Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: Yaesu FTdx-5000 (including D and MP versions)

Category: Transceivers: HF Amateur HF+6M+VHF+UHF models - non QRP <5W

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : Yaesu FTdx-5000 (including D and MP versions)
Reviews: 145MSRP: 5750 (D version)
Description:
The FT dx 5000 Series HF/50 MHz 200 Watt Transceivers are a new Premium Class of Yaesu radios with 2 Independent Receivers plus many unique options and accessories designed to meet the Performance Requirements of even the most demanding serious Amateur Radio operator.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.yaesu.com/indexVS.cfm?cmd=DisplayProducts&ProdCatID=102&encProdID=12FF98B9C73C8988F2398C979793E2E1&DivisionID=65&isArchived=0
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
251454.7
W6QR Rating: 2011-09-26
Best rig I've owned Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is the best rig I have ever owned. The receiver is very quiet, the narrow roofing filters work very well and the CW features make operating enjoyable. I have the MP version since I like having a spectrum scope and narrow roofing filters. I’m primarily a CW operator; I’ve been using a Ten-Tec Orion since 2004 and I was ready for a change. The biggest complaint I have with the Orion is having to push buttons to activate controls; it has an outstanding receiver. I have to admit that at first look the FT-5000 appeared complex, with too many controls, and I dismissed it for a while. I tried a rig with a 3 KHz roofing filter and was not at all happy with the performance on noisy summer bands; I am used to a very quiet receiver.

Following some advice I read in these reviews, I read the operating manual. It took some time to understand and visualize how I would use this radio and I went to the SW Division Hamcon with a list of questions and things to try. Needless to say I was impressed and bought the FT-5000 the following week. I reread the manual and noted the menu items I wanted to customize. I had to build a stronger shelf on my operating table to handle the weight. It only took me a few hours to set the menus and all the band stacking registers to my liking. I find the control layout to be logical and the control functions intuitive. The learning curve was less than I expected.

On CW I really like the CW tune indicator and the audio peaking filter. This is the first rig I’ve had with an internal keyer I like; the remote keypad memory access is very handy. The full QSK performance is not up to Ten-Tec standards but is adequate most of the time.

I have been able to eliminate the antenna switch from my operating bench thanks to the 4 antenna inputs. The built in antenna tuner has sufficient range for all but one of my antennas. The SSB audio is excellent. I like the spectrum display better than the Orion’s but it is not nearly as good as Icom’s. I also like the display layout and amount of information presented.

I think the FT-5000MP is the best value among the presently available top tier rigs.
K4LRX Rating: 2011-09-10
K4LRX Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
This is a great rig, love mine. Had a Kenwood 950SDX for fifteen years, great radio. Reading the manual is a must, not only read, but understand what the adjustments do.

Noise reduction is superb, bandwidth adjustments and 600 khz roofing filter really pull the weak ones out of the band noise. I do have to say the monitor does have some distortion in it on ssb. I also wish there were a larger indication when you go split for VFO B. Otherwise, this rig is fantastic.
K0HB Rating: 2011-08-03
Among the top few best Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I've now had a few months of usage of the FTdx-5000 and a couple thousand QSO's under a variety of conditions, rag chewing, contesting, and DXing. At this point I'd rate it a very solid 5.

The receiver is phenomenal! I've deliberately gone "searching in the muck" for whisper thin signals buried in stronger signals and noise. The various DSP and filtering tools make almost anything copyable, no matter how deeply buried. I'd rate it almost as good as the very best military receivers that I've used (I'm a retired Navy Master Chief Radioman.

If you're hard of hearing (like me) you might wish for just a bit more audio gain. My unit tends to distort the audio at VERY high AF Gain settings.

The transmitter seems equally well designed. There were some early reports of poorly timed CW "dits" and problems with the QSK performance (ability to "hear between the dits"). Yaesu aggressively chased down those problems with firmware updates, and critical users have reported the issue to be solved.

On transmit, I especially like the flexibility to match the transmitter audio to the characteristics of different microphone response curves. All audio reports have been very complimentary.

Only a couple of "nits" to pick.

Nit 1: Loading firmware updates are a bit awkward, because you need access to the rear of the rig each time, and have to manipulate a small/delicate "dip switch" buried in a small dark hole on the rear of the rig. Sort of a PITA. Also, loading new firmware resets all menu items to factory default. The menus are easy to access, so not a big deal, just a minor PITA.

Nit 2: In "data" modes, receiver bandwitch (DSP driven) is limited to 2.4kHz. This is problematic in PSK modes. Firmware fix rumored in the works.

Nite 3: There is no really obvious indication when you go into "split" mode, just one small dim LED to indicate that the B VFO is being used to transmit. This has embarrassed me a few times as I've worked some DX split, then went back to general operating still in split mode. Since there's probably no easy "hardware" solution to this problem, I've suggested that Yaesu add a firmware mod to "unsplit on QSY" (maybe a menu option) so that your transmit/receive freqs are married up back on the A VFO when you leave a split DX frequency.

Overall, I'm very, very happy with this rig, and look forward to many years of good service.

K0DG Rating: 2011-05-31
Great Rig - Outstanding Bang for the Buck! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I've been hamming since '66, and have run lots of rigs including top-of-the-line military boxes (NAVMARCORMARS). In my opinion, the dx5000MP is second to none and, by my reckoning, much better than most.
I find the controls very well grouped and ergonomically designed. I read a comment by someone that the VFO controls are not "symmetrical," but if one looks at them concentrically, they are perfectly placed. The most-used controls work outward from the tuning knob, with VFO A on the immediate left and right, followed by VFO B, and so on.
As for CW, I used to keep my venerable old TS-930S with the Inrad roofing filter and Piexx control board in line with my FT-1000MP so I could use it on CW. Most folks will agree that the 930S is a top-notch CW rig, I think.
Since installing the dx5000MP I've relegated the 930S to backup status and now have the FT-1000MP in line as an alternate with the idea of switching between them and, as needed, the VL-1000 and Alpha 9500 amps. Both rigs work flawlessly with either amplifier and I've had no problems whatsoever with QSK at speeds of 15 to 30 wpm. I don't especially like the distraction of background noise between elements and letters with QSK so I usually only use it for contesting or DXing and stick with semi-breakin for rag chewing and casual operation.
I have not used the dx5000MP on any of the digital modes yet since the FT1000MP is wired in and more than meets my needs in those modes - but one of these first days!!!
As mentioned before in the other reviews, It's necessary to read the manual with this rig and spend some time playing with the controls and menu settings. Even after 6 months, I still have a ways to go in that area. It's hard to really get into the manual in detail because the rig is such a pleasure to operate that I usually end up operating instead, regardless of my good intentions at the start of the session. It's really nice, though, to experience a set of controls that actually do what the manual says they will and be able to hear it as well!
I use the DMU 2000 with the rig and like the versatility of the unit, as well as the SM-5000 scope and speaker combination. True, the panoramic adapter is a bit slow, but seems to be well calibrated (on my setup anyway) and quite usable for my purposes. If I see some activity on the scope that I want to listen to, I note how far the frequency is from my center frequency, tune to that location, and the signal of interest is right there.
I don't use the logging function of the DMU-2000, though, because I use the Amateur Contact Log from Scott, N3FJP, for logging and radio control.
For 20-6 meters I use a Tennadyne T10 Log Periodic at 50 feet on a Glenn Martin tower which gives me a nominal 6 db gain, and where I used to struggle a bit with the 100 watts out from the FT1000MP and 930S for casual ragchewing, the extra 3 db power gain with 200 watts out on the dx5000MP is adequate enough to allow me to operate satisfactorily most of the time without using either of the amps.
There are plenty of other reviews here on Eham that cover the technical specs and features of the DX5000 series in detail, so I won't bother to dwell on them in this one. Just wanted to get my two cents worth in to let you guys know that I'm very well satisfied with this radio and think that it was money well spent; so don't listen one word my XYL has to say about it.
Although still a work-in-progress, you can view my station set-up via the K0DG webcam. Instructions to access it and log in are on my QRZ.com page if you're interested.
73 de K0DG
K2QMF Rating: 2011-05-26
Great CW Rig! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
First, I would like to say that I have been a ham since 1955. My favorite Mode is CW. I am a memebr of FOC and CWops. The current production FTdx-5000's are very clean on CW. No short dit issues exist! The QSK operation is very clean with both the internal and an external keyer.
With some RX settings you cannot hear between the dots at high QSK speeds but you can hear between the CW letters with no trouble and that is just fine for me. I would not trade my 5000 for any other rig.
73,Ted K2QMF
K8AC Rating: 2011-05-25
CW ops beware! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The 5000 is a good example of what happens when we focus solely on Rob Sherwood's receiver rankings when buying a transceiver. Being a primarily CW operator, I tested the transmitter thoroughly during the first few days I owned the 5000. In QSK mode, ALL dits were considerably shortened, not just the first. Everything sounds fine using the CW sidetone, but the problems are revealed when listening on a separate receiver. In non-QSK mode, clicks were present (overshoot on front of waveform) carrying on the tradition of the FT-1000MP. While the QST review indicated that rigs after lot 2 had the short dits problem corrected, this rig was from lot 5 and others with later lot numbers reported the same short dits problem. One fellow in the UK who had Yaesu apply the factory fix for the short dits reported that after doing so, he was unable to hear anything from the receiver when operating QSK mode above 21 WPM. For most of us, that means no QSK at all. I decided to pass my 5000 along to someone who didn't care about the CW problems, and called a major US retailer about buying a new one. My only requirement was that he guarantee that the unit had the Yaesu fix installed for short dits. After several days, he was unable to do that. If you don't operate CW, you'll probably love this transceiver and I found no problems with operation in the other modes. But, if you're going to use it on CW and care about the quality of your signal, you might want to look elsewhere. I've always liked Yaesu designs, and still have a Mark V here on the desk (with the CW key click fix installed). But the CW shortcomings of the 5000 are too great to overlook. I replaced the 5000 with an Orion II and put it through the same tests. The Orion passed with flying colors.
SV8RX Rating: 2011-05-23
Simply the best Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
What can you say for a transceiver that is in the top of the line in any list of decent reviewers (Sherwood, QST, RSGB)? The labs have already made their verdict. It is the best receiver ever made. And it is the first Japanese transceiver that got this award. Between FT-1000mp mkv field (my previous rig) and FTDX-5000 there is a huge difference. Actually we are dealing with a completely new world. And I don't mean the delicate differences in difficult situations of overcrowded bands.I haven't yet the chance to compare the two rigs in such circumstances, i.e. a great contest. But I can speak easily for differences in every day use, even in rag chewing. The DSP filters, especially DNR, do great job, delivering an audio that amazes you immediately. I live with it a couple of weeks and I am already convinced that the "gold standard" is not just a nick name. It is really deserves it.
DJ0RD Rating: 2011-05-11
The Best Receiver Ever Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Previous rigs were a Yaesu FT-1000MkV, which was replaced by an FT-2000. This week I've gotten my FTDX-5000D on the air. I live in a very noisy urban environment with very limited (space) antenna possibilities. The FTDX-5000D has to be heard to be believed. The DNR is just fantastic. I'm glad I can tell the difference as compared to the FT-2000, as this is the most expensive rig I've ever owned (licensed since 1961). I have the optional 300Hz filter, SM-5000 and DMU-2000. N8LP's LP-PAN will be installed asap.
N9LBW Rating: 2011-04-27
Good Value Mid Price RangeTransceiver Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have the FT-dx5000D Model. This radio is an excellent mid price range transceiver by YAESU. It compares favorably with my FT-dx9000MP, of course it has less output, but both the sensitivity and selectivity are very close to the FT-dx9000MP. I don't like the SM-5000 station monitor, so I use the DMU-2000, along with the MTU tuning units. I do like the FT-dx9000MP better, because of its enhanced features, but the FT-dx5000 will suit the needs of most amateurs.
K3GC Rating: 2011-04-16
Awesome Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Gold Standard describes the DX5000.
It is great in every respect - quiet, quiet. Did I say quiet?
This radio exceeds every expectation I had and more, many more.
I could go on and on - I only wish I could give it a ten.
It was indeed very expensive but well within pricing for its class and I expect it to be the last radio I buy.
Yaesu hit a home run with this rig.