Hello Operators Topic of the day is the Yaesu FT-891. Many field radio operators have turned away from the Yaesu FT-891, because of thd specs regarding current draw on RX, published on the Yaesu website. Having owned the Yaesu FT-857, and 897 in past years, the current specs for the 891, seemed somewhat off- In fact, I wondered if Yaesu simply published "worst case" numbers on the site, without bothering to publish a range of numbers which would make more sense to potential buyers. So, in this video we'll be measuring the current draw of the Yaesu FT-891 at RX, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, and 100 Watts. Background I've had many requests on the channel for such a video. Operators would like to compare current consumption to other popular rigs like the Yaesu FT-857D, Icom 7200, Icom 7300, as well as understanding how hungry this radio is when deployed in the field. Despite the heart crushing review from the ARRL, I have found this rig to be a better investment, than the up and coming FT-818. Opinions may vary, I've got mine. Enjoy the video. 73 Julian oh8stn
To make a valid test - you have test current consumption on all bands. I reviewed PA design for this radio, and I found that it uses MOSFETs with significant gain change at 1.8-50 MHz frequency range. This may lead to different current consumption on higher frequency bands. In comparison, IC7300 uses MOSFETs with constant gain over HF/VHF/UHF bands.
Thanks for the video and the effort behind it. I thought the same thing when I saw the 2 amp draw spec, and basically dismissed it out of hand to too much Tokyo 20% Rice Sake...(just like the quirky items the radio has, like resetting both the width and shift every time you use the band button, not saving width and shift settings in the memory and some others.) But, what makes me very happy is that you, Julian OH8STN, one of the premier portable operators has obtained the same radio I recently have also chosen for portable/mobile, really likes it, and is using it while making videos about it ! I'm looking very forward to more ! Thanks so much ! Don NX1Q
Excellent point. I wanted to get valid feedback to improve my test. I think your comment is it. I'll repeat the tests, on each band in the coming weeks. 73 Julian oh8stn
Hi Don I'm just a guy too stupid to stay warm in winter. My only "regret" was the current draw @ 5w. I got over that kind of quick when I realized the receiver was what it was. Thanks for the kindness. 73 Julian oh8stn
Hmmm... Very close to oooooold icom 706mk2g... 5w - 5,2А 10w - 5,6А 20w - 7А 30w - 8А 40w - 9А 50w - 11А http://433.com.ua/forum/ICOM/3724-icom-ic-706mk2g#6886
Aside from the video the radio still works well enough great video.TY Other best noticible on this radio it is without vhf & uhf no Rf failure on 70cm like ft 100D and 857 with swr warning and smd rf switching problems as newer radios are becoming too small inside to work on go figure with hf & 6m less issues. Still having a 891 will beat a 818 it is just better economically.
Hello Julian, Thanks for the vid. I've been eyeballing this rig for a while now. The rubber don't meet the road in a brochure! If you have one of these rigs and it works for you, then that's that in my book. I wanted to grab that one the was for sale here a week or so ago for 400 something. Somebody beat me to it. Imagine that! You may be right about the "worst case" scenario. In the vid you did show a bit of straight rx consumption but there wasn't a signal being received. That was running around an amp. I also noticed in the vid that the "spec" was 2A (signal present) which assumes the radio is doing some additional work and most likely generating some audio as well and the spec on the audio is 2.5 watts max which would add to the rig's receive mode work load. I can see a busy receiver chewing up a little more power than an idling receiver. Not sure it would be 2 amps worth, but must be considered. Maybe that's the "Max Audio" consumption rate. Have you looked at it as an idle receiver versus signal present, generating audio (other than the noise floor)? Maybe even take that out to headset vs. speaker. That would be interesting to see as well. Glad you're out there doing reality checks! Thanks again Sir. 73, Stay Warm, Stove Lit, Have Fun! Ed, WE7H
For worst case receive it needs to be tested at 13.8V +15% AND 13.8 V -15% , full audio out with a signal present (full modulated SSB with the preamp on ) . Looking at the specs and assuming that you tested with zero audio ... my best guess is 1.7 - 1.8 A and then pad that with 10% due to component tolerances (yours may draw a little more or less) . I think you'll come out pretty close to 2 amps .
For those of us who remember lugging around a 35 lb. FT-101 + car battery and thinking that we were operating "portable", this is such a treat!! .
I noticed the actual draw on HF was lower than advertised. Both on idle and full 100 watts key down. Glad it isn't just me 73 KD9CJX
