Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: Yaesu FT-790R

Category: Transceivers: VHF/UHF+ Amateur Base/Mobile (non hand-held)

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 FT-790R
Reviews: 4MSRP:
Description:
The original 430-440mhz Yaesu portable
Product is not in production
More Info:
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0044.5
M0RTS Rating: 2007-07-27
Reliable old rig Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned my FT-790r for 8 years. I first started with the FT-290r for 2m which i love and pushed me into buying this sister radio.

The radio has had a lot of use from base station to portable and mobile operation,like many radios of this vintage it is built like a tank.

I have used this partiucular radio for local ragchews which has been great into various vertical aerials even on just 1 watt. Output is clean and audio has been great. I searched high and low for the matching Fl-7010 amplifier and eventually found one,this has been great on ssb into a good yagi and enjoyed many contacts all around the country. The only point which has been mentioned is that the aerial socket is a BNC on the front of the rig which on UHF is not the best option with regard to losses! An N-type connector would be better which the matching amp utilises!!!!!

Overall a nice radio to have in the shack and does everything that it should and does very well,i am keen on radios of this vintage and i run the two sister radios FT-290r and FT-690r which i have also reviewed,please take a look.

73
G1HBE Rating: 2004-02-02
Great Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought one of these soon after I got my licence in 1984, when it was a newly-introduced model. With a rooftop 19 ele beam I had great fun working almost all over the country (UK) on one watt of SSB!.
I recently picked up a 'scrap' one for £50 and found that it only needed a new mix-down xtal. I keep this one for portable use with a little 8-ele beam.
Also, unlike many modern rigs the battery consumption is very low (about 120ma RX) so I can operate for hours on end. Great fun!
TSW282 Rating: 2003-11-21
Excellent portable Tranceiver Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
The radio was purchased 6 months ago, I have had nothing but great reports on the audio quality and I'm very pleased with the build quality.

Also, if you ever need to get the radio repaired, it is solid state and not as expensive to do as the latest IC radios.

It was used through repeaters (duplex) whilst mobile, powering it from the car. It held the repeater open from a wider distance than expected!

Simplex operation was a pleasure!

Also, I purchased an external DTMF board for very little and this helped me get into the gateways and I have a Log virtualy full of overseas contacts.

When there is a lift on it's great fun using it for QRP - SSB - DX.

Put up a high antenna, for example up on your chimney pot and you will get great contacts.

I have tried virtical and horizontal polarisation with excellent results.

Don't bother with the MK2 version, get the 790R!!

If you manage to find one in good condition (RARE!) BUY IT!!!!!!!!!

GOOD QRP DXing
KU4QD Rating: 2000-06-26
Peculiar little portable - works well but missing a lot Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have one of the original Yaesu FT-790R 430-440mhz all mode UHF portables, with the matching CSC-1 leather carry case. I've used it portable and base, and on those occasions when there is 432 mhz SSB activity (or even CW), like during the recent ARRL contest, it seems to perform reasonably well. It's small, and aside from the Nishi Musen handheld which isn't sold in this country, it's probably the lightest weight 432 portable there ever was. It puts out 2.5 watts, which is OK for mountaintopping or other portable operations, and runs on 9 C-cell batteries. It has 10 memories and a place to plug in a PL board, which would be helpful in other parts of the world where there are repeaters in this band segment. Of course, in the U.S., there aren't any. Only covering the lower part of the band is be excusable, since most all modes of that vintage were comparable. What is inexcusable is that the BNC connector on the front of the rig where the rubber duckie goes is the only antenna port. Oh, it has the hole (covered up) where the external antenna port goes on the FT-290R and FT-690R, but it has no connector there. This means that if you want to use it with an external antenna (say a nice beam) you either have to use an adapter or wire the antenna for BNC. Both options are too lossy at UHF frequencies, IMHO. An "N" connector should have been provided, and that quirk is a real minus on this rig. Let's face it, even most portable operators bring a better antenna. I've had two of these (I just got one for the second time at Dayton), and I probably would be rating it a "5" if not for this peculiarity. For performance, the simple, analog, Icom IC-402 is probably a better portable choice. I wish I could have it's performance with tthe convenience of a digital display like this Yaesu has.