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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
KC2ZXL Rating: 2011-05-19
Basic Dual Band Radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have been using this radio mounted in my car for about a month now and was so pleased with it, purchased a second one. Have not had any issues with it and it is rather easy to operate. It is rather sturdy and receive is fairly loud even with the stock mic, although I have an external Vertex speaker in the car.

Recently however, the black bezel inside the LCD started to warp. First I thought it was a crack on it, but it looked like a some sort of defect. Called up Yaesu and they asked me to ship just the faceplate back to them.

I can't say anything bad about the 7900R as it does a decent job although I did hear on several occassion that my audio was somewhat distorted or too low.

I wished Yaesu had put MIC gain control on the unit, which would have been a nice feature.

Overall, I am satistifed with its performance but now, want to try an ICOM 208H or FT-8900R.
NF2G Rating: 2011-05-18
Only one problem Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I have been using the FT-7900R in my Saturn for several months and have been very satisfied with its radio-related abilities. However, one of its special features has left me sorely disappointed.

The Hypermemories do not operate as advertised. All I can do with them is store a "start channel" memory which allows me to jump directly to that memory number. The hypermemory function does not store or retrieve the full state of the radio - scanlists, VFO settings, etc.

Although the 7900 is supposed to be an "upgrade" of the FT-7800, my friends tell me that the 7800 hypermemory function works perfectly, while I have found nobody who has had any luck with it on the 7900.

I suspect a firmware issue, but after all this time Yeasu has not (to my knowledge) offered any updates.
OE5BFM Rating: 2011-05-10
Great Value! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I use the FT-7900 at home and made some comparisons on 2 meters with the Kenwood TR-751. The TR-751 is known for it´s sensitive and good receiver. When checking very low signals both rigs are quite the same. So we can say the FT-7900 is very sensitive! Checking the selectivity - listening to a very weak signal when a strong one is 12,5 kHz nearby - I here some splattering which is weaker noticeable on the TR-751. However this is normal for rigs in this price class and in practice certainly a rare problem.

In summary I am satisfied with this rig, easy to programm, loud modulation, sensitive receiver, big display and not expensive.

KI4OGD Rating: 2011-04-25
Fantastic simple dual bander Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I purchased this radio for a few reasons:
1. Easy operation
2. Remote head (almost every major radio supplier includes the remote kit)
3. Dual band (50w 2m, 45 70cm) with wideband receive)

All I can say is this radio has been excellent. Radio has good sound quality through the internal speaker (the main body of the radio is mounted under my seat). Menu system is easy to use, and it sounds good on the air.
The remote kit works well, the included cable is quite long (12ft). Luckily, the remote cable is standard RG11 phone cable, so you can use whatever length you like. Mic mounts on the head unit.

The wideband receive is nice. I use it to listen to air bands (AWOS certainly comes in handy). The radio can also pick up police and fire frequencies, as well as NOAA weather band, which is stored in a separate memory bank (kind of a convoluted way of getting to it, it's in the manual).

If you're thinking about this radio, I can only say don't hesitate. It is a solid, well built rig that will do its job for years. Only reccomendation is read the manual. This radio does an awful lot that I would have never known about without an evening spent with the manual.

That said, excellent radio, would buy again.
Steven, N4FML
ZL1GKB Rating: 2011-03-21
Excellent Mobile Rig Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I am very pleased with this unit - it's everything the manufacturer promised.

Programming my local repeaters manually was a snap. I love the hypermemory feature too.

This unit has good fidelity, powerful RX audio (I use an MLS-100 external speaker)and has a much crisper, lifelike TX audio than my IC-7000 has on FM, which sounds rather "muddy" by comparison.

The receiver works really well when driving down "intermod alley" in our Central Business District.

With its bright, clear orange display and backlit buttons, it's a real pleasure to use on the road.


WA8ALQ Rating: 2011-03-21
Great Packet Rig Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
To the OP with the weak audio problem... Check for a bad mic... Yaesu mics are known for being defective out of the box... I had to replace one myself...

As for my new FT7900, so far so good. Great audio reports with plenty of speaker audio. I'm going to dedicate this rig to packet use. It's up and running without a hitch. If I have any problems, I'll re-evaluate the rig on this site.

The rig seems to be well built and the controls are smooth. The data plug on the back is a standard Yaesu configuation. That made it possible for me to unplug my KPC3 Plus TNC from my FT857 and connect it to the FT7900 in about 20 seconds. The Ft7900 is a good choice for packet.
G6ATJ Rating: 2011-02-12
Great Mobile Rig Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Just bought this (the 7900E, as I'm in U.K.), and I'm so impressed!! Was going to get the seperator kit, but the rig sits neatly onto the dash (with a non-slip mat underneath), so that's saved a bit. It was £239 from QSL comms in Weston-Super-Mare...don't forget we get an "N" socket on the back NOT the UHF one.
Menu is easy to work round once I spent 30 mins getting used to it, and what a great range of adjustable parameters!
Nice comfortable 50 watts output and 45 on UHF...in Devon you really do need it!!
Recommend this to anyone.
2E0SDR Rating: 2011-01-25
Excellent Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Fantastic transceiver, I bought this in October 2010, I have had many excellent contacts, Excellent receiver.

Fully recommended, Well done Yaesu
KF5HDU Rating: 2011-01-05
Very Happy! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have been running this radio for a little over six months. I have been using a Diamond 770HA but switched to an SG-7900a yesterday. I am very happy with the rig. I am running an amplified external speaker so I rarely need more than 50% volume. I use the programming software when necessary to reprogram. I use the radio daily, and drive about 1000 miles a week. I have never used the internet features, so I will say I am a basic user. But, when I want to talk, it hits the repeaters way out. When I want to listen, it scans reasonably fast, and sound great. For a good all around transceiver, I can't imagine a better unit.
KM5ART Rating: 2010-12-23
Great Radio Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I've had this radio for 5 months now in my car. I mounted the radio whole (not with the head seperated from the body) and have only had 1 problem. I was having problems with people hearing me, and found out that my mic was not all the way plugged in. I fixed this by putting a small zip tie on the mic cord and attaching it to the mounting bracket.

Other then that, I haven't had any issues with it.