| ON4CT |
Rating:  |
2009-10-24 | |
| WORKHORSE |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
This is my third review.
In use since 2002 in contesting, casual transceiving and dx-ing in all kind of modes.
No complaints, I even like this radio with the years.
It has a very good receiver, very weak signals in pile ups can pop up by the apf feature, try this one out. Last week I worked tx5spa (fo/a), k4m (kh4) and 3d20cr (conway) on the low bands.
The nb works well, the inrad filters are really an upgrade.
Last month I adjusted the vfo knop tension and then I saw how well built this transceiver is.
Annualy I blow the dust out of the fp-29 power supply, this box is collecting dust.
73
DIRK
ON4CT
|
|
| AA1OV |
Rating: |
2009-09-09 | |
| Great Rig for me |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I know that there have been may warts mentioned about this radio. But other than the sensitivity mod and some INRAD filters, I never did any other mods, and I never had any of the problems with mine, mentioned in other reviews. I also ran the FTV1000 transverter with it and a Quadra amp with zero problems.
I have sold the rig now due to size constraints in my new RV shack and will miss the great receiver that rig had. |
|
| AB4D |
Rating: |
2009-07-28 | |
| I like the Mk.V for SSB |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I purchased my Mk.V new in 2003 and have run it about 70% of my time on the air which is 90% SSB. I really like this radio, it has a nice balance between the front controls and menus, the ergonomics work for me, and the quality of the received audio is pleasing to my ear. I've installed the narrow SSB filters from Inrad and the Inrad roofing filter board, both work fine, and I did notice improvement in the noise floor and the IMD. The receiver in the Mk.V works quite well. I have a Yaesu FT1000D and an Icom 7700, both are very nice transceivers too. I would say that all three receivers are comparable with slight variations in strength and weakness which defines each of their "personalities". For CW the 1000D is hard to beat, the 7700 really shines on Digital, and for adjusting the transmit audio, but I like the SSB receive on the Mk.V best. I believe because of the combination of the crystal lattice filters and DSP, the receiver seems to be slightly less harsh. The full DSP rigs to me seem to have some artifacts in the receiver that can still be heard.
I run my Mk.V with a Yaesu Quadra and a Palstar AT Autotuner, it is ham heaven. If you ever want the easiest to operate and one of the quietest set ups you can own, IMO this combination is the cat's meow, both just follow the Mk.V around from band to band without a hitch with very little noise.
The only negative I have to add is my Mk.V does have the sporadic display delay issue, but it has never failed to start up. There are modifications to fix this issue, but I am not going to fix something that IMO is not yet broken.
Like another pointed out, if the FP-29 supply fails, obtain supplies from the aftermarket, they are affordable and probably could be moved into the FP-29 case. Nothing lasts forever, especially electronic devices. IMO when you start adding more and more features to a device it shortens the useful lifespan. Do you want a last forever radio? Go get a cat's whisker and crystal, but if you want something that is a joy to operate that is pleasing to the eyes and ears, get a Yaesu FT-1000MP Mk.V.
73 |
|
| K8AC |
Rating: |
2009-06-02 | |
| Good enough! |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
After evaluating my new K3 in the 2008 CW SS, I sold it and bought a Mk V. I put the Mk V through the ringer in the 160 contest in December and decided then that it was a keeper. I'd have rated it a 5 except for several deficiencies in its stock form. Most of those have been addressed by the well-documented mods from W8JI and Inrad. I also picked up the FTV-1000 6 meter converter and that works very well on 6 for me. Here are the pros and cons as I see them:
Pros:
1. The main tuning knob is perfectly shaped and the tuning is exceptionally smooth.
2. The standard Yaesu filters (stock SSB, 2.0 SSB, 500 CW, 250 CW) are exceptionally good. While I've been a fan of Inrad replacements in other transceivers, I find the shape of the Yaesu CW filters to be excellent (Not a believer in brick-wall filters for contesting).
3. The dual-receiver arrangement works very well with separate receiver audio feeds for each ear via the headphones.
4. The VRF feature (tunable front-end) may be useful in a multi-transmitter (on the same band) situation or if you have nearby hams operating on the same band as you. Otherwise, I don't find it useful.
5. Full break-in on CW works well for me at typical contest speeds (30-33 wpm here).
6. Front panel has jacks for 1/8" AND 1/4" headphone plugs.
7. The menu system is very good except for the setup of the optional filters. Check out the downloadable MPFilters program for a visual display of current filter selection and the ability to set any filter combination you choose.
8. While I've heard some complain about the cooling fan noise, mine rarely comes on and it's just not an issue.
9. The transceiver front panel is very well designed - operation is logical and there are no multi-purpose buttons (press for one thing, hold down for another, etc.).
10. AGC action is very good. None of the quirks associated with the DSP-based rigs.
11. The DSP noise reduction is actually useful on CW. Combined with the APF, it can make a difference when digging out weak signals down in the mud.
12. Output power is a solid 200W as advertised on all HF bands.
Cons:
1. The CW monitor level isn't adjustable from the menu or the front panel - adjustment is on rear panel.
2. In stock form, I ran into IMD problems during the 160 test although switching in 6 dB of attenuation eliminated the problem. I later installed the Inrad roofing filter and have not heard any IMD problems since.
3. When using the FTV-1000 for 6 meter operation, there are two menu items to alter, a front panel MK V switch to throw and the FTV-1000 power switch. You also have to set the MK V tuning to 28.000. It would have been nice if just throwing the FTV-1000 power switch had put the MK V into 6 meter mode with no other actions required. Not a problem, just a bit of a pain.
4. The DSP audio peaking filter (APF) isn't tunable.
5. The "shuttle-jog" arrangement is cumbersome and even the slowest rate changes the frequency too fast.
6. The DC/DC unit feeding the display can be troublesome resulting in a dim display or no display at all. A mod is available to return the display to full brightness.
7. The stock Noise Blanker is a disaster, resulting in sure-fire IMD problems (W8JI or Inrad mod fixes that) even when not using the NB. Another NB mod by a VK ham just abourt eliminates the severe distortion that can occur when using the NB in the presence of strong nearby signals.
8. Key clicks are a problem (maybe fixed by Yaesu on the very latest serial #s ?), but again there are W8JI and Inrad mods to take care of that.
9. I haven't heard of anyone who actually gets 200 watts out of the FTV-1000 transverter (regardless of ALC adjustment). Testing here with two different Mk Vs resulted in 160 watts with one and 180 with another. The output level of the MK V feeding the transverter may be adjustable in the alignment procedures, but haven't checked yet.
10. The NB is sometimes effective on pulse noise (electric fence ticking) and sometimes not. If not for this problem, I'd rate the Mk V a solid 5 provided that you install the mods I've mentioned.
11. The FP-29 power supply fan runs all the time. For that reason, I keep it on the floor behind the desk.
All in all, I think the Mk V is a steal at the going used price, provided you can make the necessary mods yourself. The Inrad roofing filter is a good improvement for contesters. The rig is a pleasure to operate and I'd consider it near perfect if there were some way to marry it to the LP-Pan hardware for the panadapter function. I've used the SDR-IQ receiver for panadapter function using a splitter in the receive antenna line. That worked well, but I ran into some noise problems with the SDR-IQ on 20M that fed back into the MK V receiver .
Some have apparently experienced unfixable failures with the FP-29 switching power supply, but mine has been OK so far. If it fails, I'll replace it with one of the Astron 28V supplies along with a small 12V supply.
|
|
| W6GEE |
Rating: |
2009-05-21 | |
| Excellent rig! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I just bought this rig less than a month ago in very nice physical and operating condition. Serial number puts this in the October 2000 production run.
To give a baseline on my opinions of this rig, I've been licensed since 1968, and the most "modern" HF equipment experience I have is with rigs manufactured around the 1999-2003 era. The rigs I've owned and operated since the 1990s until now are the Icom 706, FT-890, and an FT-920 which was my primary rig. My antenna is a noise-catching vertical, the Butternut HF9VX. By being behind the techno curve than most hams, I don't have as much expertise on the finer technical details as previous reviewers, so my observations are more limited and based upon my preferred CW and PSK operating modes.
The thing that stands out the most on this rig is the level of audio comfort while on CW. This seems mostly due to the exceptional filtering system that includes the 500 Hz Collins mechanical filter, which is the only optional filter I've installed. There are several filtering and sensitivity adjustments to make this rig really dig the weakest sigs out of crowded and noisy band conditions. Long gone are the ringing sounds and residual noises of filtering systems in other rigs I've owned. The reduction of noise and QRM with this rig adds significantly to the length of my operating time and comfort. I also can't say enough about the luxury of having a true dual-receive rig as well!
The 200W transmit power also adds the little extra punch that doesn't require me to use my amp nearly as much as with my 100W rigs. I haven't used this rig enough yet to ask other ops about key click problems previously reported. So far, I haven't gotten any voluntary comments about key clicks either.
I admit that some other features (menu setting conventions, egonomics, appearance, etc.) of this rig are slightly clunky compared to the more upscale newer rigs these days. Documentation in the operating manual can also be vague on some subjects, but overall easy for me to follow to get this rig up and running without a lot of head-scratching. BTW, power supply noise? Not bothersome for me at all. Besides, I use headphones most of the time, so this isn't an issue for me. Beyond these relatively minor issues I've encountered, this rig is THE best one I've owned in my entire ham life. |
|
| W0ZS |
Rating: |
2009-05-10 | |
| Very satisfied |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I've been very pleased with my Mark V. I can feel K4OB's pain though. I think Burghardt-Amateur Repair makes a replacement power supply. It is
FP-29BUR Burghardt In SUBSTITUTE FP-29 FOR MARK-V(2 399.95
73,
Terry, W0ZS |
|
| IW7ED |
Rating: |
2009-03-19 | |
| Excellent Receiver |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| Mythical receiver with its excellent filters and wonderful radio throughout. |
|
| W3FW |
Rating: |
2009-03-12 | |
| Fantastic |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I have had the opportunity to operate many radio`s,including all of the even higher end transceivers. The Mark V(200 watts)stands up to them all and sometimes even better. It is extremely reliable and all parts are still available from a variety of sources. There are still many late used models available at reasonable prices.
I love this very reliable radio. It is a keeper for me. |
|
| KL1AS |
Rating: |
2009-02-19 | |
| Great radio. |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| This is my primary station radio and has worked great any problems. I also take it and use it as our station radio for the local ham club on Field Day. It has worked flawlessly in all modes for Field Day the last two years. |
|
| KF8HW |
Rating: |
2009-02-13 | |
| Decent performer, but... |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I bought this rig new in Feb. 2006, one of the very last rigs available since production ceased. It is a solid radio and has good performance. It does not have as nice/quiet receiver as the Ten Tec Corsair II or Orion II, though. I got compliments on the transmitted audio. The auto tuner never balked at the load, although I was using a tuned antenna to begin with. It has nice audio - I had the external speaker, and the audio filters in that were ok. A couple peeves I had was that the display never got as bright as I would have liked it. In higher light conditions it is hard to read the display. This was the case even with the display brightness on high. I also didn't care for the layout of the subreceiver controls. Otherwise, it was fine. BUT...Yaesu is terrible for product support, from the parts to their 'take-it-or-leave-it' attitude. I sold the rig when I heard Yaesu no longer were supplying replacement final transistors on a flagship radio just two years prior. I e-mailed them - took 2 weeks to hear back - and in a non-professional manner told me - like so many others - you are on your own and find a parts radio to gut. WHAT?!?!?!? This is totally inexcuseable! A month later I got an e-mail from Yaesu - all on non-professional e-mail accounts - that they were getting different finals from Japan in a month, but if I was interested, 'I' could pursue it. No offer of "Hey, we will get you the info as soon as we can." The original finals were manufactured with materials that were recently banned from use in newly manufactured goods, so there was a period where no replacement finals were available. That did not alleviate Yaesu from bending over backwards in trying to accomodate their customer's (or now, EX-customer's) needs or concerns. They have released a couple debacles as of late (first batch of FT-2000's; now the 'Performance enhancement' package for the FT-9000 to correct for the poor design issues, this being done at their expense - that should tell you volumes right there. This is sad; I was a fan for 20-some years, and I feel betrayed. The cash went for a Ten Tec Orion II. My Corsair II can still be serviced and I can get parts for it, too, a 20+ year rig. I want a company to stand behind their products when I spend big bucks. This is not meant to be a hatchet job on Yaesu, just to inform you of what I and others have experienced. This radio can stand on its own merit; unfortunately, it will need to since Yeasu isn't willing to stand behind it adequately, or its customers. |
|
