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Reviews For: YAESU FRG-8800

Category: Receivers: General Coverage

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Review Summary For : YAESU FRG-8800
Reviews: 14MSRP: 429-699
Description:
Yaesu's previous FRG series with microprocessor technology.
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/commrxvr/frg8800.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00143.9
G8UBJ Rating: 2021-05-26
Repair bench slut... Time Owned: more than 12 months.
There is so much to like with this receiver but also so much to loathe...

Lets start with the blinking display.. I finally gave up and fitted an 18Mhz cmos oscillator, and re-aligned the PLL.. no more PPL unlock, ever. The internal PSU needs a variety of exotic voltages -8v +20 +11 of course the PSU is made of unobtanium and is a biach to remove/re-fit with the regulator transistors bolted to the internal chassis, so watch out for this..
There is really no way back from a worn/wobbly tuning knob..


But it looks great and sounds great, performance is good and does all I need with the internal VHF converter for air band and VHF reception..
M6AIU Rating: 2012-09-01
Old rig - still a solid performer! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is my second time with an 8800. Picked this latest beauty up for a snip as 'spares or repair' and after a few hours of fault finding its working fine. Its a fab rig for SWL and holds it own against my other rigs. I love the ease of use compared to modern rigs - ok it's never gonna beat these but you cannot compare this old girl fairly against them. All the talk of overloading and poor reception does it no favours too - Get a decent antenna in place and then evaluate it, simples!!

73 Dave
M6AIU
DXTUNER Rating: 2010-12-27
Good but not great Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
On the positive, the Yaesu FRG-8800 is well-built & sturdy, one of the last I think with a real communications receiver feel to it. And the audio is fantastic, a good deep sound. On the negative I didn’t find the FRG-8800 to be especially sensitive, not enough for dx’ing utilities. The FRG-100 is far more sensitive. I also found the tuning step (25 Hz) a bit too chunky. I think this is a good unit to have around for looks, mainly, or for program listening. It certainly wouldn’t be your receiver of choice for going after tough catches.
HAMDUDE Rating: 2009-11-16
Great once repared right Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Bought mine at a ham club disposal sale, worked for a few day's then got the common blinking display. Did the diode mod, same thing. It was 15 year's old so sent it off to be repaired. 4 month's later and $50.00 repair bill, came back working 100%. Problem was the 17m ic went bad, and since they run in serie's, rendered radio totally useless.So i have now $200.00 dollar's invested, do not believe i could do better for my investment. Yes filter's could be better, but if you want to get in pile-up's and a crowded band, turn on your hf rig. Sadly this was one of the last heavy built real rcvr. Not to hard to set up, believe it or not, that's why they have instruction manual's. Mine will never leave here.
KA2SHU Rating: 2009-04-19
A SOLID SWL Receiver Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I recently purchased a real clean FRG-8800. My example did not suffer from any of the maladies that others have reported . With stock filters, I would not recommended this radio for CW reception or SSB reception when there are several adjacent operators within a few kilohertz. Otherwise SSB reception is very clear. This is because of the stock filters this radio has. On the other hand, I don't believe that Yaesu designed this receiver with that in mind in the first place. I have compared this Yaesu to several other radios in my collection and I would say that its sensitivity is at least comparable. Where this radios shines is in its audio even with its built in speaker. When you connect a decent outboard speaker to it, the audio is superb. This is why I would say it's an excellent SWL receiver. Its SINPO S meter is unique. The radio's green lit back light display is clear, easy to read and can be dimmed for night time use. With its sleep timer, clock, and auto on/off timer, this receiver makes for an excellent bedside, easily operated radio that should provide many years of satisfying SWL/MW listening.
EB5AGV Rating: 2009-01-17
Great unit with some mods! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have just got a curious FRG-8800. I bought it unworking, for a very low price, and it had a label in front panel which was not standard. Upon arrival I found it was a Surrey Electronics "Broadcast Monitor Receiver 2". That version ads lots of goodies, as better IF filters. You can check all the added mods listed here: http://www.surreyelectronics.com/leaflets/Receiver2F.jpg .
I have managed to fix the radio (it had a cracked PCB) and, after a careful alignment, it is a really hot receiver.
KNJ2GH Rating: 2007-10-15
Underrated and Underappreciated Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is a great radio! I'm the second owner since new, and I've never had a lick of trouble. Maybe the radios with problems were early production versions, I don't know. I like to listen to Utility stations. I just punch in the frequency and listen for drift free trouble free hours. It's never let me down, very stable and nice solid feel, like a more expensive radio than it is. My only complaint is that the stock filters could be a little tighter. My advice would be to buy one, but first take it out on a test drive just to be sure you don't get a 'troubled' unit. Incidentally, there's a Yahoo group devoted to this fine receiver at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/yaesufrg8800/
WEB01 Rating: 2006-08-16
A GREAT RADIO Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've owned my frog since new. That was back in the late 80's. I also bought and installed the optional vhf board. I have it hooked up to a long wire for the low bands and a mag mount scanner antenna for vhf that's located out side. I have had no problems with this rig at all. I use it all night long for BC listening and am dx'ing. I listen to all my friends on the 75m ham bands when in the house and not in the shack. The radio has great sound, good sensitivity, the controls and display are easy to see and use. All the modes work very well and ssb and fm listening are a pleasure. It pulls in the week stations and you can attenuate the stronger ones. The vfo knob feels good and positive. You have two tuning speeds and a vfo lock which are great features.
Compared to other units if like features, it's a nice smaller size. It has ten memories so you can store you favorite stations. Like I said, I use the radio all night long, evey night for over 16 years with no problems. I have really enjoyed this radio and it will stay with me forever. It has all that I need for listening to shortwave, hf ham,
cw, air and two meters. I also like the fact that you can dim the display from a very bright green to a dim but very readable soft green. I went to this radio after years of using a Hallicraters S-120. I also have the Yaesu VR-5000, RS DX-394,
Grundig Sat.800, and several others but my 8800 gets the most use. I don't have any negatives really as for what it is and what it does it fits the bill for me without a lot of bells and whistles. If your looking for a nice all around table top receiver, for the price I feel you can't beat it.
K5TUE Rating: 2005-01-24
big disappointment Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Worked good till it cratered. Twice. CPU dies, and it's NOT cheap to repair. I won't spend any more money on this radio.

N5RNY
EA3BLN Rating: 2003-10-26
Good receiver Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Gran receptor de onda corta.
150 Khz- 30 Mhz.
Con modulo, en mi caso, de VHF cubriendo la banda aerea los dos metros, y hasta 173 megas.
Modos de recepcion: AM FM USB LSB.

Mejor que el Kenwood R 2000.
Mas fino en recepcion, construccion bastante robusta, muy recomendable.