FT-2000 + DMU

One of my previous radios was the Yaesu FT-2000. I bought the radio in June 2007 after long deliberation. It was a particularly hard decision, as my existing radio was the Icom 756 ProIII which is in itself a superb piece of kit. You may well ask yourself why I would want to replace such a great radio? As mentioned on the home page, I am principally interested in meteor scatter and other weak signal communications. Such pursuits require a favourable combination of variables; antenna, radio, coax, preamp, QTH, QTH and QTH. If any one of these is not premium then you could be losing valuable dB's of signal!

With respect to QTH, I cannot stress enough the importance of a good location. It will make the difference between easy QSO's, hard QSO's and No Contacts. Let me explain by way of a real-life example:- Two stations with identical antennas, almost at the same height, I am one, G0"xxx" is the other. We both have relatively short runs of quality coax, we both have access to the same QRO. G0"xxx" can work EME. I cannot work EME. We are around 200Km's apart and when looking at the moon, station Gx can sometimes hear signals at minus14dB directly out of the speaker, while at the same time the signal does not even appear on my waterfall! Considering I live in a small rural town it is hard to believe that my noise levels can be so absurdly high. That is the way of things and I must live with it. I will look at the issue of noise on another page.

It is the issue of noise which led me to the choice of the FT2K. Don't misunderstand, I was under no misapprehension that another radio would cure my ambient noise level but every dB of noise counts in weak signals comms! User reports and bench-tests were showing in a most convincing way that the noise figure of the radio was ahead of the competition. Some of my acquaintances and friends on KST chat were also indicating the same. It is one thing to be influenced by reports of users from the likes of eHam but it is quite another when amateurs you know, trust and often respect, are also reporting similar findings. I bought the radio from a respected emporium and when it arrived I set it up beside the ProIII with the full intention of conducting my own personal A/B tests.

The Findings - short note If you are expecting a full and frank review, with test figures and commentary about design features and deficiencies, you will be very disappointed. There are other far more qualified and experienced labs with this information published which IMHO renders any such contribution I could make, void. I therefore will present my personal findings about features, performance and ergonomics in a far more subjective way, concentrating on the 'feel' of the radio directly from a user's perspective.

The Equipment As a ProIII user with some mileage under my belt I approached the FT2K with a quizzical perspective. They are very different radios although they are pitched at the same level and end-user base (well, kind of). Straight out of the box the ProIII was on the air and access to the controls both front panel and menu-driven was intuitive. The smart colour LCD screen was a joy to behold and fed back a lot of information, especially for a 4m and 6m op. Like many ProIII users, especially on 6m, I quickly came to rely upon the spectrum scope.

Once I ordered the FT2K, I was determined that life with the new radio would be rosy and the after-market "DMU" (Data Management Unit) was an extravagant accessory and entirely unnecessary. The loss of the spectrum scope would be unfortunate but I didn't have one before the ProIII and I was convinced I could easily revert to a life without a scope... How wrong I was. I don't think I lasted 10 days before I caved in and shelled out the additional £700 for the DMU. As each day went past I would look at the advertisements for the DMU and review its features, trying to convince myself that the extra features the DMU made available were simply covetous and unjustified. In the end my viewings of the DMU served only to increase my appetite in stark contrast to my intention of dissuading myself.

The Radio With the FT2K on the bench and fired up I set about searching for the hard-to-reach stations. Initial comparison with the ProIII on 6m revealed that the FT2K seemed a superior receiver. The noise floor and indeed the signals themselves seemed just "that much better" than the ProIII. I confess to being a little surprised by this as I had expected very little improvement, believing that the ProIII was a difficult contender to beat. But beaten it was, just.

On presentation, with the radio energised there is a huge array of front knobs and buttons, most of the rotational knobs were dual shafted and had two functions. The display, in comparison with the ProIII was well illuminated and not prone to loss of contrast as the ProIII does in the presence of strong daylight or sunshine. There is less information available than on the ProIII and this I found disconcerting. I also preferred the warmer looking signal meter on the ProIII compared to the cold, icy feel of the FT2K's meter.

At this point I feel it is fair to say that my initial impressions of the FT2K was that I was disappointed. The ProIII has an ambience; a character; a friendliness even, this is missing from the FT2K. The Yaesu is like a snoozing wild beast, ready to awaken and send the user into a frenzy of confusion. Out of the box, this radio is NOT ready to use. At the time of writing, the FT2K is probably the most user configurable radio on the market (SDR not withstanding). Hidden within the depths of a menu-driven radio, which only really comes to life in the presence of the DMU which displays far more elegantly the intricacies of this radio's beating heart.

With plenty of A/B comparisons under my belt I began to realise that something wasn't quite right about the 6m aspect of the radio. The PA never delivered 100w, only about 85w at best on JT6m and FSK. More worrying was the RX.... Read on.... Operating on the preconception that the FT2K's RX was almost second-to-none, having been convinced of such by my respected peers, I was finding that the signal levels were always down on the FT2K compared to the ProIII. Presuming this to be the quieter receiver I proceeded on the basis that it was simply a signal meter discrepancy. Then I came to the A/B marginal signals test and that painted another story altogether!

I found in test after test on weak beacons and CW that the FT2K's receiver was not quieter because it was so good; no, it was quieter because it was less sensitive! The so-called quiet receiver was missing weak signals the ProIII heard or signals were harder to copy on the FT2K than on the ProIII - all with the DSP noise reduction systems turned off. This was not good. Following this I spent ages looking for evidence of similar discoveries online but none were obvious.

Armed with this discovery I went hunting for a service manual and looked at it very carefully. Finally after hours of contemplating the design I put the radio into service-mode and adjusted the RX-gain. This made a tremendous difference. Now the FT2K was no longer the silent stalker with the incredibly quiet RX, indeed it sounded lively and enthusiastic almost like it wanted to find some juicy DX to focus on! Don't get me wrong, it was a fine radio to begin with but just not fine enough for me. I'd just like to say at this point before I get swathes of emails about RX-gain and S/N, yes I know!!! But it was clear after the RX-gain had been increased a little that it was set too conservatively prior to commission. Now the two radios were equal on 6m. But only equal and the FT2K was certainly NOT superior in this one aspect.

I soon grew tired of the A/B tests and waned to get to know this fellow a little better. I am no stranger to intricate amateur radios; I have had in my time (not in chronological order), the FT767GX (with all modules), IC-746, FT-847, TS-2000, IC-706, IC-7000, IC-756, FT-857, FT-897, IC-706MKIIG, IC-756ProIII and I know I have missed some. Most of these radios were menu-driven and had their own intricacies and quirks. I feel that all of the radios in some way prepared me for the FT-2000.

Almost all of the FT2K's front panel controls were immediately recognisable to me, even if the names were not entirely familiar. Only the VRF and contour were new concepts which needed further investigation. The menu system however was another thing altogether... Actually now with hindsight, with the added benefit of the DMU, the menu navigation is sweet and really very easy. Soon I had the radio singing my tune and I flitted around the amateur bands looking for weak signals to practice my technique for reducing the QRM from strong adjacent interference.

I was happy. That was until I went to use the auto-notch. What a bloody waste of time that was. Not only did it not notch out anything but it rendered the desired signal practically unreadable! I am glad to say that with subsequent firmware releases, this has been made considerably better. Still not there just yet, but better. Then there was the digital noise reduction. My golly what a pile of old shit that was. Never in my life had I heard such a disaster posing as a useful function! Without question this function was harsh beyond all belief, lacking in user control. One could be forgiven for thinking that Yaesu installed the wrong chip for this function - or maybe put it in back-to-front...?

Am I being harsh? No I am not. Compared to the ProIII, the FT2K's implementation of DSP was preposterous. On the ProIII the noise reduction and ANC were a joy to use, the FT2K's comparable functions were unusable. This I found to be my greatest annoyance and for a while I truly believed that even with the DMU, I had been robbed of a good station, for by now I had sold my ProIII and damn sorry I was, too.

Well, they say that time is a great healer and I think that I am over the love-affair with the ProIII and my Icom tinted spectacles have been replaced with a more philosophical pair of clairvoyant eyes. Why clairvoyant? Because I can see into the future, past my prejudices to an FT2K that is a truly inspiring radio. Above all, the most redeeming feature of this radio is the user upgradeable firmware. Already Yaesu have ironed out some of the idiosyncrasies that made the FT2K a bug-bear (pun intended) by the release of timely firmware updates. I cannot call them upgrades as they are firmware releases that move the radio ever closer to its originally published specification which was not mirrored by the first year's batches of radios.

However, I am ever hopeful that the radio's ability to be updated by field-installable firmware will allow this machine to blossom. Time has passed and I have gown familiar with the FT2K. They say that familiarity breeds contempt, well in my case it is quite the opposite. I have come to like the radio for its qualities and capabilities and learned to live with its current deficiencies which seem to be eliminated by Yaesu, one by one as the firmware evolves.

For me, this radio is a keeper, but only just. If you were to offer me a ProIII for a direct swap, or even one with cash, I would not take it, laying odds that sooner or later Yaesu will get the radio right. Indeed the latest Icom 7700 which boasts some of the finest specifications available to an amateur grade transceiver would not tempt me; I have grown not only accustomed to the FT2K but also quite attached to it. Yes I would like its remaining deficiencies addressed, yes I would like it to make me a cup of tea in the morning. I am sure that the FT2K will have many of its troubles solved and as for the tea - well we will just have to wait and see...

[Update 14 April 2008] :-(

Enough is enough. I have tried to love this radio the way I loved my ProIII but time it turns out, has not been a good healer for me. Contrary to my statement above that "the radio is a keeper" I have decided otherwise. Yaesu have failed to make this radio into what it is capable of being; the recent firmware releases have done little to satiate my need for this radio to perform to specification. Having done some research I conclude that it is VERY LIKELY that the FT-2000 will never come close to my expectations of a radio in this class. To this end I have dumped the FT-2000 and bought a proper amateur transceiver - one that delivers; the Flex-5000.

The ProIII and the FT2K are toys by comparison.....

The End

p.s. May 2008, Eham has this radio rated at 4.2/5. Out of 53 reviews of Yaesu radios in this section, the FT-2000 comes joint 9th position out of 14 scores. Not a very glowing review huh?

Data courtesty of eHam.net

http://www.eham.net/

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Previous Radios, the definitive list:-

So what radios have I owned and what did I think of them?

FT-767GX: my first radio after becoming licensed, with 6m, 2m, 70cms modules fitted. 1987.

In some ways I wish I still had this rig, I have some fond memories of it. Despite getting some bad press, I found this radio to be eminently a performer and I never felt that it let me down under any band conditions. Yes selectivity was a bit poor, but this was the original shack-in-a-box, come on!

IC-746: My first dabble with digital, 1998

This was a rugged performer and the 100w full duty on 2m was tremendous, but I wanted 70cms back.

FT-847: The VHF'ers' stalwart, 1999, 2004, 2007

I have actually owned 3 of these, the first was a dog that had been got at by a CB'er :-S the second was a nice example but was not a UK version and there was a lot of spurious emissions when used on 4m. In 2007 a friend wanted one so I obtained for him, a very clean example of a UK version, I installed the G4FUF internal preamp and completed a PA mod (not the L5005 slug). Regretfully my friend died before he received the radio and I keep this radio in memory of him (and the bugger never paid me LOL).

TS-2000e: Very rugged piece of kit

I dreamed of having one of these some day. The selectivity left a lot to be desired but otherwise a nice radio. Then I hit hard times and had to sell.

IC-706mkI: Bought on eBay for £80!

It was in the wrong category and slightly faulty but I soon fixed that! Only 10w on 2m was a let-down.

IC-706mkII: A better performer

A number of enhancements were made over its predecessor and I ran one of these in the car for quite some time, with the full separation kit.

IC-756: This was the best 756

The above statement will probably irritate ProIII owners but it is a fair statement. Yes it had its quirks and was let down by poor QC on the LCD display, as most of them end up with blue lines (you can buy replacements again now).

IC-706mkIIG: A huge '706' improvement

I also had the good fortune to have one of these in the car, with an AT-180 auto-ATU. I enjoyed the radio considerably and it's 4m reception was pretty good too!

FT-817+ FT-817ND: Wow, all that into a matchbox??

It has to be said, hats-off to Yaesu for making the 817. Like all radios it had it's weaknesses, like no speech compression which this baby really needed. To be fair it is possible to get after-market compressors to fit inside the microphone. The ND model was meant to be an improvement. Although it was more stable, it also consumed much more energy and had a poorer battery life. I still have the original 817.

IC-7000: Well adjusted to modern ham radio.

I completed the TVRO mod (I had an SMD rework station left over from mobile phone repairs) and watched Spanish football on Es LOL. Tremendous little radio, they fitted it all in there! It was in the car for a while but attracted too much attention. One night my XYL frightened off two burglars who had already removed my collinears and were peering at the radio:-S It came out of the car after that. In the end it didn't get used and collected dust :-S

I originally planned to rework the TX filters to enable the radio to TX on 4m, as it has a capable 4m RX (maybe just a little deaf, not much though) and as a result did some preliminary work with the shift registers which I put on 4m.org. It is reproduced here for reference.

FT-897D: Bought for /p

This was bought at a time when I thought I was going to be bed-ridden for some time and I wanted a good all-rounder which was not too big, but could pack a punch. I enjoyed this radio but think it is probably too menu-driven for some tastes. (Not mine). I sold it when I realised that the anticipated surgery was too considered dangerous and aborted. I bought:-

IC-756ProIII: Now this is a radio!

With hindsight (prior to the Flex) the worst thing I ever did was sell this radio for the FT-2000. It was a joy to use and to behold! I was convinced by the conviction of others that the FT-2000 was the way forward in the 21st century. So I bought:-

FT-2000 & DMU June 2007-April 2008

I will say nowt here as it is expanded upon in the left-hand-column. Glad to be rid....

Flex-5000: April 2008 - April 2009

"All other radios are toys..." More HERE

Reluctantly forced to part with this due to third party software incompatibility with PC x64 Operating System. Simply spectacular performance. Deeply unhappy to be rid. . .

Icom IC-7600 April 2009 - December 2009

Oh boy, what can I say? If I had owned any other radio than a Flex-5000 before buying this I would have been thrilled with it but the fact is, I did have a Flex before buying this and was bitterly disappointed. I knew that making the transition from SDR back to conventional radio would be a bitter pill to swallow, but I never banked on just how bitter that pill would be.

I made a total of 17 contact on this radio and 12 of those were resulting from the need to test a new broadband vertical I had designed. In the end it simply didn't measure up to the experience I had with the Flex, so I returned home to the F5K.

Flex-5000: December 2010 +

Unable to cope with the deficient performance of conventional radios I was forced to return to the only radio worth owning and at long last, due to improvements in third party software, I am FLEXing on Windows 7 x64 with Triplex receivers and space / polarity Diversity reception; and very happy I am too!

So to sum up, I currently own:-

Flex-5000a (main station radio)

Yaesu FT-847 (Main 2m/70cm, + backup RTX)

Yaesu FT-817 (general dogs body)