KI4MYD
12-31-2005, 06:51 PM
The Yaesu 1802M is quite a new radio, and there’s a somewhat lack of reviews on it, so I figured I’d write one myself. This was my first ham radio, so I have nothing to compare the features to, but I’ll hit the key points and what impressed me the most.
Yaesu 1802M
For starters, the radio is quite compact, with the face measuring in at 1.5” tall and 5.5” wide, it would easily fit into those compact truck cabs. It still does have some weight to it. The bottom of the radio is a full heat sink. Included in the box was the radio, mic, mic mount, radio bracket, misc. screws for mounting, power cord, owners manual with schematics, and a Yaesu sticker. The radio doesn’t have the “base feet” like the FT2800, and due to its lightweight, it slides around a lot with the slightest tug of the mic, so I Velcro(ed) the bracket to the desktop. Hasn’t moved since. Also, the buttons on the mic are very small and the lettered ones are quite difficult to press.
This being my first radio, and me being new to ham, almost everything in the owners manual was like a foreign language to me, so I did what was required: sit, read, and do. Within 15 minutes I could call up the WX stations, program the memory, and navigate the basic menu options. Within an hour I could program repeaters with input, output, and tone frequencies with no problem. And within a couple hours, I could do anything I wanted and had the radio completely personalized to my liking. For me, a password is required to access the radio, once access is granted my callsign is displayed, and all memories are named… and that’s how I liked it. For someone with previous experience, you’d have this radio down within 30 minutes to an hour.
The Yaesu also has features I believe are new to its kind; a password feature, and a CW trainer. The password feature is great, especially when you have non-hams that are interested in the radio. Just type in a 4 number password to be used. When the radio is cut on, this must be typed in before the radio can be accessed. As for the CW trainer, I don’t have much experience with CW but I did enjoy experimenting with it. You can choose the speed at which to receive, what to receive, and how to receive it. For example if you want to receive random letters at 5wpm with a break in between each set, that’s what you’ll get. It will also send letter, number, and character combinations, etc.
You also can access your home channel from the memory by pressing one button. The radio features a VFO, Memory, and HM setting. The HM setting is the home channel in which you can program a single frequency or repeater with the push of two buttons, and later, call it up just by pressing one button. The memory scanning is somewhat slow, about 1 second per 10 memory storages. That’s enough to miss half of a callsign. So, if you’ve got a frequency you want to continuously monitor, I suggest programming it every 8-10 spaces. The frequency coverage of this radio is wide, from 136.00-174.00, so you can hear all of your local 2M police, fire, EMS, etc. coverage right on your receiver.
The radio has 4 power settings Low: 5w, 10w, and 25w. High: 50w. The specs say that the radio requires 10 amps for high power, but my power supply reads a constant 8 amps. After talking on one of the repeaters on HP for about 10 minutes the internal temperatures were in the mid 120F’s! After tuning down to the 25 watt setting they stayed within the 100 and 110 range. So, by that the radio will also tell you the internal temperature through the menu. If you’re going to talk on 25 or 50 watts for long periods I highly suggest keeping a fan running on the radio.
So far, with a crappy rigged up antenna I’ve been able to access and hear a repeater 50 miles away on high power. I was also able to receive the ISS. I know this highly has to do with the antenna, but when paired correctly, this radio will definitely work wonders. I just can’t wait until I get my permanent antenna up.
Overall I could not be happier! Very easy to use radio, and with a bit of practice, you’ll be able to use every feature without referring to the manual. At the price it’s going for, I’d grab one quick.
Yaesu 1802M
For starters, the radio is quite compact, with the face measuring in at 1.5” tall and 5.5” wide, it would easily fit into those compact truck cabs. It still does have some weight to it. The bottom of the radio is a full heat sink. Included in the box was the radio, mic, mic mount, radio bracket, misc. screws for mounting, power cord, owners manual with schematics, and a Yaesu sticker. The radio doesn’t have the “base feet” like the FT2800, and due to its lightweight, it slides around a lot with the slightest tug of the mic, so I Velcro(ed) the bracket to the desktop. Hasn’t moved since. Also, the buttons on the mic are very small and the lettered ones are quite difficult to press.
This being my first radio, and me being new to ham, almost everything in the owners manual was like a foreign language to me, so I did what was required: sit, read, and do. Within 15 minutes I could call up the WX stations, program the memory, and navigate the basic menu options. Within an hour I could program repeaters with input, output, and tone frequencies with no problem. And within a couple hours, I could do anything I wanted and had the radio completely personalized to my liking. For me, a password is required to access the radio, once access is granted my callsign is displayed, and all memories are named… and that’s how I liked it. For someone with previous experience, you’d have this radio down within 30 minutes to an hour.
The Yaesu also has features I believe are new to its kind; a password feature, and a CW trainer. The password feature is great, especially when you have non-hams that are interested in the radio. Just type in a 4 number password to be used. When the radio is cut on, this must be typed in before the radio can be accessed. As for the CW trainer, I don’t have much experience with CW but I did enjoy experimenting with it. You can choose the speed at which to receive, what to receive, and how to receive it. For example if you want to receive random letters at 5wpm with a break in between each set, that’s what you’ll get. It will also send letter, number, and character combinations, etc.
You also can access your home channel from the memory by pressing one button. The radio features a VFO, Memory, and HM setting. The HM setting is the home channel in which you can program a single frequency or repeater with the push of two buttons, and later, call it up just by pressing one button. The memory scanning is somewhat slow, about 1 second per 10 memory storages. That’s enough to miss half of a callsign. So, if you’ve got a frequency you want to continuously monitor, I suggest programming it every 8-10 spaces. The frequency coverage of this radio is wide, from 136.00-174.00, so you can hear all of your local 2M police, fire, EMS, etc. coverage right on your receiver.
The radio has 4 power settings Low: 5w, 10w, and 25w. High: 50w. The specs say that the radio requires 10 amps for high power, but my power supply reads a constant 8 amps. After talking on one of the repeaters on HP for about 10 minutes the internal temperatures were in the mid 120F’s! After tuning down to the 25 watt setting they stayed within the 100 and 110 range. So, by that the radio will also tell you the internal temperature through the menu. If you’re going to talk on 25 or 50 watts for long periods I highly suggest keeping a fan running on the radio.
So far, with a crappy rigged up antenna I’ve been able to access and hear a repeater 50 miles away on high power. I was also able to receive the ISS. I know this highly has to do with the antenna, but when paired correctly, this radio will definitely work wonders. I just can’t wait until I get my permanent antenna up.
Overall I could not be happier! Very easy to use radio, and with a bit of practice, you’ll be able to use every feature without referring to the manual. At the price it’s going for, I’d grab one quick.