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Reviews For: Yaesu FT-7900R

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

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Review Summary For : Yaesu FT-7900R
Reviews: 72MSRP: 329.00
Description:
The Yaesu FT-7900R Dual Bander operates on 2M and 70CM. High power output is featured with 50 watts on 2 meters and 45 watts on 430 MHz. CTCSS/DCS Encode/Decode is built in. Over 1000 memories are available. It is WIRES compatible. The FT- 7900R well designed front panel provides simple, safe operation. The FT-7900R is ideal for the amateur who does not require cross-band repeat as found on the FT-8800R and FT-8900R. The FT-7900R has excellent receive range covering 108 to 520 and 700-990 MHz (less cellular).
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.yaesu.com/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00724.4
WB5UZI Rating: 2022-05-10
Love scan banks and speed Time Owned: more than 12 months.

I've had a Yaesu FT-7900R for more than 10 years.
My main like is clear display (though sadly limited character display wise) and scan BANKs, that can be linked as desired on the fly, and scan speed.

Fairly easy to program on the rig itself though I far prefer to program via RTSystems software or one can use free CHIRP software if you have the needed cable.

I liked it so much I found a used one on ebay the other day for 160 including shipping (after I won the bid) Was just a bare rig minus the mic and other accessories. I lucked out works fine.
Reason I bought a 2nd one was due to scanning features such as banks, etc that seem to be forgotton by Yaesu on the new VHF/UHF Rigs.

I investigated the Chinese knockoff FT-7900 one sees on Ebay for around 225 bucks.
Sounds like a great deal until one researches.

THe repearter offset issue can be fairly easily gotten around and one can find how to do that on this forum .
However I did not see anyone warning about this.
THis is direct from RTSYSTEMS ....

Does NOT work with the FT-7900 available from Ebay. That Chinese "knock-off" radio does not have the CLONE option in the startup menu. Without that, there is no way to program the radio from the computer.

So I interpret that as the rig won't program via CHIRP either.
JUst a extra FYI for those considering the chinese knockoff.
THere is a reason the used Japanese versions go for 250 plus dollars. I lucked out and found someone selling a estate version minus all the extras and no idea if it worked. Gamble risk won.

KG7OR Rating: 2020-12-14
Superior 144/440 rig, but beware of eBay clones! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had a 7900 in my truck for 3 years and it's simply outstanding--easy to program, strong audio, convenient detached control head. Basically, ditto to all the other positive comments.

This review is mainly to caution buyers of various FT-7900Rs currently listed on eBay by non-U.S vendors. I wanted a 2nd one in the shack and went for a really cheap $266.00 option, and got an EXPORT version of the radio: the antenna jack is an "N" connector instead of SO-239, and worse: the radio didn't have the U.S. band plan for automatic repeater shift (ARS). You can't program U.S. repeater freqs! And as a final kicker, the "English" manual is entirely in Chinese! (Fortunately, the English .pdf version is readily available via download.)

I complained to the vendor and got a partial refund, and figured out that I could get the U.S. repeaters programmed by turning off ARS and setting up every repeater via odd-split (manually select the input freq). You also must manually reconfigure the Home ("H") frequency on each band, like 146.52 on 2 meters, because as received they all default to the band edge, and with an inconvenient step frequency, like 12.5 kHz on 2 meters. You can change that to 5 kHz, but only after fixing the Home freq.

(It may be possible to overcome the programming issue with software and a programming cable; didn't try it. But I'd keep expectations low; this model really doesn't understand the U.S. repeater shifts.)

After jumping through all those hoops I now have a second 7900 that's as good as my first one, and with the rebate it came in at less than $200. But buyer beware!
KE4IZA Rating: 2020-09-06
Great Radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is my first 2m/440 radio. Picked it up at DX Engineering as a discontinued DEMO model for cheap! The Yaesu FT-7900 has been installed as a base station. I live in an apartment so the Diamond dual band mobile antenna is sitting on the dresser in front of my bedroom window. I can hit most repeaters out to about 18 miles with 5w ~ 25w on both 2m and 440. Radio is easy to program, display is bright amber and easy to see. Audio is clear and LOUD! Does everything I want. The FT-7900R is a nice sturdy well made radio and having the separation kit included in the deal was a plus. I am happy!
K6SDW Rating: 2019-01-17
Sound rig Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
My second Yaesu VHF/UHF mobile rig, the first is the FT-7800 which worked great until a car accident did it in.....the FT-7900 is easy enough to program after referencing the manual.

No complaints other than it's a bit pricey compared to the Chinese knockoffs.
W2WHT Rating: 2017-03-09
A good dual band rig Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have three of these now. I use the G4HFQ software to program these radios. I tried Chirp but could not get the computer and radio to converse. The G4HFQ software worked perfectly.
I have found the sensitivity of this radio to be very good. Reports on my audio on transmit are good. My radios have the separation kits but I have not yet used one.
This model of the Yaesu dual band mobile does not do cross band repeater. I read in the manual it will do dual watch but I have not tried it as of yet.
As I mentioned, I have three of these. If you look and wait you can get one for around $200 or so which is a great price for solid dual band radio.
I own mobile rigs of many brands and I have found the Yaesu rigs to be very durable and reliable.
Until I have that situation where I need a cross band repeater I will use this model and if I need another unit will try to find another. It is that good.
G0UOO Rating: 2016-07-09
Works Fine Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Just works. No issues. Easy to programme with RT Systems software. TX audio reports are fine. Good airband RX with loud audio.

For less than £200 what's not to like?
ZS1PR Rating: 2016-02-10
Partial cure for breaktrough Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The problem of breaktrough mentioned by many reviewers is mainly due to the wideband receive front-end stages. The old designer's problem of sensitivity versus selectivity.

This can be overcome to some degree by using the "RF-gain (squelch)" control - Menu #32.

See page 24 in the FT-7900 handbook. Unfortunately it can not be set individually for each memory channel.

I found breaktrough a problem mainly on 70cm. I assume because of the wide bandwith of the UHF range.

The high receiver sensitivity has enabled me to make mobile simplex 2m contacts with lower power stations (10 Watt) over long ranges. I have to run higher power for them to copy me but I receive well with them running only 10 Watt or even less.

I feel that this set was good value for what I paid for it (new).
MM0HRL Rating: 2015-11-19
Quirky, but I like it. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
First impressions are that this is a nicely serviceable mobile/base radio. Not perfect, like many other Yaesus it's got a couple of foibles that leave me stuck to think "why?" - and those centre on the strange distribution of TX power among the four settings. Unlike other reviewers I find the RX audio quite loud enough - it's fed into a Kenwood SP230 speaker, which any bench radio is routed to when in use.

Mine achieves its full 50w top whack on 2m. On 70cm it struggles to max more than an indicated 20-ish watts - less than half what it should give. I don't like that - if I buy a gallon of petrol I want eight pints, not three and a half! I'll add that this was measured into a decent 50 ohm dummy load, not some half assed antenna fed with cheap RG58.

However, I can live with that. Mostly. What I don't like is what I get when reducing power from the max. Yaesu can't decide what to call its mid range settings. My 2900 calls its four settings Low1 Low2 Low3 and Hi. Okay, but if not on Hi it only shows Lo regardless of which not-Hi setting it's on. This radio, the 7900, shows L for Low (4w) M1/2 for the mid range settings which give M2=10w and M1=17w - on 2m, that is.

If set on "Hi" and press the Lo button to reduce power it reduces from 50w to M1=17watts, press again to get M2=<10w and a third press gives the Lo=4watts.
Press it again and it climbs back to M2. Again, goes to M1, again goes to Hi. Other radios do a cycle like Hi-Mid-Lo then back to Hi again - or two mids if it's got four settings. Not this set. It does Hi-M1-M2-Lo-M2-M1-Hi - like a staircase - you go down, then you go up. Strange that a factory making one radio like this also makes other like - that.... If you see what I mean.

Either way is okay, but if you migrate among different radios you could find yourself with a setting you didn't expect. Why not standardise methodologies? It's like Yaesu's got several design teams - who never colaborate. Like Baofeng, whose teams definitely don't talk to each other...

Also - the spread of power is oddly executed with a drop of over 30watts from Hi to the next lower figure. I can't figure why they'd do this. The spec says that my 17 should be 20, but - it's nitpicking really.

UHF, it's worse. The rig tops out at 20watts on Hi while the spec says it should be 45watts. All other settings are also lower proportionately.

Putting that aside - and ten years ago I wouldn't have done that - I can live with the radio as-is. I found myself liking it despite the above notes; and had to wonder if maybe it's because of these quirks rather than despite them. I know I've got plenty of quirks myself - maybe it's a kindred spirit sort of thing.

One way or another as said, I find I like it. Yesterday had three long QSOs via a 2m repeater around 30+ miles away. Easy, strong reports both ways with compliments on the audio from practised operators. Sure - it got a little warmer than ideal, but that was a fairly stiff duty-cycle to put it through. I find the fan is quite unobtrusive overall. Those who moan about fan noise would no doubt moan about their rig overheating if they had one lacking this. I've seen it with the 2900, which depends only on a huge heat sink to dissipate excess heat - and mostly seems to do it sort-of okay, although it would probably serve to keep your coffee warm if you felt the need for such, during an extended ragchew.

Programming the 7900 needs a manual-read to sort out the button-push sequences you need. So far I've input about eight memories and for the present might leave it there, with two small banks of segregated memories as used on other sets as well as the useful DWatch feature.

I wouldn't enjoy having to re enter the memories it'll eventually have in it - so might buy a cable to be able to store them with a view to restore settings if a reset happens, for whatever reason.

So overall, based on only a couple of days' use, it seems a fairly decent little radio even if it has short-changed me in UHF output figures. Perhaps I'll change my mind once it's been used a little more, we'll see. Meantime I'm rating it a 4 out of 5 - purely subjective of course, but aren't most reviews?
KK4EVP Rating: 2015-10-07
Very Good, 4 Yrs+ Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Bought this as a new ham and has performed like a champ for the past 4 years and still going strong. Main use for local 2m repeaters but a few 70cm in there as well. The only real complaint I have is that the fan comes on immediately upon keying the mike. Some noise but not terrible. Otherwise, the sound quality has been excellent. I've never had any complaints on transmit audio either. A friend was impressed enough by it to buy two (one for car and one for home). I might do the same, except I have my eye on a dual display unit with cross-band repeat. But for the price, this one has been great.
MW1CFN Rating: 2015-08-27
Perfect basic dual bander Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is a well-made, robust, diminutive and reliable dual bander. The four power settings are much more sensible than the oft-found three, and the audio both in and out is great.

All controls are clear and simple; the menu system is similarly straightforward and intuitive. Great feature is the automatic insertion of repeater offsets when you go into the repeater frequencies.

I'm still not sure why a basic dual band transceiver costs over £200 these days, other than 'that's what hobbyists expect to pay'; it's common to all hobbies, of course.

Apart from that, this is another great Yaesu rig that doesn't claim the world - and delivers what it says on the tin. I expect to buy another one for the car soon!