I'm wondering why they're announcing this now. The 891s and 991s haven't been in stock for a while now. Plus, the FT3DRs are in stock and they're not that old IIRC. I'm not complaining necessarily...any innovation in the hobby is welcome. Just, it seems odd so soon after the release of the 3DR.
Well out of 16 Yaesu radios sold at DX Engineering only 3 are on back order the FT991A, ftm400 and ft60. Of course these are some of their most popular radios.
I haven't seen anything in the specs that makes it a step up from the FT3D yet - apart from the increased speaker output from 700mw to 1W. It may have been driven by availability of parts for the existing FT3D, much like the FT817-FT818 upgrade. It seems odd that they have a new radio out so quickly though.
Probably because Yaesu gave up on the FT3D. Maybe it makes more money for them to bring out a new model, than trying to fix all the bugs the 3D had.
Makes perfect sense. Just come out with a new model since most hams just have to have the latest and greatest then send a few to the Youtube used car salesmen to peddle as the best ever BUY BUY BUY! Makes perfect sense.
I just wish someone comes out with a simple stupid handheld rather than "it's packed with features". Honestly who uses a quarter of the crap in a handheld. I just want rugged and easy to use in the dark, in the rain, in the mud. If you need the manual along with the radio it's useless to me. My biggest gripe is handing it to someone who then hit's the wrong button. Then no communication occurs. It makes no sense unless your a wallflower and want the latest gear.
My FT3DR decodes less than half of the APRS packets the old FT1DR receives. Guessing it lacks 100% rx duty cycle. Great battery life, so long as you only need every other packet!