now down to $579.95, and a free HM 12 mic and cable assy too. I just bought one for my SUV. @ that price, I'm not very worried about using it in a vehicle. The HM 12 will stay in the shack tho.
I've had my FT-891 for about two weeks now, and I find it to be top-notch in terms of performance. The transmitter delivers a solid 100 watts and the receiver is sensitive and selective. Even down into the NDB frequency region around 200-450khz it performs well. This is a GREAT radio for the money. Well worth it, no doubt. But I do have a few minor beefs: 1 - The method for changing bands. What the heck were they thinking???. Traditional up/dn buttons are MUCH MUCH better. 2 - Ditto with Mode switching. 3 - The internal speaker (to me) sounds HORRIBLE!!. And you cannot fix this by replacing the speaker because there is nothing wrong with the speaker itself - the radio as constructed forms an acoustically tuned audio chamber which makes it sound the way it does. Easy to test this yourself - remove the upper case screws and then gently tilt the upper case up and away from the speaker. You will notice an immediate and dramatic change in received audio quality. Replace the upper case and audio becomes quite focused and VERY tinny so as to cut through surrounding noise. Good news is that you can easily fix the issue with the use of an external speaker. --------- If you're on the fence about buying one of these radios, I say go for it!. My little personal nitpicks certainly do not detract from an otherwise fine radio
so far its been a great mobile radio,, Also new Firmware , DSP, and Panel display updates came out yesterday
At $579 I will be buying one. I will probably wait closer to the date the rebate ends 11/30. That is an incredible deal, I wonder why they are discounting it so much.
I just replied to your post in the other thread. Here is what I wrote there: You can make your own cable, but I just bought mine off of an ebay seller. My Tokyo Hy-Power 1.2KFX works with it. The cable the guy made for me goes from a Yaesu-type plug, and a 1/8" phono to RCA's on the other ends. Those plug into Send and ALC on my amp. You have to set one of the menu items in the radio to LAMP to make it work. There is a Facebook forum or two for the FT-891. Someone there will probably know more. The FT-891 isn't the cleanest signal out there, as has been referenced. I found that it is a must to keep the ALC at 1/4 to 1/2, and no higher, for it to behave in a friendly way. I'm not sure what drive you need for the AL80a, but at 50w output, the FT-891 is still clean enough. According to the ARRL, it is on the dirty side above that. If you keep the ALC down below half on peaks, it helps. Keep that in mind. I didn't buy mine with the intention of amping it, but I find I'm actually doing it, on occasion. A Japanese ham with scopes and whatnot took a look at my amped FT-891 signal, and he didn't see anything in terms of splattering, and not much different than the average IMD he sees with the issues the ARRL mentioned. He was 500 to 600 miles from me, if that means anything. It does flick the amp needles higher than my Icom 7300 does, if I don't stick to my rule about keeping the ALC peaking at 1/4 to 1/2. Probably because it's transmitting and amping some additional crap. If I am careful with the ALC, and drive around 70w-75w max, I find I'm good, on mine -- that crap is kept to a minimum, in terms of needle flickage differences from my Icom 7300 (how's that for technical? Bet the engineers are vomiting about now). You might want to look at the updates to my review... here (Pros and Cons will tell you enough): https://thestingyham.blogspot.kr/2017/08/yaesu-ft-891-review.html Of all of the downfalls associated with this radio, if I were to pick one that bugged me a bit, it would be the HISS in the headphones, at low AF gain levels. I found one pair of headphones that have highs cut substantially, and they do not hiss. But others do. Also, the rear speaker out port hisses even worse than the hard-to-find side headphone port.
That will not be a problem. I usually drive with about 50watts. That is an excellent article on your blog!
I have had a chance to play with the ft 891 for a couple of days. I'm very impressed with this little radio especially for the price. It has a learning curve with the menus and multifunction buttons but makes sense after studying it awhile.
Under the stingyham cons "11. Some user settings, like signal bandwidth, return to default, when switching between bands." anyone know if the all filter settings are lost or retained when switching between bands? Thanks.
Not all, per recent updates. I haven't installed the newest update, but my RX bandwidth does change between bands. It is a quick-menu setting. I also lose my NR filtering settings between band changes (it turns off, if memory serves). I have to turn it back on again, when I change bands. The longform menu settings seem not to change. For example, the TX bandwidth does not change. Other settings, such as high/low cut and Slope adjustments in the longform menu (from 11-01) do not change, either. What specific filter settings concern you? I'd be happy to check directly.
For some more info, here are my mic settings for the Yaesu FT-891: Yaesu FT-891 Microphone settings https://thestingyham.blogspot.kr/2017/10/yaesu-ft-891-mic-settings.html
I sure do appreciate you taking the time and sharing all your info here and on your blog sir. It helps a lot of folks out. I don't own a 891 yet but was wondering if the firmware resolved some of those issues. Gigaparts was sold out of these a few weeks back and mtcradio is currently sold out in their brick and mortor store. Pretty popular radio. 73
The FT-891 is a great rig at a great price but as with everything, there are a couple of small thorns but nothing serious . I and my company are developing a control program for the FT-891 which allows quick & easy band and mode changing(overcomes the FT-891 LSB/USB switching problem), direct frequency entry, quick access favorites, full metering with selectable analog & digital modes, and many other features. When finished, this program will be freely available to any who wish to use it with no charge and no limitations whatsoever. Here are a couple of screenshots of the prototype which I am using now: With analog multimeter: With digital meters(red light shows transmitting): If you would like to be notified when this program is available for download, then leave me a note via the contact form at http://www.carasmfg.com (contact link upper left) and I will contact you when it is ready.
Anyone know if the 891 works with the popular MFJ-939 antenna tuner? If so, would you press the tune button on the MFJ or the 891? Looks like it would be a good compact combo for portable. Thanks in advance.
