My biggest gripe is the decimal on the display will break the squelch every couple of khz when scanning the 2 meter band. Even with the squelch maxed out it will still do it. This thing is useless as a scanner. Same sort of thing happens in APRS mode when scrolling through the station list. It will be interesting to see if this is corrected in the new one.
So what happened to the FT4 model? There's already an FT4 digital mode, so maybe they're skipping over it. I bought the FT2 just weeks before the FT3 was announced. Eventually got the FT3 a few months later. So I'm NOT taking the bait for the FT5. de Steve N6VL
looks like a FT3d with water rating and rubber on the corners, 2 led indicators vs 1, and couple red buttons. So, plastics upgrade. Yaesu's marketing person could do better with the release write-up.
I really like my FT4XR. Compact, sips the battery, readable display, rugged, plenty loud and good reports of transmit audio. Can't beat the price. Only 1 gotcha, configuring CTCSS tones is not entirely straight forward:. For some reason it defaults to set up the RX tone, not the TX tone. Edit: above just an aside, I know the '4 and '5 are not at all in the same ballpark
I have noticed by FTM-400XDR is Full duplex, as it is cross band repeater option. Dual Receive is already in the FT-1D and FT-3D but they wont RX when you TX. My V71 Kenwood also will do full duplex as it also is a cross bander. On the ftm-400 I noticed when talking on 2 meters on band A the 440 repeater on band B was still receiving. We can hope but I would imagine that would have been the specs the resellers have published.
I'm always disappointed in my amateur radio HTs and I could never figure out why until I held an ICOM IC-A25 airband HT. It's super simple to use. Built like a tank. Big screen. A bit expensive, sure. But I'd pay the same for any ham HT that matched its ergonomics, usability and ruggedness. I don't understand why Yaesu (and other brand hts) try to cram more features into smaller and smaller form factors. Maybe other hams like the ergonomics...not me. I like holding a brick that's easy to input frequencies and program right from the keypad.
^Then an FT-60 would be great for you for little money. It is a brick and can be used as a blunt object, especially with loaded with 6AA cells as an option. Currently sold out now, seen used ones with an accessory sold for the price of a new one lately in the Swap Meet.
Would be sweet: 2m, 1.25m, 440. Built like a tank, big honkin batteries that last for days, kickin TX/RX, KISS TNC. 5-7 watts. I can dream.
Pretty close to the forced discontinued TH-D74 I have, if you turn the led back light display off so it doesn't kill batteries and come on till you use it. [chips to build it got burned down]
Yep, I sold the D74 cause the battery barely lasted a few hours and it was too $$$ to really USE it if you know what I mean. I'd like the described HT at about $250
I own a D74. Overpriced as it was, it was still not as well built as the above referenced airband HT. I do like it, but it's not the same.
