| K3FXR |
Rating:      |
2011-12-29 | |
| Best high end radio I've ever owned. |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
Model owned: FTdx-5000MP
I'm not going to bore you with all the techinical stuff that has already been told.
I've owned alot of high end radio's in my day and this one has to be the best rig I've owned to date.
The receiver is superb. The feeling of the rig is perfect...big knobs, huge meter, two completely seperate receivers, Roofing filters that really work well, and with the m-tune units, this radio simply cannot be beat.
What really impressed me was the DNR.
When I owned my FT2KD, the DNR barely worked (and that's putting it nicely).
To see it work in the 5KMP is truely impressive.
I'm so tired of the comparisons to the K3.
After hearing so much buzz about the K3 radio, I bought one. . . Was disappointed after the first couple days of operation.. By the third month of ownership, it went up for sale. Honestly, in my opinion, My TS-950SDX had a better receiver than the K3.
Okay, so, back to my review..
1. I don't like how the auto tuner works on 60 meters.
2. Updating: I hate this thing Yaesu does with the micro switch that you need a search party to locate and switch on and off. Please. put the thing where it can be easily accessed! I hate having to break down my station so I can go looking for the programming switch.
3. Volume knobs: I've said this about the FT2KD.. You should have the volume controls switched. (just a nit pick)
If you've owned a FT2K, then you shouldn't any problem what-so-ever jumping right into this rig.
If not, then you should definitely keep that manual handy.
Listen, I don't think any rig is perfect. When you come down to it, it all points to what your personal preferences are. This is what makes you buy any radio.
What made me buy this rig and have it in my #1 slot in the shack? I'll tell you.
There have been two radios in my life that I loved and always made my comparisions to.. My FT1000MP and my TS-950SDX.
Alot of the new DSP radios (especially Icoms) have had muddy audio.
This is definitely not the case with the 5K. I can listen to this radio for hours and not get fatigued.
Most importantly, I have alot of fun with this radio. And. I love how it looks. I love how it feels. I love how it performs.
Anyone that buys a radio because of the "lab results" is a fool. The lab reports are all biased to being with. And those results WILL NOT be duplicated at your QTH!!
Listen, $6000.00 is alot to spend on a radio. If you are thinking of buying one, try to chat with some onwers.
Believe me, after spending 6K on a radio, if there are any problems owners are having, they will be too happy to complain!
Best '73
Ralfy K3FXR
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|
| K8RI |
Rating:      |
2011-12-29 | |
| Works great for me |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I purchased the FTDX5000 MP about 9 months ago. I have to say that I'm impressed. I use it primarily for DX on noisy bands like 75 and particularly 40 where it really pulls them out of the mud. The receiver is very sensitive which is particularly noticeable on 10 and 6 meters.
The extra filters in the MP version are outstanding on CW. I purchased the MP version specifically for those filters and the extra stability. I would probably get it with out the monitor scope were I to purchase another one.
The 5000MP like a number of modern rigs gives the user a *LOT* of control over the rigs functions. Maybe too many as you can easily mess up the performance if you don't study the manual and just start pushing buttons and turning knobs.
There are over 80 buttons and knobs located on the front panel and I like purposed controls. Still it has a menu with some where around 200 items on it in addition to all those controls. That means if you don't spend enough time learning to operate the rig correctly you may not be happy with it and you certainly will not get the most out of the rigs capabilities. OTOH it's not the only rig I can say that about. <:-)) At any rate it has a lot of features that take most of us some time to learn, let alone master. This is definitely not your father's Collins S-Line!(or mine) it has features and abilities the old Collins couldn't approach and I've had most of them.
I currently have a Yaesu 897D for portable work, an Icom 756 Pro, and the FTDX5000MP set up for SO2R. I have had two Icom 7000s which I recently sold. I use the FTDX5000MP for serious DX chasing. I've made a few contacts in the contests, but I don't have the patience for contest operation. OTOH I can't pass a DX pileup.<:-))
I would definitely not call the 5000MP portable. It is a large, 200 watt output transceiver running class AB1 or a very clean 75 watts on class A and has a built in AC power supply. It has one of the cleanest signals on the air. I have received more unasked for, high quality signal reports than with any other rig. The 5000MP is large and heavy. Boxed up it just makes the UPS weight limit by one pound. As I said I would not consider it a portable rig.
I found it to have excellent noise reduction and the very high dynamic range lets me work stations right next to some of the big guns.
It hears well, it gets out well, and as I said, I get many, unasked for good signal reports. I also like it on CW where the roofing filters really shine.
BTW I really like to be able to switch to class A to drive the DX-2sp amp with a very clean signal.
There are only two faults that I know of with the rig. One is the band scope is not tall enough and is not real time. OTOH those speakers do sound good. My 756 Pro spoiled me for band scopes. The other which I have never noticed, but hear the high speed CW guys complain about is break in on CW. At my paltry 20 to 25 wpm I have no problem hearing between characters. the high speed guys complain they can not hear between dits. A new firm ware download has raised that up to around 30 wpm from just above 20.
During the day I leave VFO B on 6-meters while chasing DX on VFO A unless running split on the same band. These are actually separate receivers, not just split VFO A and B. The receiver's dynamic range is fantastic. That's the only way I can describe it.
It's not a rig for every one. The front panel is large and I'd call it relatively complicated, but not that difficult to learn. I would recommend reading the manual and keeping it with you while operating for a while.
Right now I'd choose the FTDX5000MP over any of the rigs even those costing twice its price and the rig is not cheap. So far I'm very happy with the FTDX5000MP and would choose it again, particularly since I've become much more familiar with it.
I rated the FTDX5000MP "great" because to me it has been a great performer on all the bands and modes I've used, CW or SSB in pile ups or rag chewing.
It's unlikely I'd purchase another rig but were I to purchase a rig for travel I'd probably pick the Icom 9100 as it's a DC to daylight, all mode rig that is light and portable. For most of my use I prefer to have VHF and UHF in a different rig rather than being part of my HF rig. Except for portable I find having all bands in one rig to be a drawback.
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|
| K9CRT |
Rating:     |
2011-12-28 | |
| Dependable Radio |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I purchased a FTDX5000D over a year ago and it is a good radio. No it's not perfect and yes there is room for improvement. The receiver ranks as the best I have ever had at my station on SSB but there is always room for improvement.
Doug K9CRT |
|
| Îëåã Àøìàðîâ |
Rating:   |
2011-12-28 | |
| FTDX5000 – good but not the best. |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
If your main interest in ham radio is ragchewing under reasonably good band
conditions with little interest in hard-core DXing and contesting, or having a weekly
chat on your “warts and bunions” net on 75m, then please don’t read further if you
are considering buying an FTDX5000. Read the good reviews of the radio and be
content with your purchase. If however your main joy is dragging marginal signals
out of noise on the low bands, and serious contesting, then you may be interested in
my comments.
What a disappointment this radio was after the eHam reviews, the various magazine
reviews and the Sherwood measurements. My overall verdict is "A good radio but
not up to the mark". This review may seem to consist of nit-picking in parts but if I
am spending over $6000 on a radio then damn right, nit-picking it will be. It could be
I had a Friday afternoon job or a lemon. Maybe, but spending that sort of money then
it just should not be possible. If someone wants to lend me a known-good FT5000 for
further tests, or bring theirs here for a head to head with my K3, then I will have a
chocolate K3 made, and eat it if the FT5000 is better.
Having spent a lot of money one doesn’t want to admit to bad judgement in a
purchase. You feel such a fool. I have dithered long and hard about buying the
FT5000 as apart from the arcane ergonomics of the K3, I am a very happy user. What
drove me over the edge to make a commitment to purchase the FTDX5000 was the
magazine reviews (of which more later) and the recent earthquake in JA which
seriously has affected production at the Yaesu facility. I was concerned that
further dithering might mean no availability for months. An old saying comes to mind
about deciding in haste and then repenting at one's leisure. However, it seemed like a
good idea at the time.
I have never been terribly enthusiastic about lab reviews. Signal generators and hybrid
combiners are fine in a test lab. The bands aren’t like that. Copy is often combating a
mess of competing stations, QRN, fading, multipath, noise and other factors. What
governs deriving intelligence from the mess is a mixture of receive filter and
synthesizer performance, AGC and audio characteristics. Really the only test that
works is careful and lengthy A/B comparisons on the air against a good radio of
known standard.
With regard to the published numbers and the magazine reviews, yes they are a guide.
Having read them my only concerns were the poor 100Khz rejection in the Sherwood
review and a report I had had from a well-respected UK DXer that there were bad key
clicks when using QSK and also internally generated spurries on 160m. I noticed neither
in my tests. Incidentally, can anyone tell me why Rob Sherwood put it in 1st place
ahead of the K3 when the numbers are pretty head-to-head apart from the 100 KHz
rejection and ultimate filter rejection for the FT5000, surely reason for demotion to
third or lower place?
Just a word about what I expect about a radio.... Although I expect the usual things
from the transmit side, it, what I expect above all in a good radio is excellent receive
performance in challenging conditions. The main interests are CW DXing and
contesting on the low bands, and 160 in particular. A receiver has to be top-class so
already the IC7700 and 7800 have been assigned to the "not quite good enough"
category. Well, the 7700 was quite good on receive but ICOM's amazing decision not
even to put dual-watch on it ruled it out totally. Kenwood’s latest TS-590 might be a
contender but without a second receiver then it is unlikely to please.
Anyway, enter the "wonderful" FTDX5000. I see so many 5/5 reviews of this radio
believe me, my tests have been long and extensive, as in the first evening of tests I did
think "This has to be me and not this expensive radio." After spending close to the
price of a small car, and having seen what many prominent DXers have said about
this radio, I really tried to like it.
My main interest being CW, I installed the 300Hz roofing filter and had the radio on
an A/B switch with the K3 to allow direct comparisons to be made. Same antenna,
same headphones. The K3 has the 400Hz and 250Hz filters in the main RX so the
comparisons have been made with 250Hz bandwidths on both radios with the 300HZ
roofer in the FT5000 and the DSP bandwidth set to 250 Hz too. Only the main
receivers were compared, with AGC, passband and filter bandwidths as close to
identical as could be achieved. I've seen in other reviews that the second RX of the
FT5000 is rather poor. My K3 second receiver seems pretty good, but no A/B tests
were made there.
I put it on the bench beside the K3 as one might, and immediately noticed how
difficult it was to read the signal path part of the FT5000 display for VFO A without
bringing my head down to the level of the radio, even with the front legs raised to
present a better viewing angle. The display is slightly recessed unlike the K3 and the
irritation was immediate. With such an expensive radio this is an astounding
ergonomic error.
Some of the legends on the controls are also difficult to read from a normal viewing
position. Many of the controls are dual-concentric and protrude to such an extent that
the top row of knobs on the left obscure the legends of the bottom row from a normal
viewing angle. At least with the K3 the most used functions of a particular multifunction
knob are assigned a legend ON THE TOP of it, which allows better viewing
from the normal position of the operator’s head, which for most of us is above the
radio. The FT5000 light grey legends on a dark grey case background seem fairly
idiotic contrasted with the K3's excellent clear white on black. These might appear to
be rather petty observations but when you are shattered after 40 hours of non-stop
contesting then anything adding to difficulty of operating really does matter.
Congratulations Elecraft - what you did with the knobs and colors did not happen by
accident, but the lack of proper band buttons was quite frankly an act of madness.
During the testing, which was done on 160, 80 and 40M mainly CW, there was never
a time on either CW or SSB when the FT5000 gave better copy than the K3,
measured by the ability to read the received CW. Indeed there was never a time when
it was as good as the K3 on weak and difficult signals, and I can say that without any
doubt at all, and after having tried everything (even reading the manual) to optimize
FT5000 receive performance. Considerable time was spent listening to ZS2CX and
YC0LOW on 160m. These signals would have merited 449 on peaks. I would put the
copy percentage as 80% with the K3 and 50% with the FT5000. Similar results were
seen on HS0ZEE on 80m and V85SS on 40. All these on CW, and all these tests were
made over several hours with many many changes to and fro eliminating QSB and
conditions effects. Hard to describe why copy was so much poorer with the FT5000
but signals seemed mushy and mucky with the FT5000 with considerably more
background noise. The dots and dashes of the copied CW were not as separate, clear
and distinct as they were with the K3. Sometimes the difference was stunning, and
always in favor of the K3.
Another thing that was extremely noticeable was that there was some kind of ringing
or phase distortion on received CW signals with the FT5000 if there were many in
the filter passband, and no I was not using the audio peak filter. Hard to describe this
more precisely, but when listening to the pile ups for the ZS and YC on 160, signals
from the many callers merged into a ringing mess on the FT5000 whereas they could
be separated and copied with the K3. This would be a killer in a pile-up situation on
receive. Some have said that there are AGC and filter group delay problems with the
K3 when receiving in a pile-up. Those people should try this FT5000 in that context!
.Some brief tests were made on SSB on 80m and the K3 recovered audio was much
clearer than the FT5000 every time. Comparative tests were made to assess the
bandwidth down the skirts on both modes. The K3 was again the winner, but this
was much less noticeable on CW than on SSB. I don’t use SSB much and I was
surprised how good the K3 stock 2.7KHz filter is, or disappointed in how poor the
FT5000 skirts were compared with the K3 and with the published filter slope
diagrams.
All is not bad though. The K3's principal ergonomic problem is the insane absence of
proper band buttons and a band-stacking register. The FT5000 was a delight in that
respect. Over time I have become used to the multi-function buttons on the K3 but
still make mistakes and end up by for instance invoking a different VOX setting when
I press the BAND button. I did think that the control set of the FT5000 would allow
for better operation but after an evening or two I found that once I had set up the radio
to my preferences, the multiplicity of buttons and knobs became rather superfluous.
Fine if you want your radio to look like the control panel of the Space Shuttle, but I
just want mine to hear stations well and have frequently used controls available.
Although it is of no consequence to my buying decisions, I didn’t much like the styling
of the FT5000, particularly compared to ICOM radios for instance. OK, the K3 sucks
from the point of view of the control knobs and the homebrew appearance of the
cabinet, but all is forgiven on account of the receiver.
The other major disadvantage of the K3 is that the CW keying characteristics are
rather soft. There is no menu setting to shorten the rise time, although Elecraft have
talked about making that an option. This means that other stations can come right
close to a K3 user with their often-clicky signals. Nobody can convince me that those
clicks are not deliberately engineered on many occasions, and seem to appear in the
major contests, particularly where a club callsign is being used and a personal callsign
is not fingered as a result.. There is no defense as the clicks are within the excellent
receive passband of the K3 and one just has to suffer them. Frankly, one of the
attractions of buying an FT5000 was that if necessary, I would at least have
been able to fight fire with fire, as some of the stations in some of the contests take no
notice of polite requests to check if their transmitter is clean and only respond to a
dose of the medicine they themselves mete out to others. With the FT5000 it is rather
useful to be able if required to shorten the rise time to 1mS which makes for a very
dirty clicky signal, which sorry to say is the only thing some of those guys will take
note of. However, the ability to generate a dirty signal isn’t what I buy a radio for, but
it would be quite handy sometimes.
The other major irritation I found with the FT5000 was the poor sidetone which was
mushy and full of audio artifacts when compared with the purer tone of the K3. I
know it shouldn’t be, but a poor sidetone puts at risk the quality of my CW, which
sadly can deteriorate badly if I am tired and have to listen to a sidetone that is
unpleasant.
Anyway, in conclusion....I bought the FT5000 on the basis of what others said about it
and the plan was to have it as my main transceiver with the K3 being used as a second
radio/spare. However, having tried the radio over many hours for nearly a week, it
just is not good enough to be used as the main radio, and is far too expensive to be
sitting on the shack table as a reserve radio. The K3 is still the best. Contrary to what
others have said, the king is not dead. Long live the king!
P.S. Since author of this review more afraid to damage his business relations with Yeasu, I took liberty of publishing this article under my name. |
|
| W8FCD |
Rating:      |
2011-12-11 | |
| That "Brand New" Feeling Continues |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| I've had my FTdx5000D for 9 months and in that time I've come to really appreciate its features and performance. For me, new equipment always afforded the elements of excitement and exploration but lost a bit of that "newness" after a while -- but not this well honed piece of equipment. In my 56 yrs. of "hamming" this is the quietest receiver I've experienced - - the effectiveness of the DNR is simply astounding. The FT5k gives me the feeling of a brand new radio each time I turn it "on". |
|
| EB5AGV |
Rating:      |
2011-11-28 | |
| The best radio in my shack |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I got an MP version with less than a year of use on it. It was close to mint.
I have in my shack a plethora of rigs, some of them 'big ones', as the FT-2000, FT-1000D, FT-1000MP MkV, TS-950SDX, Flex-5000A, ... and the Yaesu, IMHO, is the best of the lot. DNR is just incredible, a real pleasure now that band conditions have improved and so has the noise increased. Audio recovery even with DNR is sweet with the correct speaker settings. A real pleasure to listen.
The roofing filters work as advertised. They make a world of difference.
I have paired it with an SDR-IQ at the 9MHz tap and control it with HRD. A wonderful setup.
73 JOSE EB5AGV
http://jvgavila.com |
|
| IK4CIE |
Rating:     |
2011-11-13 | |
| difficult to use |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
Hello boys. I'm a CW-man so i test the radio pretty in this mode.
Here i buy the FT5000 after having the FT2000 for 4 years and FT1000D for ten years.
The receiver of the FT5000 is few better than the FT2000, and not at the same level of the FT1000D.
Who says "FT5000 is the best" , never try a full-loaded FT1000D (inrad filters, diode PIN modify
, roofing filter). The FT1000D is merveillous machine, with very good receiver and no difficult
to use. The FT5000 receiver is noisier and is very difficult to use.
The roofing filters only are the old IF-9MHz filters...just a new name for them !
Some ergonomics may be better. The RX-MIX command is missed.... in the FT1000D
is very useful: with one command you regulate two audio volume, instead to use two commands as
in the FT5000.
Also, you need glasses to see the too little sub-displays.
Now i use this radio only in 50 MHz...
For the goods: the fan are very quiet, the power is full 200 watt, the look is good.
The 4 for all i said.
73 from Vittorio ik4cie |
|
| N7WR |
Rating:      |
2011-10-30 | |
| Good in Contest |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I don't own a 5000 and due to cost I doubt if I eveer will. My less expensive current production radio does all I need it to do. Having said that I was one of the operators at the NK7U Multi-multi this weekend during CQWW SSB. I had a chance to put a 5000 through its paces. What an incredible receiver (and that is what I look for in a transceiver). On a very crowded (wall to wall signals) band with many running 20db over 9 the 5000's receiver made copying almost effortless. The other radios at NK7U are fully filtered FT 1000 Mark V Fields and have done yoeman's work for years. Hands down the 5000 receiver tops them and any of the other (many, many) high end radios I have used over the years. |
|
| NA0AA |
Rating:      |
2011-10-16 | |
| Best I've owned so far |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I've got the D model. Been a Yaesu user since I got my ticket and I've worked my way up from an FT-847 to an FT-2000D and now the 5000.
Each was a good step up in performance. I have a very quiet QTH for the 5000 in the main, although I have electric animal fence noise - which the noise blanker utterly eliminates.
Like many, I bought this radio for it's great performance ratings, plus the ease of operation with the full compliment of knobs and buttons. Having had the 2000, I found the 5k to be very easy to transition to.
The 'band scope' is good - it's better than nothing anyway, I use it a lot just to see if the band is even open anywhere.
The speakers built into the bandscope are worth the money - compact and the front firing makes it easy for my aging hearing.
Obviously it's a great radio for a big station as it's got virtually every necessary function output on the rear, the majority of 'em with handy RCA jacks rather than sub-mini 13 pin plugs that require a stereoscope to solder.
It's a satisfying radio to operate, I'm 99% SSB operation and I'm entirely satisfied with it. |
|
| KG5VK |
Rating:      |
2011-10-04 | |
| Like a new pair of shoes that feel as good as the old ones !!! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I am not a techie guy, however I am a bit more than an appliance op :)
I chase and grab DX and I contest a bit.
My summary.....
I love this rig !!!
My wife got it for my 56 b day
on the 23rd of September
My first qso T6JC on cw on 15 meters
I have been after this one for DXCC for several months and wow my first grab with the new rig
I know timing is everything, but he was not a loud signal and he was fading fast
But with such a great DNR system on the FTdx5000MP
it was pleasant listening to him and a nice grab without the amp !!! Yes those 200 watts come in handy.
prior rigs Ft-1000MP
I still have them (two of them) one is for sale.
There seems to be a lot of people that do not understand SO2R, the FTdx5000MP is not a duplex machine and therefore can NOT be used in place of two separate rigs for SO2R.
Yes QST and even one of the posters on this site
said SO2R is possible with the FTdx5000MP, I will say it again No it can not do SO2R.
While split OP is not nearly as evident as it is with the FT-1000MP, it is a pleasure and easy to use.
This rig is feature rich
without having to dig through mutiple menus
which I hate on my mobile (IC 706)
The band scope of the 5kMP is not up to par with that of the separate one for the K3 which can be used on the IF out of the FTDX5000
I elected to go with the RF Space SDR IQ rcvr
getting it's signal from the IF of the 5KMP
I got an LP-PAN but that thing is a bite to set-up !!!
I am very very happy with this rig
and woking lots of new ones even though I am in the midst of antenna farm repairs from storm damage I am using wires and low hanging beams for much of the new ones I work thanks to the great rcvr in the FTdx5000
I have used for a limited amount of time a K3
I did not like it
I love this rig
it feels comfy
it is very intuitive for me
I have looked at the manual a few times
once to see what I might be missing or over looked
and once to learn the programming of the FH-2 remote - which is a great asset !
This radio is a ten plus on a ten scale
cheers!
Steve
KG5VK
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