for my birthday. After using it for a month and a half all I can say is "It's great, easily the best radio I have ever owned." I ran my little TS-680 for 18 years and it's still going strong. I see no reason that the ft-950 wont fill my needs for the next 18 years. Nuff Said
W2DCM Rating: 2011-04-29
Best bang for the buck! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Time owned About 1 year, good looking radio, not too big, not too small, right amount of buttons and knobs, to play with, Does everything they say, and the price is right. This one is a keeper!
EI2GFB Rating: 2011-04-22
Average Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Having owned this radio coming up on 5 months im not too impressed, after 3 months it lost alc and tx on 160,80 and 40m and also a loss of alc on 20m, the tuner also began acting up i have resonant antennas on 80 and 40 and it tuned them to infinity!! radio went back to dealer and ws repaired by Yaesu UK under warrenty a small FET was replaced on the PA stage (seems to be common fault if yahoo user group is to go by), great radio was back working it now appears to have developed the tuner fault again, on FM it has no problems but on ssb it tunes a resonant antenna to infinity!! the receiver is however first class very quiet and the dsp is second to none but ive lost faith in the build quality of this radio, while my radio was in for repair i had the lend of a mates ts690sat and it performed faultlessly tuned every band first time ever time no alc probs at all. im going to keep the radio for another few months and hope that i can get to the bottom of these faults if not i will be replacing with a kenwood.
NW8Z Rating: 2011-04-15
Awesome Tranceiver Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I just got the FT950 and did my homework and research before buying one.

I too did the FT450, FT450AT or FT450D VS FT950 thing and went for the I.M.H.O better and more outfitted rig.

After reading the manual, which is key if you want to understand the radio and where knobs should be set, it's much improved for me and I understand it much more now.

Only after sitting down and taking the time to read, do things make much more sense to me.

Oh, the Yaesu is very easy to operate for the most part without reading the manual, but only after reading do you understand some of the double and triple values of the keys on the rig and where knobs should be set under most normal conditions.

It's my best transceiver yet and gets better with the many updates that Yaesu provides.

I got the MD-100 desk mic for the rig, and will order the DVS-6 voice unit and install it soon.

73

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Earlier 5-star review posted by NW8Z on 2011-03-18

I just got the FT950 and did my homework and research before buying one.

I too did the FT450, FT450AT or FT450D VS FT950 thing and went for the I.M.H.O better and more outfitted rig.

After reading the manual, which is key if you want to understand the radio and where knobs should be set, it's much improved for me and I understand it much more now.

Only after sitting down and taking the time to read, do things make much more sense to me.

Oh, the Yaesu is very easy to operate for the most part without reading the manual, but only after reading do you understand some of the double and triple values of the keys on the rig and where knobs should be set under most normal conditions.

I also updated the FT950 with the latest firmware and it's much improved.

It's my best transceiver yet and gets better with the many updates that Yaesu provides.

I got the MD-100 desk mic for the rig, and will order the DVS-6 voice unit and install it soon.

73

N1CKX Rating: 2011-04-07
NOT Impressed Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I recently took home a YEASU FT-950 from the QTH of a Silent Key to sell for the Estate, and though that I would give it a good workout and if I liked it I would buy it myself.

He only used it a couple of months before he passed on and it was in beautiful condition.

When I initially looked at it in the original owners shack it was connected, and I turned it on to give it a look over. My first impression was the receive audio, compared to my 25 year old IC-751A, was flat and muffled sounding. I assumed I just didn’t know how to operate the digital filtering, and the new fairly state of the art receiver must be better than my 25 Year old ICOM.

My Second thought as I looked it over was it just felt cheap with wiggly knobs on plastic control shafts.

I took the radio home with the manual and gave it a good going over trying every conceivable combination of settings, and then gave it a full reset back to factory defaults. Still sounded flat and muddy on receive. (And yes, I do have a critical ear) If your slightly tone deaf you may not have an issue.

I Ran the YEASU FT-950 head to head on the same antennas, with an A/B switch, against my 25 year old IC-751A which is outfitted with an MFJ-784B Digital filter and an MFJ-1026 Interference Canceling filter.

For two weeks, and through a contest weekend, I tried to find some redeeming reason to keep the YEASU. I kept returning to it thinking I would find something I overlooked.

The only thing the 950 did better was to quiet down some QRN from a noisy High Voltage line near my home.

Other than that, In my Opinion, the 751A was every bit as good, and the audio was far superior on the ICOM receiver. And if I needed Auto Notch or Audio filtering the MFJ-Digital Audio filter worked fine.

While we are on the subject of audio, the YEASU has SO much noise in the audio chain, there is a RELAY to MUTE the loud hiss when the audio is turned down.
Have one of these radios? Listen for the click as you turn down the volume control. Mickey Mouse Band Aid fix.

I suspect the reason for the muffled audio is they filtered out the high frequency audio to try to reduce the hiss.

The Antenna Tuner makes enough noise to wake the Dead.

And try to turn down the output power when you tune your amp. You need to open a menu to get to it. Lame.

I had two different YEASU owners try to set up the audio filtering, and both of them failed to get the audio to sound as clear as the ICOM.
They would say, “there it’s dialed in” then I would turn on the ICOM and they would go back to fiddling with the controls and menus.

And before someone send me E-Mails spouting IMD figures blah blah blah, all that matters in the end is how the radio performs in the “real world”.

Check out how many FT-950’s are for sale less than a year old….
Then check the 85 reviews on the 751A, 5.0/5 every one.

Nuff Said

FORMER_K0PD Rating: 2011-04-05
Better than before !! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Having owned a FT 950 3 years ago and then selling to try something different i'm back again with a 950. I forgot how good a radio they are and with the PEP upgrade there better than before.I think right now there probably besides the FT450D one of the better buys used or new on the Market now.I'm glad i bought this radio again and hope to keep it for a long time as there is no doubt it is a radio worth keeping.
W3ULS Rating: 2011-03-28
Holds Its Own on HF Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
The heading for these reviews is misleading in the sense that the "PEP" update was simply some firmware and software changes that are made routinely by virtually all manufacturers these days. The actual, serious "PEP" fixes were applied exclusively to the FTdx9000 series, which were the subject of a factory recall to fix some significant problems.

From the beginning the FT-950s had no such problems, and in the ensuing updates some improvements have been made in such things as the NR and contour functions. Fundamentally, the transceiver is the same as when it was first released. So there is no reason for a separate "PEP" category for this transceiver.

My earlier review (Dec. 2009) was favorable, and having sold that rig and acquired a new one, my view has not changed. I have used it side-by-side with a new Kenwood FT-590S for both recent ARRL DX contests (CW and SSB) and for this last weekend's CQ WPX SSB contest. In all cases, I could not distinguish a clear winner; both rigs performed quite well and I would be hard pressed to choose one from the other based solely on their receiver's performance.

For me, the FT-950 wins in terms of looks and ergonomics. It's got a much better front panel display, and it has all the right controls (albeit some feel a bit cheap) in the right places. In comparison, the smaller Kenwood front panel is cramped and a bit hard to navigate for my tastes. Where I believe the Kenwood is clearly superior is in its notch filter functions, and perhaps in the wider choice of CW filters available, but other than that, you pay your money and take your choice.

Since the FT-950 comes in at considerably less bucks than the Kenwood, it is IMHO a very good choice for just about every ham HF application.
KG4FMQ Rating: 2011-03-26
Great!!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just got this radio in on 3/17/11 and I have not had much time on the air. For the time that I have had on the air, it has been a pleasure to operate this fine rig! I was about to give up on Yaesu, I had an old FT 757GXII and was not happy. All of my VHF/UHF gear is Yaesu as well....This rig is by far much better, and it has great DSP, and stability! I do not have a good antenna setup, but for what I have, I am able to make contacts all over, and this rig is a great buy for the features it has, and the price meets the value in the rig. I will update my review in a few months..I am using the stock mic, and are still learning all of the settings it has to offer. Take care, and we wil return.

73's
KG4FMQ
K5REZ Rating: 2011-03-23
Excellent Reports Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Read the manual.

After nearly a year, I'm extremely pleased that I bought this radio. Easy to use, great receiver and paired with the Heil GM5 microphone, I get many compliments and questions on "what rig are you using"?

Filters hard to use? Absolutely not. Digs the tough signals out with no problem. No issues with anything, just had to read the manual.