Amateur (Ham) Radio BS and Callsign Thread!

Hi guys quick question anyone run the Yaesu FTM400 in their trucks, been looking at it for my truck and just seeing if any one else is using it?!

 

It's an ok radio.. The Yaesu digital is kinda clunky though.

 

Why do you say that? Yaesu has given us (W1MWV ARC) a hand held, mobile radio and a repeater I'll probably have it on line next weekend just curious as to what people are saying. Yaesu is a full digital unit it does not use a vocoder system like Icom maybe that is what people are complaining about.

 

A bunch of guys in the Phoenix area are using them, for the most part they love them. I used one for an event a few months ago, although I didn't get to play with it to much, but I liked it.

Edit: Here is a link to the 4x4ham.com group page talking about it.

 

They gave a few repeaters and radios out to some local groups around here....
In a nutshell, the analog part was good. The digital wasn't nowhere near as good as Icom.

There's no real benefit to the digital with the Yaesu system. You're still on a local repeater unless you join the Wires network, which has been a real hit since it's been out for eons.... Why invest in all that new stuff, when if you really want the linking, spend $100 on your existing repeater... Oh wait. No one really likes Wires and that stupid button annoys the hell out of everyone else on a repeater

The repeaters, prepare to get friendly with UPS... 2 of the 3 local to me have had to go back for various issues. They can't take the hammering. They also are easily prone to intermod. I think they left the receiver barn door wide so it wouldn't be deaf. If it's an RF busy site, a lot of filtering is going to be needed...

One thing they do right is digital and analog on the same machine. That's slick, Too bad it's clunky though, since you can't cross talk. Shame it's burning up the repeaters. It also annoys the hell out of analog users if they don't use tone squelch.

All of the features seem thrown in instead of truly being a "fusion" They've had the group alert range checker thing idea floating around for a while. Wires is a known evil. About all they did is do digital voice and add in a camera to the mic (Which is a nifty way of doing that) The user interface is cobbled together feeling. Like it was an existing radio they strapped some stuff to.

The mobile radios are pretty typical Yaesu. Nice radios. I liked the screen, mic is standard yaesu. Nothing really stood out as being "Oh WOW". And really, who wants to run around talking about how they now have V/D? I haven't really tinkered with the HT, but it seems exactly like every other HT yaesu has put out.

Yaesu should have went D-Star. Then they could have sold some equipment. It's even obvious to them because everything they put out includes the phrase "Not compatible with D-Star" That leads you to believe that the first question people ask is....

 

Cool Chipskip thank you for the link!

 

Thankyou for the link, just got finished reading it in it's entirety. For now for me anyway the pluses out weigh the negatives. Mentioned before I took a trip down to Ham Radio Outlet in Newark Delaware and physically look, and played with the rig. I really like the capabilities and features it has. I believe as a first time buyer I do have an advantage in not having previous issues with aspects of the different manufactures out there and for lack of a better term their operating systems. That alone I feel is a plus, kinda working from a clean slate as you can imagine.
Going digital for me honestly isn't a huge issue and would rather wait in tackling that aspect. With that being said, I know some of you will say there are analog rigs out there that I should look at and I have, a lot. The features I really like are the remote head, sd card slot, physical dice of the control head, and others. These features are minuscule in comparison, but I also really like the APRS that this rig is capable. The tm710g is also one I am considering heavily.

Thankfully I have some time to research some more. But thank you all for the insight and info and please please keep it coming! Best regards Valsmere

 

Well I'll let you know in a week or two. The PA's are Vertex and have proven them self's in P.S. radios they can pass both digital and analog so you can talk to both types of radios with the same repeater no Wires necessary just a radio capable of digital voice. The Dstar when in that mode is just as irritating to analog radios. I don't see how intermod would be any worse on digital. Yeasu is dumb like a fox giving away radios so we'll see how this all plays out. The transmitter will be replacing a Motorola Micor I build in 96 (the radio was built in 72) so I'm sure it will a lot tighter than the old Micor that plays fine in a harsh RF environment.

 

You have to add the Wires box to gain digital linking. Otherwise you can tie the analog side to echolink or something. I see no benefit in going digital unless you add the whizbang linking and routing you can do by adding that data channel. (And even then, with Wires, you're back to DTMF signaling) Otherwise I'll take a plain ole analog radio and throw a tracker in if I want to do APRS. Couple remote bases, and we're going to town....

The PAs need help. A blower would work wonders. Like all Yaesu radios, they run hot driven wide open. (Remember the 1500M mobile? You could cook breakfast on that thing! Great radio though.) I didn't get to pop the top on the repeater, but I have a feeling it's not the EVX, as it's half as high, and does twice as much. If they would have pushed the EVX line over to the amateur side with the DMR... that would have been interesting.

No one really uses D-Star repeaters in Analog so analog users stay away from them. Most people have no clue that you can do analog over the thing. Because yaesu advertises this thing as dual mode, analog users will program it in and because tone squelch is still a frickin' mystery to hams even today you'll hear the gripe squad.

Newer doesn't make it better. There's a reason people are still building Mastr IIs. My first repeater was a Micor. I sold it to a club in Flordia where it's still on the air.. I have a MSR2000 and when it gives fits I replace the exciter and RX with a pair of GM300s... I wish I had the Micor back.

I agree about the giving away of radios. They wanted to enter the market and get out there, so they are giving away what they have to, to get the repeaters on the air. It's foolish, the 400 is a good radio (It's not as good as the 350 it's replacing as far as APRS goes, but that's another story)

I just don't see a benefit in what you're "gaining" if you had to buy the repeater.

And the LAST thing I would do is display my fancy new standalone repeater with it's cute screen on there is display it with an aftermarket controller they use to crosslink the things. Yaesu engineers are smart. They should have put some ethernet ports on there and wrote the code themselves..

I just really wish they would have went another way. They could have had something really special, and they just disappointed me. I wanted something better than D-Star if they were going another way, and was underwhelmed.


The thing that really hurts all these digital modes is the pancreas net guys...

We will see, I'm curious to your findings. They just have had hard luck down here in 100 degree rock houses.

Oh yea, and since we are talking Digital/Analog stuff... I came across this quite a while ago, interesting read.

http://vk5rex.squarespace.com/blog/2013/5/2/the-mysterious-icom-id-rp2c-analogdigital-switch.html

 

Oh geeze. I stumbled upon this thread and went and pulled out my old radios. Haven't been on the air in probably over 10 years but kept the license up. Between the guns, guitars, truck and now the reawakening of the ham radio bug I am gonna be in big trouble with the wife, LOL. Looks like KG4NRS will be riding the airwaves once again! !

 

Glad to have you back.

I know in AZ there is a big push in the off-roading community to move away from CB to ham.

Looking forward to seeing posts of your equipment.

 

My equipment is old and mainly 2m/70cm. I have an Icom IC 207h mobile rig, Icom T7h ht and a Yaesu FT50R ht. I also have an alinco 10m mobile rig and a hamstick in my shed I think.

Gonna have to buy a new 2m/70cm antenna I think and find a decent mount point on the taco.

 

I spoke through one this morning Analog though...

 

Anybody have a clue as to how to run the wires from the Battery into the cab for a mobile installation in a 2014 DC? I see the large bundle of wires going through the firewall but I don't think there's enough room to squeeze the radio wires in there.

 

That's the right place. I would poke a hole and feed some 10 gauge through the rubber gasket.

 

Yeah that's the easiest place buy some split loom to cover your wiring and don't forget to fuse the ground side either. In case you are wondering about that it's to protect the radio in case of a bad ground to the starter the radio will become the ground point with disastrous effects. Not real common in modern vehicles but possible.

 

Well I got the power run through the firewall...Amazing what a little lube on the wires/tape will do in getting them through the grommet.

Once I got the power run through and connected, btw both sides are fused, I hooked up my old mag-mount and so far have had QSO's on 2 of the repeaters around here with reports of full quieting into the repeaters....WOOHOO!!! Haven't caught anybody on simplex yet.

Now I need to see if I can find the mobile bracket for this radio and the remote head cable so that I can begin routing the wires where I want them to go and get the radio off the passenger seat. LOL. I believe both are discontinued so I may need to just buy a new radio. Wish I had kept track of them when I pulled this radio out of my Ram oh so many years ago.

Thanks for the help guys!! 73 KG4NRS

 

http://www.dxengineering.com/search...aration-cables/fits-transceiver-model/ic-207h

Just get a couple L brackets for the radio body.

73!

 

I'm looking at mounting under the drivers seat so I'm hoping 1 L bracket will be enough.