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

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.

 

The FT-818 is now listed on the Yaesu site. They have a couple of pictures and the pdf manual so I guess it is real.

 

I will be up to the dealers to come up with reasons to buy the 818 vs the 817. Now I wonder how long it will be before the 817 will be referred to as a "Limited Edition" and we start hearing comments like, "You better buy an FT-817 while they are still being offered." Is a phaseout of the 817 already being planned?

Looking at it another way, it's nice to have options — as long as they last.

 

I honestly do not care what Yaesu does anymore. With what is available these days, They won’t be getting any of my money for this or any of their lame c4fm junk.

 

Had an 817ND - was nice AFTER install of the much-missed Collins filter, gone now. Tasted Elecraft and it was like, "Ahhh, I see."
If they haven't put a decent CW filter in there I have zero interest.

 

I was thinking that myself. I got my 857D on sale for $699.95 a couple of years ago. The 818 is as much as new 857 rigs. If you remove VHF/UHF, that is more than either the LD-5 or LD-11 by LNR Precision cost. Their DSP filtering is top notch...so to speak, as is their sensitivity and audio. The 891 was a serious upgrade from the 857's features for /M and /P. This one seems to either not mention additional features or there aren't any...