Yaesu FT-818 -- The FT-817ND Replacement Available Soon

I'm one of those 817 guys but I totally get where you are coming from with your 857 experience. I'm thinking that the "new" 818 isn't going to find that place in today's ham's hearts as did the 817. If these specs are correct then the dollars to features ratio just isn't there.

73,
Al

 

The manual for the ft-818 ison the Yaesu website however if you really want to read it open the 817 one you already have..I just looked through it and seen nothing that would make me pay almost $900 when for 200-300 more i can get a kx3..I love my 817 it has always done what i wanted for the most part but I will NOT even bother with an 818 nor would I tell anyone else to bother with even looking at it..Time to go Elecraft or something else for me if I upgrade my qrp gear...SAD Yaesu very very SAD and epic fail

 

I think you nailed it.

 

If the 818 is not much more than simply a revamped FT-817, much better and better received if Yaesu had just released this as version designated such as an FT-817 MKII like they did with some of the other radios in their lineup. However, I get the feeling that it is going to be more than a worked-over 817, that it offers a whale of a lot more and may not have the same looks as the 817 and thus the reason for being so vague about it. Not only does it keep everyone guessing, it allows Yaesu to cough up improvements not even imagined at present. (I can hope and dream)...

It would create quite a shake-up if they came out with a different look, better/easier viewing on the display using OLED or even a larger, tilt up display that could be folded down to cover the front panel when not in use plus other features that only Yaesu could dream up. Then the new radio could better justify a higher price and a new following. Even if there were a connector that would allow an accessory display, larger and easier to read than the display in the 817, it would be a plus. A USB jack would work here with the proper interfacing. Then the price would justify getting an outboard display that would not be much larger than a cell phone and plugged in and, perhaps, mounted on top of the front panel of the radio when in use then dismounted when not in use or transporting. Hmmmm!

"Trading up" could become another feature of the 818 if a series of subtle improvements were made to the 817.. But this change would only be universally well-received by the general QRP community if it were just as compact, comparatively speaking, and as light weight plus less power consuming when compared to the 817. It would not be too well-received if we only see in the brochure such things as "tilt-up front feet" and other things ("Top Grain Cowhide Carrying Handle") not overly appreciated by mountain toppers, etc.

The changes in the 817 would have been better appreciated, I believe, if they had done it like TenTec did with the Argonaut. With the Argonaut, it became a "type" of radio with more and more modernization which incrementally became increasingly more desirable. However, if you opened the first run of Argonauts and compared the inner workings with the latest versions, you'd be amazed at the modernization and improvement. In fact, Argonauts are still in demand by QRPers in a somewhat similar way to the 817.

 

La principal diferencia con el 817 es que viene con VHF y UHF ademas de las bandas de HF, creo que esto es más versátil y es una gran mejora, todo en un solo radio.

 

My Spanish is, well, non-existent really, but I think I get you. The all-mode all-band versatility of the 817 was very appealing to me when I was looking for a first rig. (Yes, I said FIRST rig.) Portable operating really appealed to me and the internal battery (as deficient as it was/is) was a big selling point. It's not that the 817 was ever the greatest QRP rig on the market, but as a portable rig it really shined, especially when the sun was still running QRO.

73,
Al

 

This disappointment about the FT-818 is the biggest non-event.....

In fact, it's really easy.....pretend the FT-818 does not exist..... and it's still the FT-817ND......and for the most part, nothing has changed, except the price; which, as consumers we can all agree we don't like rising prices. However, one could chalk up most of the price increase to the addition of the TCXO-9 option....which used to be an optional add-in and is now no longer an option....it comes with the radio, standard.

Yaesu didn't indicate to anyone that the radio was going to be "upgraded"...it's not like they leaked out a press release indicating a future upgrade, and got everybody's hopes up, only to leave everybody disappointed.

My information is that the unit was changed due to a "technical redesign" coming as a result of required component changes. Maybe their hands were tied and the design had to be re-approved by the FCC. Maybe they weren't allowed to call it a FT-817ND anymore....who knows. So seeing as they were going to re-release a radio...maybe they figured that they might as well include something "value added" ie. increased TX power, battery life, and TCXO. As I say.....pretend nothing has changed. The radio is still available to the masses more or less as it was before.

For those saying....."well, I won't buy an FT-818 because my FT-817ND is good enough, or the same"...... yes, that's exactly the point. Why would you uselessly spend (more) money on a radio that was essentially the same as what you have now? Nobody is forcing you to buy it. Unless, you're the type who has unlimited disposable income....to which I say "good for you". Seems to be a lot of people in this world, though who have nothing better to do than "buy the latest and greatest"... simply so they can brag about it, and be the first one on their street with the new toy and say "look what I have". Human nature I guess: greed.....and showing off.

As we are all consumers, we vote for the products we have by shelling out the money and buying them. If you don't like the radio, then don't buy it. If you think the Elecraft KX series radios, or alternate are better portable HF radios....then go buy those instead. However I say comparing the Yaesu FT-817/818 to Elecraft (or whatever) is apples to oranges, because the Yaesu is a whole other animal (not just HF....it's all mode VHF/UHF as well....there is no other QRP shack-in-the-box radio choice in this market, at this price point, except maybe the FT-857D, another Yaesu product. But it's not truly QRP either.). Yaesu (still) has a stand alone product in this category with no direct competitors...

So, life moves on......and nothing has changed. The radio will continue to be sold to those who want it.

Time to move on, folks..... Wait for Dayton and maybe there will be something truly revolutionary to talk about.

 

Glad to have a KX3. I am not interested in “old technology.” Come on Yaesu, give us 21st century technology.

 

Glad to have both a FT-817ND and FT-857. I am not interested in "old technology" either. C'mon Elecraft, ICOM, Kenwood, and all the others.....when are you guys going to stop ignoring all of the all-mode weak signal VHF/UHF operators out there?

 

When those bands because useful where I live

With that said, I was always perplexed why Elecraft only offers the 2m module for the KX3. Making the rig a sliver bigger to allow for both a 2m and 70cm unit would have been wise on their part, me thinks.

 

I stopped to think and remembered that the lowly Jeep helped win WW2 and the Jeep is still with us. However, it's not a four-banger hunk of steel, anymore. It has been modernized to such a point that it's hardly recognized as the descendant of a tank without the armament and extra gas can on the back.

Still, though, it's nice to have a car that is so unburdened with modern technology that when you open the hood and drop a wrench inside the engine compartment, you can hear the wrench hit the ground. Nice but it's another trade-off since cars today tend to last longer before engine overhaul and/or replacement. More of the old Pros and Cons.

Some bells and whistles on all we buy are designed to get our attention and cause us to want them. It's a mix of salesmanship and economic coercion, in many cases, but it can also be a big factor for those who know what they want and are willing to pay for it.

One big consumer question that seems to be less asked of ourselves when we see a lot of flash and glitter is: "Do I really, really need this?" Sure, we can all live with less but then comes the follow-up question, "Are we really living when we prefer the bare essentials and deny ourselves the little extras of life?" Most people don't stop to ask themselves such questions, they automatically find themselves reaching for their wallets.

 

14 pages of Yaesu sucks. I love it!

 

You're absolutely right. I think much of the frustration is that amateurs have been telling Yaesu, directly or indirectly, what they want in an 817 successor, so many people are feeling like Yaesu flat out ignored them. Now, if this was simply an engineering change to keep the 817 in production with some component/board changes, that's cool, but they shouldn't have named it the 818. They should have called it an 817NDa or 817ND Mk II. Another aspect I have heard bandied about is that if they are trying to extend the lifecycle of the 81x rather than end-of-lifing the radio, it probably means that they aren't actively working on a KX2/3 contender we all hoped for and that's a disappointment.

 

Really? You're going to bring that whole "Ford vs. Chevy" mentality to amateur radio? Some Yaesus suck. So do some Icoms, and some Kenwoods. A lot of people have joined in on this thread because they want to see Yaesu produce a successful descendant of this popular radio that we can all enjoy. We are all here pinging Yaesu a bit but it's with constructive criticism.

Why would you love people bashing a particular brand of radio? That's just not helpful in any way.

 

I definitely would have considered the FT-818 if it at least had parity with my KX3 and ideally had a USB sound card and USB CAT control. (I feel that the 817 is a bit more rugged for portable use, at least out of the box.) As it is, I just don't feel the value's there.

Maybe next generation, I guess.