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Reviews For: Yaesu FT-450D

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

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Review Summary For : Yaesu FT-450D
Reviews: 164MSRP: $899.00
Description:
160-6 Meter Base/Mobile/Portable Transceiver.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.yaesu.com/indexVS.cfm?cmd=DisplayProducts&ProdCatID=102&encProdID=870B3CA7CFCB61E6A599B0EFEA2217E4&DivisionID=65&isArchived=0
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
151644.5
K2VI Rating: 2013-01-08
BIG RIG IN SMALL BOX Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
What a surprise. Built like a sherman tank. The internal tuner tunes fast. The receiver is real sensitive and many adjustments to the contour,dsp,width,notch ect can be made to make this radio shine with rigs double the price. Puts the icom 7200 and ft897 in the dust. They have no internal tuner and the price tag is a few buck more. This radio can't be beat for it's price point perspective. Buy one. You will be a happy ham camper.
PU2NBU Rating: 2012-12-20
Gold Medal Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
It is my main rig in my shack

Great rx and tx capabilities

Easy programming, once done it is set!

regarding price & functions, there is no competitor

in spite of the internal tuner, i also have the ldg yt-450 one

works with several antennas: commet 250, dual beam pro and many wire ones

no audio hum in myne, dsp works, nice and large dislay

I will buy another for my expediton off-road trailer

73 to all !
N4QA Rating: 2012-12-19
MARS mod = good rig Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Received my brand new FT-450D, having ver 0211 firmware, on 12-12-12.
No 60m CW transmit.

Downloaded ver 0227 firmware.
OK, 60m CW transmit was then enabled but several functions did not work in the same manner
in which they did on all other ham bands.
Could not abide that.

So, I tore the rig apart and removed jumper JP4002 and followed the reset routine.
AKA MARS mod.

Now my FT-450D is a *real* ham rig.
Fun to operate.
Common features on all ham bands, 160-6m...*including* 60m.

CW output from the rig is just ok...certainly not 'Legendary Ten-Tec QSK'.
CW from internal sidetone is superb...but, as heard on a separate receiver...not-so-much.
Tolerable though.

This is my very first Yaesu transceiver and I like it a lot for a host of reasons,
not the least of which is rock-solid frequency accuracy & stability.
Having the capability of running 100 watts of power output is also cool.

My 9 y.o. Icom 703 (experiencing intermittent transmit failure - again -) is now collecting dust).

73,
Bill, N4QA
M0GNA Rating: 2012-12-19
The Bees Knees. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
A fantastic well built rig.It ticks all the boxes with me.A compact easy to operate rig.I love it.More than happy with it.
WA2EHL Rating: 2012-12-18
Great Performer Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Congratulations to Yaesu for correcting the hum problem.Although all is necessary is to turn up the brightness if you have that problem. I apparantly have a recent build out s/n 2F710205.I now own both 450at and 450d.Sold my FT-950 and believe the 450d has a hotter receiver and dsp functions.
KC7NYI Rating: 2012-10-04
great buy Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
LIKE THE RADIO, BUT ANTENNA TUNER WILL NOT TUNE: 80 METER DIA POLE, 40 METER DIA POLE AND WILL NOT TURN VERTICLE COMET. USING LDG 200 PRO 2. OTHERWISE GREAT MONEY FOR THE MONEY. BY THE WAY LDG 200 PRO 2 IS A GREAT TUNER.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by KC7NYI on 2011-03-26

had a ft450, the few changes really make the D a better radio for me. Angle works better for me. tuner works great. yaesu did a gtreat job.
KC9WHL Rating: 2012-09-24
Great entry level rig Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is my first HF rig. Purchased if $950. I don't have a lot of experience, but have used the internal tuner and a G5RVJr strung up between the peak of my house and a big tree. I have made contacts all over the US, Canada and one DX to Panama. Yes, it has it's limitations, but for a sub $1,000 rig, it is really nice.
AC4BT Rating: 2012-08-31
Best value for a full featured radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is a great rig! As far as practical features, functionality and price are concerned the FT-450D has no rival.

The Positives are many:
1) Three filter widths are included and they work great and are easy to use and change on the fly.
2) All features are easy to access using the well-thought out menu system, you can even program one of the front keys with your favorite command.
3) The audio coming from the built in speaker is fabulous, loud and clear. I also have an Elecraft K-3 and the audio from the FT-450D is much better quality.
4) if you are a CW operator, there is nothing else to buy, filters are included. I have it set to Full Break-in and am using the 500 filter (there is also a 300 if you need it) and have found so far no need to invoke any of the DSP capabilities.

The only cons I see are:
1) The built in Antenna Tuner will only tune, at most, a 3 to 1 swr, anything higher and it fails, therefore, if you are going to rely on this Tuner your Antenna needs to be resonant on the Band you operate. I use an outboard tuner so this is not an issue for me.
2) In CW you can hear the relays open and close as you transmit. Usually I wear headphones so not an issue for me. After a couple of QSO's I totally forgot about it.

The rest of the rig shines. You get a full featured rig for about $900 that outperforms most other rigs costing twice as much. There is no learning curve, it's that easy to use. I am a most satisfied customer. This has got to be the best value for a transceiver under $1000 out there.
KA3PCX Rating: 2012-08-20
great radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just purchased this rig after owning the ft-857d, & ft897d. The difference is plenty, first, you do not have to buy extra filters, the filters are built in! Second it has an automatic antenna tuner, which comes in handy! 3rd it is very compact & the controls are more handy! The only difference is you do not have 2 meters & 440.!
NX8P Rating: 2012-07-28
Very nice portable radio! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought the FT-450D for a portable radio, but I am finding myself using it from the home shack quite often too! This is my first Yaesu radio. I've used mostly Kenwood and I have a Flex-Radio. The FT-450D is a nice little radio. Easy to use and easy to learn the menus and functions. Receives well with my G5RV and transmits excellent. I've received great feedback on my audio quality while on the air with the MH-31 mic that comes with the radio. Lots of features and a step beyond just a basic radio. I like the big frequency readout. The key and headphone jacks are conveniently located on the front of the radio. There was lots of thought and logic put into engineering the FT-450D. I thought about purchasing a small QRP rig before this, but why would you? Spend a couple of bucks more and get this radio. You won't be disappoionted. Well done Yaesu!