| F1HKN |
Rating:  |
2010-01-17 | |
| A very good fellow! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| Licensed as F1 in 1983, i bought my FT 726R in 1985 with satellite and 70cm modules. A few years ago, i found a 6m module to complete the rig. His 10w power is perfect to enter 100w amplifiers. At home, i use this rig with a 17 yagi on 2m and 21 yagi on 70cm. Have also a 5 yagi for 6m but only 10w allowed on this band. During several years i used to work in field condition during holidays with a 9 portable yagi on 2m and 19 yagi on 70 cms, a telescopic mast and a 100w linear on each band with a 60A car battery on a small table(and a small chair for the guy behind the mic!). Today, the 726 is always there! It never let me down. I have good memories with oscar 10 in 80's! It was, and is always a great rig. I have just changed the memory battery yesterday after 24 years! His neighbour on my shack table is another legend, a FT902DM (bought second handed in 1985)as i began to work on decametric bands since a few months. The oldies go on! Two nice fellows indeed... Years have gone away, but i've always the same pleasure when i press the PTT! 73's and hope you on air...... |
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| G4SOX |
Rating: |
2010-01-03 | |
| Great Reliability (Agreed) |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Now 27 years old and still going. A few problems over the years... 1 relay, 2 disc ceramics. One of the failed capacitors caused the AGC circuit to shut down on switch on with a verrrrrrry slowwwwwww recovery and the other capacitor failure caused the the ALC meter to gradually climb the scale. The FT-726R has been superceded many times but still has adequate performance but, ok, with only 10 watts out on TX. The 2M/6M modules lack gain but not in the RF section, the best modification I ever did was documented in the July 1987 edition of Ham Radio by K1ZJH where he added a new IF stage to the 2M/6M modules. This really did work. The 70CM module is ok as it already has an addtional IF stage.
The rig is easy to operate has jacks on each module for RELAY switching amplifiers and it has a QUIET linear mains PSU. If you want CTCSS this can be added as well. I used an SS-64 module.
I think I may keep my old friend! |
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| KZ3X |
Rating: |
2009-07-19 | |
| Great reliability |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I bought my FT-726R new in 1989 and have the 50, 144, and 430 modules along with the satellite board and optional Fox Tango 500hz CW filter installed.
The rig was used mainly on CW and SSB for rag chewing and occasional light contesting. I have nothing but praise for the engineering and performance of the radio. No mods were done to the radio in the two decades I have owned it although I believe there used to be a front end mod that some owners were doing to increase sensitivity. Using just a 200 watt brick with a preamp on 2 meters allowed me to work just about everything I can hear and I did achieve VUCC on all three bands some time ago.
The only problem I ran into with the rig happened about a year ago when I noticed the radio would take a long time to go back to receive mode after transmit. It gradually got worse, and after doing some troubleshooting, it appeared that one or more of the relays on the RX board (RL01)and TX boards (RL01 and RL02) had bad contacts from use over the years. I decided to change all three since I had the radio apart and the rig is now as good as new.
I have noticed no difference in sensitivity when comparing it to my new FT-857D. Overall, I hope I have as much luck with my future purchases as this one. |
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| K3TEZ |
Rating: |
2009-06-28 | |
| Great rig, problems with age |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I noted that G3VOF has noted a problem I'm beginning to troubleshoot. If G3VOF can email K3TEZ@arrl.net, I'd like to share notes.
Otherwise, the rig I have has been a pleasure to use on weak signal work, including contests. Excellent sensitivity, solid performance, etc. Mine has the 6, 2 and 440 modules and the satellite board.
I suspect the problem, which began appearing only with the 6 meter module, hs to do with the nature of the changeover circuit.
Having moved to an active adult community, I'll have to run this rig portable to keep having fun during contests. |
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| G3VOF |
Rating: |
2009-05-03 | |
| Receiver fault on the FT726R |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| I have just swapped an FT101ZD for a FT726R. The rig performs well on receive, but to my horror, after going over to tx, and back to rx again the signals are way down. The squelch also does not work for a while in this condition. Some times after a few seconds it all comes good again, until I press tx again. I have replaced the antenna change over relay (that Yaesu UK sent me within 24hrs), but this has made no difference to the condition. This is a shame, as I like the receiver, it is really sensitive, and the rig has a nice feel to it. I guess I should have checked the rig out thoroughly before I accepted it. I am still giving this rig a 5, because these types of things happen from time to time to all makes, and models, and when I eventually find the fault it will be a superb rig. |
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| G0NIG |
Rating: |
2009-02-21 | |
| Still holds it's own 25 years later |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I've always liked the FT-726R since its introduction in the early/mid 80's and used to covet friends examples with green eys of envy. In the past I've owned a Kenwood/Trio TS-780 and an Icom IC821-H, both great radio's that I've written about on this site. The Trio was sold to fund the Icom, and the Icom was sold to fund a divorce :-(
Back in September of 2008 I saw a listing for a FT-726R that wasn't too far from me so I made arrangments to go view. The seller hadn't given the description justice as the radio was absolutely mint, complete with 6/2/70 and sat board. I fell for it instantly, hook, line, sinker, and copy of Angling Times.
My intention was to use it for Satellite work, but it has also been used for all the services available on the VHF/UHF allocations. I have installed the Piexx Toneboard which now provides all the CTCSS tones, tone burst, and improved scan options. This was for access to the FM Sats but also gives me access to the repeaters including IRLP and Echolink using a DTMF microphone.
I've also used it in some of the UK VHF/UHF activity nights on 2m and 70cm and the performance has been great, I'm only using a small log periodic but reports both ways have been very favourable.
I've recently been playing with a shack in a box thing from Yaesu (FT-897) and comparing the performance between the two on VHF/UHF. Using a few of the beacons that I can hear I compared how well each resolved the weak signals, and I was very surprised to see that the FT-726R was able to resolve the CW and JT65 signals with ease where as the FT-897 was only outputting noise.
Unfortunately the choice of radios for serious VHF/UHF users is very limited these days and it would appear that the inclusion of the VHF/UHF bands on these shack in a box offerings are just afterthoughts because the internal devices have a much greater range.
For the money I paid for my example I couldn't be happier. It would be nice to fit the CW filter and obtain the HF module but there is no real urgency yet.
Regards
Nidge (G0NIG) |
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| KQ4WB |
Rating: |
2007-09-06 | |
| Reliable old radio |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Ironically, these radios seem to cycle in price, especially on ebay. I was able to get mine a few years ago when the prices were reasonable and purchsed the chassis and modules for HF, 6M, 2M, and both 70cm band segments for about half the cost of the same setup in the next generation of the radio, the ft-736R. Clearly, there are improvements in the 736 but for the money, the 726 was a great buy and fills all the basic needs. I operate my radio with the HF, 6, and 2 meter modules routinely installed.
Other reviewers have discussed most of the basics of this radio, so I will not repeat them here. Often, I use mine for slightly different purpose than originally intended: as an excellent portable station on vacation. With the HF module installed, the rig works 17, 12 and 10 meters. When propagation is closer to solar cycle peak, the 10 watts or so output is sufficient to make this a very entertaining QRP HF rig to throw in with the luggage for a beach or mountain vacation with a set of simple wire dipole antennas. No extra power supplies (built in) only add key, mic and headset. The added advantage is the 6 and 2 meter coverage is, well-- even more fun. Not the rediculously small package that some of the newest Yaesu compact rigs offer, but cheap, familiar and practical as long as vacation does not imply backpacking!
At home, I occaisionally use the radio for some local nightime 10M ragchew nets, again where 10 watts is more than sufficient.
The reciever is good and sufficient for most conditions, not with as good noise figures as the current vintage Icom 756 series radios on 6M. However, on typical 6M band openings, I've been able to work most any of the stations I can hear with the 10 watt output of this radio on CW or SSB.
2M VHF performance is reasonably good on FM and as others have remarked, audio reports are always superb. I have never worked 2M weak signal modes with the 726.
Problems:
These are few and are not really problems as much as symptoms of the age and technological limitations of the radio's design era. I still give the radio a 5 rating as it does what it was designed to do, in the era of that design, very well.
The tuning is analog with a small low resolution digital frequency readout to +/- 0.1 KHz typical of the radio's generation and age. Again, this is sufficient for most everyday use.
Memories are NOT nonvolatile, i.e. stored frequencies are lost when the radio is turned off.
Erratic behavior of the radio probably means the lithium battery needs to be replaced. You will be well served to replace the battery from the start if you buy one of these older radios.
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|
| PE1RLN |
Rating: |
2007-08-11 | |
| Reliable and easy |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I bought mine to sit next to my "oldie" FT-102 HF transceiver as both have the same dimensions and looks. I needed a 2m transceiver, so this was a good option.
I bought a second with 6m and 70cm built in and with satelliteboard and CW filter but I don't use them.
They look very nice and you immediatly notice that all functions are onboard and on the front, no menus. That gives the operator the possibility to change settings immediately.
The only negative point is ofcourse the lack of power. However, I bought a cheap amplifier for VHF and placed it on the attic, only 2m from the antenna. Now I have 35W which is good enough. I don't use UHF unless a local repeater and on 6m I am still wanting a large PA...
And another is the missing ability to store repeatershift.
My conclusion: these rigs are cheap but very good and reliable. If you are planning to buy your first rig than this might be a good choice.
The cons with the older design can be overruled by the price but beware... this is real antique with sometimes matching prices... |
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| K4AAF |
Rating: |
2004-09-07 | |
| Good Radio |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I have two FT-726Rs. The first I bought at a local hamfest in early May. It came with the 144 MHz board and a "new old stock" 6 meter board in the box, which I installed--just in time for the fabulous 6 meter band openings of early summer. I always get excellent audio reports. The receiver is quite sensitive and not subject to overload. I did have to do a "back-up battery mod" on the first radio--I removed the dead lithium disc battery and added a small battery case for two AAA batteries--problem solved.
The second 729R I purchased through a contact I made on eham.net. It had the satellite board and a 430-440 board installed as well as 2 meters. The evening I first fired it up, I worked a couple of stations on SSB via FO-29--and it works well on the FM birds also.
With the 726R, satellite work is "manual." It has no computer control jack, no AFC for autotracking FM birds, and no other kind of automatic doppler tuning--but the radio is sensitive and straightforward to operate. It has no nested menus or complex series of keystrokes requiring a "cheater card." And the knobs are large enough for normal human use. The FT-726R has a limited number of memory channels, but it is very easy to move frequency settings back and forth between memory and the two VFOs. The FT-726R is as good a satellite radio as your skills make it.
My two radios both have PL tone boards, but they are set with dip switches, not menus--a little cumbersome, I guess, but no big deal.
I like operating these radios a lot, and plan to hang on to at least one of them, and maybe both, for a while. If you can find one, buy it--just make sure it has with it all the boards that you are looking for. Many of the 726R ads I have seen on eBay and elsewhere are rather vague, and sometimes even misleading, as to whether the satellite board is actually included, or merely recited as an option.
See you on the birds. |
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| PY3KT |
Rating: |
2004-03-26 | |
| Amazing TX Audio |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| I got mine in april 2003. No UHF unit but working very well in 2m and 6m, all modes. Amazing TX audio tell me anothers hams, but with low power - only 10 watts. Then I use a linear amplifier and a 15 elements yagi antenna for SSB DX contacts. Good RX, it´s a very reliable rig. |
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