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Reviews For: Yaesu FT-90r

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

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Review Summary For : Yaesu FT-90r
Reviews: 138MSRP: 399.96
Description:
Micro 2m/440 transciever
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.yaesu.com/ft90r.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
001383.5
K7TCP Rating: 2002-03-07
Magic Intermod Box! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Perhaps I've got a bad radio but based on what I've read I'm afraid that is not the case. I call it my "magic intermod box" since it works so well it pulling in all sorts of unwanted noise. The tiny head unit does fit easily into places most other radio heads won't but for me that was the only good thing. Lots of heat, a useless internal speaker (at least while you're driving so get an external one), and of course the unwelcome howl of intermod as you drive down the road. It's nice looking but in this case the performance didn't match the appearance.
WB1DBY Rating: 2002-03-02
Great Radio with great features! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had my FT-90 for nearly 2 years and still love it. It only needs a little bit of room. If more room is needed then the remote head kit is available. It has 50 watts max and produces a great signal with excellent audio quality....I love the alpha memory tags, scanning feature with temporary lockout (or permanent), the memories can be accesses from the mic or a frequency can be programmed directly into it from the mic. The memories I have yet to fill (200+)....I have nearly a half dozen friends who also love the radio! It's a great piece of radio equipment.
KC0FOP Rating: 2002-02-01
If you need it for the size, its ok Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I sold mine. My reason for selling was not a quality or performance isssues, but rather it was inconvenient from the menu/programing standpoint. I decided to take my loss and buy a G707 kenwood. If you liked the VX1 ht from yeasu you will like the FT90 its about the same. What Karl Malden use to say about American Express you could also say about the owners manual for the FT 90, DON'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT !!!!!
KB9RXG Rating: 2002-02-01
Buy an FT-7100M instead. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've owned a FT-90R for about 2 years now and of course it's in the shop now. The primary reason I bought it in the first place is I loved the small size. I have a small car and it's small size allowed me to mount it on the dash with velcro tape. The problems I have had stem mostly from the extreme heat this rig produces. I've had stations tell me my audio starts out great and then gets progressively scratchier as the heat build until it won't transmit at all. The other problem I've seen is that whenthe radio is first turned on and cool the squelch works just fine. As soon as it warms up however I get horrible picket fencing even with close and strong stations which forces me to turn the squelch to its minimum setting for clear reception. The bottom line is the folks at Yaesu are going to have to resolve the heat problem or this radio isn't going to make it anywhere but the artic. The display though adequate for home use is just rotten for the car unless you do a remote mounting and have the head place in a protected location. Buy another one? I don't think so. I got a FT-7100M when I sent the other one to the shop and after 2 weeks I love it!
W2BRI Rating: 2002-02-01
They all have problems Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I had this radio and it is a good one, but I want to address the last post (and it does have its problems). I HAVE OWNED ICOMS AND YAESU AND THEY ALL HAVE EQUAL QUALITY PROBLEMS. It really is very simple. I have come to accept this fact and no longer expect more. Good luck.
KE4TQH Rating: 2002-02-01
Forget-IT Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought this radio for it's small size.I bought one at the first of Dec.01.After I got it home it transmitted on the 440 side for about an hour then ouit.The 2 mtr. side was ok.The antenna was checked with an analyzer and was ok.I took it back to the store and they gave me a new one.The same thing happened again.I told the owner I didn't want another Yaesu and got an Icom Ic-207 which was at the same price and also a dual band.Hooked up the Icom to the same antenna and have been using it without any problems since.I think Yaesu quality control is sorry.From now on I will stick with Icom .
W2NJS Rating: 2002-01-25
Pretty good radio... Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I got my FT90R about the first of the year and have found it to be a generally good unit. My specific comments are as follows:

1. For all the money they charge, Vertex-Standard should include a squelch tail eliminator.

2. It's too bad you can't run the radio at full power without having it do crazy things. There I am buzzing down Route 29 to Charlottesville having a nice QSO on the NERA network via our Fork Mountain repeater when Bam! ...no power out, no receive, no nothing until the thing cooled down. So now I run it at mid-power and never at high power.

3. Lack of CTCSS scan is a drag, although one can flip through the tone settings while the channel is active and find the tone in use that way. The DCS search function is useless; I haven't found a ham repeater yet which uses it, only PD and FD channels, but the ARTS system needs DCS. Also, you must use the same tone on transmit as on receive, and though I've never found a use for having split(different) T&R CTCSS the Icom IC2100H does offer such a function.

4. All mobile radios need external speakers, so the need for one doesn't bother me at all.

5. The DC area is intermod hell, but by using the CTCSS wherever possible most of it can be avoided. Fortunately most repeaters using tone access pass it through so it can be used on the receive end as well. In general, I find the sensitivity and intermod characteristics to be just about the same as my two Icom IC2100H radios.

Now I'm curious to see how the FT7100 works vs. the FT90R...

Tom Donohoe
W2NJS
Washington DC & Wintergreen VA
1/25/02
KA3DWW Rating: 2002-01-18
Trades size for operability & features Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
The FT90 in the XYLs car sacrifices a lot to be so small. With no room for seperate knobs, it requires ones undivided attention to menus on the tiny hard to see screen to change most functions (ie, Plan on pulling over if you bump the wrong button whilst driving) but that goes with the territory. So does having only one band at a time, making it less than a true dual-bander in my book. Beyond that it gets the job done FB - good rcvr and great xmit audio - but I'm sticking to my FT 5200.
ZL4OZ Rating: 2002-01-18
Like the small size Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
When I bought my latest car, a Mazda Famila 323, there was no room to install my then Kenwood 2m set, so I opted for the FT90. By utilising the remote mounting cables (which cost more than they should) I now have the body mounted in the boot and the head unit sits in front of the speedometer (I can see the frequency display nicely thru the steering wheel).

In direct sunlight the display is absolutely
useless; I wish it had dual frequency display; totally agree with everyone else that the built-in speaker is a nonsense; and for some reason I cannot explain but when I first turn the rig on I need to hit the mike button twice before it activates.

But hey, it is a nice set; I like the small size and it does all I want it to do and more, and yes, I would buy another.
N2ZXV Rating: 2002-01-14
Not too good Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have owned 2 FT-90R radios (one in my truck and one in my wifes car) for about 20 days. About 1 week ago the radio in the truck started not transmitting consistently. The this weekend the radio in the car did a full reset all by itself and is not transmitting consistently also. I am sending them both back and getting Kenwood TM-G707A radios. I think the whole problem is due to bad design because they seem to be affected by the cold weather here in NY. I do like the size and capability of them but an willing to trade size for durability and reliability.