| KJ4KBC |
Rating:  |
2012-12-10 | |
| The best yet! |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| I have purchased a lot of rigs looking for the one that was easy on the ear and effective at it's job. Some good rig's and a few bad ones too! But this rig not only has all the feature's one would ever need, they also work as they were disigned. Do you wish you could get rid of the s20 signal 2 up or 2 down so you can hear your contact? This rig will do it! It's also very easy to understand and use the menu. Add the DMU-2000 and you can use its other features while using the rig's scope to see band activity. A killer combination. The positive reviews are real, some of the negative reviews are ridiculous. If you have an opportunity to try one you won't be disapointed. Yaesu has hit a home run. Sure to become a major classic! |
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| ZL2HAM |
Rating: |
2012-10-21 | |
| Great radio -- big step-up from the 756-ProIII |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I operate SSB and RTTY. I didn't want the OXCO, DMU or the SM-5000 monitor, so I got the base version of the FTdx-5000 and added the 300 Hz roofing filter option.
On SSB, I can often hear stations well enough now to exchange signal reports when they are right at the noise floor. I was expecting maybe a 3 dB improvement in sensitivity over my 756-Pro3. I haven't done an A/B test yet, but I think it must be at least twice that.
For TX, I use Class A output into my amp, and have had many unsolicited reports of good audio quality -- something I never had with the Icom, using the same microphone and amp.
The 300 Hz roofing filter really proved its value in a recent RTTY contest, allowing me to work stations that were almost on top of one another during S&P, and to hold my run frequency longer than I could have otherwise due to close-in QRM.
I should add that I also really like the *sound* of the radio. It has a warm-ish tone to it that I find very pleasant, rather than the tinny tone on some other high-end rigs.
It does have a few quirks with the way some features and buttons work -- but those are minor things in the end.
Overall, highly recommended. |
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| NC6K |
Rating: |
2012-10-20 | |
| Overall a great radio. I love it, but it's not perfect. |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I've had the radio about 6 months (minus having to return it to Yaesu service for a loose internal RF cable that caused it to show a high SWR everywhere and not put out more than a few watts to protect the finals). Other than the one issue with the internal cable, the radio has performed beautifully. As many have said, it's an incredibly quiet radio, and I often have to turn off the noise reduction features to confirm that my antenna is connected (hi).
For the few weeks that Yaesu had my "baby" for repair, I went back to my trusty IC756Pro2, which is a great little radio considering the age. Getting the Yaesu back made me realize how much technology has improved over the past 10+ years. I am a gadget op, so I've got the radio interfaced to my Yaesu rotator control box, HRD, sound card, etc. The myriad menu options may be daunting at first, but I have grown to appreciate the many things I can adjust/tweak on the radio to make everything work well.
I haven't had the dreaded white line, but would still buy the radio again even knowing it can pop up. I'm not a Yaesu vs Elecraft vs ... guy, and I'm sure the other brands are fantastic. That said, this long time Kenwood (I had the twins in the late 70s) and Icom guy (746, 756Pro2) is a convert now. I'm thinking about picking up a used FT2000 as a backup or 2nd radio. I would definitely recommend the 5000 to anyone who is serious about operating. |
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| IK0RHS |
Rating: |
2012-09-24 | |
| Great Radio ! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
FTDX5000MP is the best radio I have ever owned. Great receiver with superb DNR, roofing filters really works as advertised.
Ergonomics is good we are not talking about a small radio.
Tx audio is excellent, no big changed are required from the manufacturer’s settings.
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| N0IDX |
Rating: |
2012-08-18 | |
| #1 of all owned |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| I own the MP version and it is by far the best radio I have ever owned. I have owned many, many HF rigs. It even toped my coveted FT-1000D. Yes, even that radio. Amazing RX and noise reduction.(read the book, dah!) On the air complements all the time on audio. Only thing worth a mention is don't put the back of this radio against a wall or box it in a cabinet. It needs to stay cool when contesting or DXing. I'm on the air more than ever since driving this bad boy is such a pleasure. Buy one if you're on the fence. Fantastic! (no, really, it's that good) |
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| KC1MR |
Rating: |
2012-08-07 | |
| # 1 SINGLE SIDE BAND Transceiver |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I only operate SINGLE SIDEBAND ( as do most hams )so great cw performance does NOT matter to me .
Unlike my 7700 the FTdx 5000 MP does not AGC overshoot and
decense during static clashes. ( I sold the 7700 ) . The Hang & Decay times are all adjustable fer Slow, Medium & Fast I can easily copy other stations in the presance of static clashes
The receiver is very quiet and the NB ,AutoNotch & NR ( don,t be affraid to get aggressive ) work very well. The roofing filters do a great job when the bands get busy . This is a DOWN CONVERSION (9 mcs) main receiver so that the filters realy do a fine job. (6pole)
I bought the DMU & love it on my 21 " TV -- It realy lets U see what is hapening with the rig.
The transnitter is clean as a whisle ( 50 volts on the FET's & unlike other lesser performers the best on Transmit out there) . The Parameric EQ is fantastic . Be sure to ck the Heil web site )
TheFtdx 5000 MP has a TON of possible settings so so give yourself pleanty of time to get to know them ( this is not rubbish !) . I made a small booklett of the menues and I find it very handy.
This is the true top SINGLE SIDEBAND performer and fer my money can't be beat ; esp when compaired to the 7800 @ $ 11,799.00.
P.S. -- Iv'e only barley touched on the many abilities of the FTdx 5000 MP |
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| F4FXH |
Rating: |
2012-07-18 | |
| The best |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I moved from the FT-2000 to the FTdx-5000.
The FT-2000 is a great rig, the FTdx-5000D is better.
The price is also different.
The first impression was during the first power on: much quiet receiver than the 2000.
Some ham friends came to see it at home. Their first impression were exactly the same: the quality of the receiver.
For those who have the 2000, not a big difference on the ergonomic.
I like the ergonomic : I prefer to have a lot of knobs instead of menus and sub menus.
The big advantages of the FTdx-5000:
- the sensitivity
- the quality of the receiver
- the real two receivers which work simultaneously on different bands
- the tunables
To get the best of it, you have to try and tune some functionalities. For example, the mic equalizer should be tuned to your voice and your mike.
I change the contour from a negative to a positive gain: this improves the isolation of a signal in the QRM or a weak signal.
I live in town, so QRM at S8+ is common. Using all features available, it is possible to isolate the wanted signal.
I like also the 200W.
I always get good reports and sometimes congatulations on the audio.
I did some CPU/EDSP upgrades. Not really needed, but to keep it up to date. No issue at all on these operations.
The SM-5000 is a good accessory. The Speakers are very good. Do not setup the SM-5000 to large span. I tuned it up to 250 kHz bandwidth.
One Cons perhaps: the weight. It is full of great technology, so a few heavy. Definitely not a rig for portable operations.
Setup: FTdx-5000D , vertical antenna sandpiper aerial MV10, Heil ProSet Plus or MD-100, Ham Radio Deluxe.
QSO: all europe, hawai, new Zealand, Iceland, central Africa, Asian Russia, USA west coast, central and East cost, south America, Indonesia.
All QSO with FTdx-5000D barefoot (200W).
If you hesitate to buy this rig for a technical reason, do not hesitate longer.
Hope to contact you on the air. |
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| AE6OU |
Rating: |
2012-06-28 | |
| Update on OLED Repair |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| Updating my prior post, the cost to replace all three displays was $254. If you ship that's extra. Labor was $90, the rest was material and taxes. |
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| N1ZLE |
Rating: |
2012-05-13 | |
| After one year 2nd opinion |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Well, I've owned it over a year, a few software upgrades, the SM-5000, DMU-2000, and SDR-IQ. I'm completely happy. Amazing receiver.
PROs: as mentioned above and previously.
The DMU-2000 really makes life easy.
VRF/u-t kicks ass... just as soon as you figure out how to use it.
Contour kicks ass kicks ass... just as soon as you figure out how to use it.
One word: FANTASTIC!!
Get one!!
73
Pat
N1ZLE
CONS:
Almost none.
The ergonomics... But, once you get used to them no complaints.
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|
| KL2D |
Rating: |
2012-05-13 | |
| Wow!! |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
What can I say that hasn't been said?? This is an amazing radio. All of the complex features are easy to use, I quickly became comfortable with it.
I would highly reccomend it. |
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