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Reviews For: Yaesu FT-620B

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

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Review Summary For : Yaesu FT-620B
Reviews: 8MSRP: 150
Description:
1st Yaesu 6M base station - transistorised
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.foxtango.org
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0084.3
VE9AA Rating: 2010-04-04
Good basic rig. Nice looks Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Always pined for one of these babies and last year I found one in very nice shape. Made a few Es QSO's into W4 with it, and now it really is just an ornament. If it's all you had, it's a great little rig, but there are better ones out there now for the SERIOUS DX-er. For the casual op or Yaesu collector, it's perfect.
VO1MDS Rating: 2004-12-20
MY YAESU FT-620B Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I THINK THE YAESU FT-620B IS A VERY FINE PIECE OF EQUIPMENT, SHES ONLY 25 WATTS SSB AND 10 WATTS ON AM, BUT FOR REAL GOOD LISTENING, THE 620B HAS IT ALL, THE PRESELECTOR IS A GOOD FEATURE, BECAUSE YOU TUNE BOTH THE RECIEVER AND TRANSMITTER FOR MAX OUTPUT, AND THE (( ANALOG VFO )) IS NICE TO USE, I DONT KNOW WHATS WRONG WITH SOME HAMS,BUT I LIKE ANALOG TUNEING WHEN ITS SET UP LIKE THIS, WITH THE 100KHZ MARKER YOU CANT GO WRONG WHEN READING YOUR FREQUENCY, CW MODE RUNS SMOOTHLY, AND THE AUDIO FROM WHAT I HAVE BEEN TOLD IS A NICE CLEAN TONE.
THE INTERNAL SPEAKER CAN BE A BIT TINNY WITH STRONG SIGNALS AND AUDIO, MYSELF I HAVE CHANGED THE SPEAKER FROM A 4 OHM TO A 8 OHM AT 3 WATTS, SHE SOUNDS BETTER NOW THAN BEFORE.
AS FAR AS IM CONCERNED YOU CANT GO WRONG WITH THE YAESU FT-620B.

PS. SHE SEEMS TO LOVE QUARTER WAVE DIPOLES.

TO PROVE IT, I HAD A QSO WITH K1TOL IN MAINE ON THE QUARTER WAVE DIPOLE. DONT GIVE UP ON QUARTER WAVE DIPOLES, THEY SOMETIMES CAN OUTPURFORM MANY OTHER ANTENNAS.

IF YOU GET A CHANCE TO PURCHASE A 620B GO FOR IT.
WA4GCH Rating: 2003-02-17
I bought it new in 1976 Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This TOTALY great radio has been my mainstay in 6 for more that 25 years. Thousands of hours of being on it now is showing its age... caps are drying out ... but i have the manual and will make some time even though i now have many newer toys to keep my old friend on the 6 meter band. Drawback NO fm no coverage above 52 and you have to be able to READ a non digial dial. It was the main reason i bought my ft-840.
Bruce SMIRK 70
WA7UHR Rating: 2002-12-30
Proven Veteran Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Sure, I'll give the FT620b a plug. Hats off to Yaesu for a great little six meter rig back when there wasn't much to choose from. The 620b has been in the line up here for quite a while and has always been an acceptable performer. I like that military look and it blends in well in color and appearance along side of my Collins S line stuff. I picked up a new marker calibrator board here on eham classifieds last week! A rare find. Check out the FT221R and FT301 line up if you like the looks. All of it now very reasonable in price. 73's de Fred..
KA2AYR Rating: 2002-12-30
Good Basic 6 Meter Rig Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought mine used at a hamfest in 1988. It was in good condition and I was able to make many contacts over the years - even DX. Receiver sensitivity and selectivity on mine is not as good as a high-end transceiver. During VHF contests, very strong signals would splatter all over. For DXing, I broke out the receiver coax so that I could run a GaAs FET preamp and step attenuator between the TR Relay and receiver. Still a nice radio for the casual six meter enthusiast or for someone who wants to monitor for band openings. The only regret I have is losing the manual.
KB0NLY Rating: 2002-09-12
A Old Workhorse Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought a FT-620B at first because i didn't want to throw to much money at a band that doesn't get a lot of use until it opens up a bit where i live. The 620B fit the bill, a perfect candidate to run a brick amplifier or even a tube type amp to get the extra go power. Most of the 6m radios i have seen on the market hit 50 watts at high power at best, i run a 250 watt amp when i want a extra boost. Add an YC-355D digital counter and you got a digital display to know where you are, or just throw in four crystals for your favorite SSB frequencies and your ready to roll. All in all the 620B is a tough and solid old radio, you can mod it to make what you want out of it. Mine has optional filters for AM and SSB, just wire them in with a switch like they used to do on the FT-101's so you can choose which filter to have inline. Bolt a preamp on the back panel from SSB electronics and you got a receiver that's hot! I got less money in this 6m setup than most people spend on just the radio to buy a new one.

73,

Scott, KBØNLY

W1XLR Rating: 2002-07-30
I love mine Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
For $189.00 used you can't beat it. Mine puts out 20W PeP on SSB and a little over 10W on AM. Mine had the AM filer and markerboard option installed. it has RIT (Clarifier) VFO and you can add 4 preset Crystal channels I just ordered Xtal's for 50.125USB and 50.400AM to speed things up. Works off AC or DC, all solid state with common parts. I put a par loop up and was working the Midwest from here in Las Vegas by the 3rd day I had it! Nice flip top case with handle and feet one bottom and side. Good output for driving amp.s and has a output connector on back for amp. keying etc. I'm very impressed for a older radio. No FM, but if I wanted that dull repeater type stuff I would stick with 2M! 73
VR2XMQ Rating: 2002-07-30
A bit out of date now, bare bones radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The Yaesu FT-620B is rather outdated, it is a bare bones AM/CW/SSB transceiver with a barefoot power output of 10 Watts.

Yaesu did in fact build the radio when radio amateurs were "Still" interested in AM operations, a testimony of this is the optional AM filter upgrade for the radio. Narda for SSB operations.

Styling is close to it's other FoxTango stable mates and follows closely along the lines of the FT-101B. This is a purely no frills radio and a very basic base station, although there are many collectors who still like to keep one of these radios.

The display on this transceiver is similar to the FT-101, the earlier FT-620 however have a slide rule analogue display which moved from left to right with all other features on the front panel remaining the same.

Nice radio to own but nothing to get too excited about.

Steve Sebastian Beesley - VR2XMQ