| VK2JAF |
Rating:      |
2002-07-09 | |
| Superb |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I have owned the FT100D for more than 12 months and find the rig excellent. I also have an FT1000MP, which i have run side by side. The FT100D was to be my 2 meter rig, but due to the space taken up by the FT1000MP, it has now (at this stage , become the "main" rig). The radio is superb, and i give a hard work out on PSK31 and SSTV using a buxcomm interface. I have done the mods for SWR and fan, although i have not experienced any problems prior to the mods.
All i can say is that this rig for portability, and features is a credit to Yaesu. I have no "dramas" with the radio and would recommend to anyone.
Enjoy,
Derek VK2JAF |
|
| WB8DD |
Rating:     |
2002-07-01 | |
| Not Perfect - but close. |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Reading these radio reviews really helps in
making a purchase decision. Here's my take
on a recently purchased Yaesu FT-100D.
First off, yes, having to modify a brand new
rig is ridiculous. But, the results are well worth
it if you plan on keeping this rig any length of
time. Do the fan mod - it's simple, and
eliminates all temperature issues. Having
to perform a few simple mods, is the basis
for a rating of 4 instead of 5.
Pros:
SSB works great for both receive and transmit
(after mic baffle mod). Very sensitive receiver.
CW also works great, the stock 500 Hz filter
is nice. Fully adjustable keyer. QSK is noisy
though. The DSP eliminates the need for the
optional 300 Hz filter.
AM - for serious SW listening, the optional
AM filter is a must. For casual SW listening,
the receiver is ok, but very wide. (In the 817,
they seem to have accomplished 6 Khz AM
without an optional filter.)
Noise Blanker - IT WORKS ! And it's "tunable".
The default setting eliminates not only
ignition noise in the car, but power line noise
in the shack. Gone.
DSP - This alone is worth the price of
admission. The noise reduction brings the
weak signals out of the noise easily. The
notch filter reduces hetrodyne whine, but does
not eliminate it entirely. The bandpass filter
is just plain impressive for SSB - great for
tailoring the signal audio, and on CW - it
makes the signal sound SO GOOD ! I find
myself not even using the 500 Hz CW filter,
rather, just tune at the 2.4 Khz SSB setting
and punch the DSP DBP button to zoom in
at either 240, 120, or 60 Hz. Clear, undistorted
signal with no ringing.
Cons:
Installing optional filters. Don't try this at home.
I'm an electronics tech by trade, and installed
the optional AM filter. It is DIFFUCULT, to say the least. Pay the bench installation fee. There
is more to disconnect then the manual
indicates.
QSK - the relay is noisy. Almost any QRP
rig does QSK far better, but they are not 100W
rigs. There is enough flexibility in the delay
settings to find one to suit your preference.
Summary: A very good radio with a few minor
flaws. I've never owned top-of-the-line radios,
but this is the best I've ever owned. On paper,
the DSP swayed me. In practice, the DSP
made a believer out of me. It's a keeper. |
|
| KE9IN |
Rating:      |
2002-06-30 | |
| Works fine for me |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| My FT100D is a high serial number and has worked just fine from the first day.When the agc is properly set, I don't have any desensing from strong adjacent signals. You can get some thumping if the agc is set wrong. I think the filters are very good with steep skirts, very little blowby. The mike mod is merely removing a baffle that is designed to cut down on wind noise and puffing when close talking the mike. As with any rig, read the manual and set up the mike gain properly or you can overdrive and splatter. You can also use the dsp to tailor the audio to fit your voice. You can also use carrier offset to accent highs or lows. Mine runs quite cool on hf, unlike the Icom 706 MKIIg I had. You could darn near fry an egg on that thing. Two months of use and have always been pleased with the rig. 73, KE9IN |
|
| AB7E |
Rating:      |
2002-06-30 | |
| Impressive performance for such a very small size. |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I've had this radio about a week and I rated it in terms of it's intended usage as a mobile or small desktop rig. It doesn't compete particularly well against my 756Pro, but it does a remarkably good job for such a small 100 watt rig. I used it on CW in Field Day last weekend and found it entirely usable even in a contest... it has a nice crisp keyer, the 500 Hz filter in conjunction with the narrow DSP bandpass setting picked signals out of crowded pileups, and desensing from strong local signals was pretty minimal. On the air reports on SSB have also been quite good ... although yes, I modified the microphone per other recommendations on this forum. The modification was easy, and I then enlisted the help of a ham friend to listen to my audio while he picked the best equalizer setting for my particular voice. While one side of me is annoyed that Yaesu couldn't get it right the first time (or even yet), the other side of me doesn't really mind making simple improvements that don't take special equipment to accomplish. At least I received everything I was supposed to ... versus my two experiences with Elecraft on rigs that have gotten straight 5.0 ratings here on this forum in spite of missing or defective components. Maybe I'll find out something in the coming weeks that changes my mind on the FT-100D (I plan to make the fan modification before I use it on VHF), but so far I have no regrets buying it. Installing it in my Ford Ranger was very straightforward and I have clean signals on both receive and transmit without any special precautions or line filters. |
|
| KIKADD |
Rating:  |
2002-06-29 | |
| Trouble at YEASU ?? |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Bought the radio for Field Day , everone says it has the worst audio they have ever heard! I have read Yeasu has A mic fix for this , why did they not fix it before it left factory? Now I read that Yeasu has a fan-modification the transceiver .
GEE when the get through we will have help build their Radio!!!
|
|
| WB8CAC |
Rating:   |
2002-06-24 | |
| Could be happier |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Better than root canal work, but not much. On the positive side, it is a nice neat rig with a very good range of receive tuning increments. For the most part it transmits well. Receive is good if there are no very strong signals nearby ( say within the adjacent 2 bands ).
The transmit audit is marginal, but supposedly can be fixed with a mic mod ( why isn't it shipped that way?) The DSP works well on CW and that is important because the receiver would be nearly useless otherwise. Strong CW signals sometimes over 10 KHZ away can be heard "thumping" merrily away even with reduced RF gain, agc setting and stock 500HZ filter in. The DSP gets rid of something it shouldn't have to.
After 3 days of use, one of the fans started making a severe grinding noise unless the radio is sitting perfectly level. The options are sending it back to Yaesu and hoping to get it back in a month and a half ( if you're lucky ) or replacing it yourself. From what I am hearing, this is a common problem and it is much cheaper to do it yourself with an aftermarket computer fan. Don't know what the warranty impact of this would be.
CW wise, the QSK is ok if you don't mind listening to relay clicking all the time... come on Yaesu, move into the current century. Keyer speed has to be selected from a menu that you have to recall from wherever you last left the menu... inconvenient.
Also menu items like keyer speed and output power are selected from a 0 to 100 scale which has no relation to WPM or WATTS. Seems like they could give up direct readout of what was really going on, might make operating more fun.
The rig is capable of QRP. Mine goes down to about 1.5 W on CW. Looking at the output on the scope while QRP shows considerable overshoot above selected power before the signal settles to desired power ON EACH DIT AND DAH. I can't hear the effect, but seeing it doesn't make me any happier. |
|
| KG4BMH |
Rating:      |
2002-06-17 | |
| "Weak Signal wonder" |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I must say I am quite surprized with this radio . It has a very good front end reciever. It also has a good Noise Blanker { It really works}. I use this radio for VHF "Weak Signal" work as well a VHF contesting........
The Didatal bandpass filter is awsome . I used this radio during the 50mhz F2 opening to Europe this last winter and had no problem breaking the pileups { Some split operation}........
I have preformed all the mods including the mic mod {Though it seemed OK without it} .
73 Everyone.... |
|
| SM6VKC |
Rating:      |
2002-06-09 | |
| GOOD AFTER MODS...! |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I have owned my FT-100D for allmost a year.
After modifications of microphone for better audio and making the fans running on slow speed during VHF/UHF recive the rig is OK.
Before fan-modification the transceiver was
hot during reception but now it keeps cool.
|
|
| K5PSO |
Rating:  |
2002-06-08 | |
| vertex standard ain't Yaesu |
Time Owned: N.A. |
From QSO #1, EVERYBODY told me my audio was horrible. Seems you have to modify the mic to get it to sound good. Huh? I bought the radio in January, it SMOKED in Feburary on 10 fm. Now it's June, and STILL not back from Yaesu! You know, I did have some fun with this radio. This radio, new in January, can be shipped to YOU directly from HRO Anaheim if you would like to purchase it whenever they decide to fix it! Might be a year or two! Who knows?! Hey do the mic mod and maybe it's your dream machine. I've already replaced it with an ft900, a real Yaesu radio, Sorry, FOUR MONTHS for a warranty is absurd. 73, Dan
----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by K5PSO on 2002-02-20
In the car or in my apartment this radio is providing me with a barrel of laughs, lots of dx, and bands on which I've never been before. Seems real solid and well built. I like it! My other rig is an s-line. 73 Dan |
|
| WHOCARES |
Rating:      |
2002-06-02 | |
| Great Radio |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| I've had this radio for about 6 months now. Works good on all bands. Never had it mobile yet though. Never used any digital modes either. I like the display, filters, memories, etc. Takes awhile to learn to use though. I personally don't mind that. If I wanted a radio that you could just tune in the frequencies and talk, I would have gotten a 40 channel am cb. (hate comments about people saying a radio is too hard to use) Once you figure it out, it's a breeze. Don't have anything bad to post about this radio yet. The only slightly annoying thing is the loud fans when using late at night in my quiet room. |
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