Love your videos on these great microphones! I have been looking for so long to know what these numbers and letters mean on these mics,, T-UP9 etc etc? I tried to take a screen shot of your Astatic data sheet on your wall but its just too blurry. Any chance of getting a copy of that? Thanks for the videos. 73
I just last Friday took delivery of my very own , and rather immaculate FT-1000D . By the way , more like 1990 . Incredible , no , insane piece of kit .
As an old timer of 55 years I enjoyed your review. My first SSB rig was the Heath SB 102 that I used until 1980 when I became inactive until 1998 when I bought a second hand TS940 which is vintage 1985 analog. Can see how yaesu took a lot from the 940 design when they made the FT1k. The cw on those analog rigs is still sweet sound. Looking at the magic Sherwood list those older rigs do not lack sensitivity but just score lower on selectivity. Unless you are serious contester or dx'r, those older rigs hold their own. Since I missed the innovations of the 1990*s I ordered an FT920 off of eBay. Still have a Drake C line bought in 2005 but maybe later in the year or next year I will go for an FTDX10 or 101. Just retired last year so like a kid again getting back into HR 😊
Great collection. I also collect and have a large collection too. I just shut down my other site here that had a video on it though. Too much time and headache. It was called the "CB Radio History Channel" Someone already mentioned that you are missing the "Silver Eagle Plus" which is similar to the Silver K Eagle, but the Plus has only a single tone Roger Beep, but the Plus adds VOX which the K does not have. Also, similar to the Browning Labs and President D-104's, Astatic also made a DAK stickered D104 with a DAK sticker on the back similar to the BL head, and also Astatic made a special D104 for the rare ARF-2001 radio. It was called an ARF-D104 on the base plate and had a Special Blackish Greyish colored head that matched the ARF radio plus the head had a D104-C ceramic element, and the base had a special FET amplifier circuit designed by ARF but made by Astatic. The combination of the ceramic head and hi-fidelity amplifier plus, the "servo amplitude" design of the radio was supposed to give you excellent wide range transmit audio. The radio was very rare, less than a thousand made, and the Mic is much harder to find than that radio.
Honestly, you have too much damm Mike and only one mouth, you are depriving a lot of people a mike, think about it for a second, watching from Jamaica west Indies !!
@@N1IA-4 ahahahah oh really bro, I don't give a fuck what you say, or think about how I talk, that jus me being me, a damm warrior, an a old navy seal from Jamaica west Indies !!
Ahahahah oh really bro, can I have one ??. I can't get them down here in Jamaica to buy, I also have 2 that need head crystals, an I can't get any to buy, can you help me out please an thanks, watching from Jamaica west Indies !!
I found your video as I was researching one of these microphones. I seen it on facebook marketplace, it does have a sticker so I am guessing it is newer. I just got into HAM radio. I have an older Kenwood TS850S as my base unit, and I also just had an older microphone rewired to use on the Kenwood. I am wondering if this too could be rewired to accept the 8 pin connector? I like the idea of older stuff, and these do look the part! Thank you for the video, very informative, I am thinking I will pick the one up I seen for sale! Thanks again.
I have both, A flex 6600, and a FTdx101MP. The Flex is great for some applications, excels at digital modes, but the 101MP is a notable better radio in both TX and RX. That multi button in the middle of the 101 still frustrates me. Who ever thought that was a good place for that control?
Great Video - I’ve been in the computing industry for a long time, and for me having the ftdx101d with all its knobs and dials is a refreshing change from computer driven interface. Using the ftdx101d captures the experience that is, the ham radio/shortwave listening experience! Good luck with your radio and enjoy!
The dream of many European operators. Although the original D104 was intended to be a microphone without an amplifier and to work with old AM transmitters from the 1930s-1950s. They had very high impedance, thanks to electron tubes. Then came the time of dynamic microphones, which were better suited to modern SSB transmitters, it was the 1950s and 1960s. D104 entered the AM CB radio service, but it required an amplifier because CB devices were mostly transistorized, i.e. with very low impedance. For SSB operators, Astatic proposed a 10-DA dynamic insert. And with it, an internal impedance transformer needed for the high-impedance TUG-9 amplifier. It's a pity that there are no such and similar microphones anymore, only disposable plastic 'garbage'. Good health!.
You know when your in a rocking chair and it have this deep squeaking sound.There was a guy had a mic like that but would never say what kind of mic it was.This was way before toys..any idea what mic it was ?
this radio is like a cadillac sedan de ville. in appearance and performance. the best features are 200w with very excellent tuner, audio peaking filter for cw, ability to handle local noise. very effective noise blanker which also works on FM. that's right, I said Noise Blanker on FM. pause, think about that, Mr Yaesu, sir. the annoyances are: highest sidetone freq way too low, no way to adjust higher. 10hz tuning, excellent receiver audio but put thru lousy audio stages adding hiss and limiting bandwidth. no way to go wider than 2.4khz xtal filter on ssb. no tone adjustment, poor tonal balance, no way to go wider than restrictive 6k on am. you see, once you get used to kenwood audio it's hard to be restricted.
My setup is a 9:1 UNUN to a 35ft. wire fed by 50ft. coax being used as a counterpoise. At the shack a 1:1 UNUN common mode choke. Antenna loads from 80-10 meters. Great antenna.
A top video and many thanks for it! I too have a 1000D, with all the holes filled including the extra cw filter that very few ever had. The 990 and it are of true instrument quality. Please see Nagra, Studer, Leica, Minox, Nakamichi, Sony PCM etc. Extreemly tactile and enguaging to use. Its a proper radio. And it is an all analogue design. I bought mine new in late 2002 in the US of A. Long story. It oozes quiet magnificence. Not for sale at any price. Bw from a G7 / DL7 Mike.
Good Evening Scott, thank you for your video and insight into the various transceivers you have owned and operated. I also enjoyed reading the comments which shows how different we all are. My first HF transceiver in the UK was a Yaesu FT-902DM which I purchased new in 1981. I don’t think I used this radio for 10 hours before I left England and began living and working overseas. I left this radio in the original box with my sister and it sat in the attics of three different houses she lived in. I now live in the U.S. and got my FCC Amateur Radio licenses in early 2021. I bought a Yaesu FT-991A which served me well to start. Long story short, I shipped my FT-902DM to my home in the U.S. I converted it to the U.S. voltage and had a veteran Yaesu Tech go though it to make sure it was all OK. This is a great radio and I love using from time to time. Later in 2021, I purchased the Flex 6400M and truly enjoyed the New SDR experience. As you mentioned, it has a great receiver and it’s easy to filter out the garbage. A few months ago, I purchased a Yaesu FTdx101MP and sold the Flex. I don’t have your long experience in Ham radio, but I do prefer the Yaesu over the Flex and have zero issues with the ergonomics, but this could be due to my experience level. I don’t run an amplifier, so the 200 watts is nice to have. I also had the three optional filters installed. You never say never, but I can’t imagine changing this radio as it serves all of my needs. All the Best.
I remember older hams just saying to "Get as much wire in the air as you can and see what it does." Back then, we didn't use an UnUn to feed the antenna, we just ran a single wire to a tuner in the shack. Those were fun days.
You can make contacts with any tunable piece if metal. Long random wires have weird radiation patterns that vary quite a bit with the band and orientation of the wire (sloper, flatop or vertical). I put up a 41ft random wire antenna (sloper) for fun but find that performance is mediocre. I could put up this antenna as a vertical but it is too long for low angle radiation on 10 and 12m for sure. There are a lot better antennas that are still easy to put up. Model your antenna in EZ-NEC you will see.
72 feet , 9:1 unun, 24 ft coax&choke. Good practicle experiment. Thanks for your time to post this, your efforts will save others a lot of time Take care 73
ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-iP_6Y9bFpq4.html Italy comes clean on helping overthrow our 2020 election. ... All part of the plan. I am curious about how many in Congress knew about this in 2020 and early 2021..... This is strong evidence of treason.... We in the truther movement knew about most of this in late 2020. How many in Congress are actually who they present to be? I mean... who is left? This is something Americans have to know. Apologies for mixing ham radio with an American Coup.
This was made when ham radio peaked and the demand was huge. The competition was the IC781 and the TS950SDX. All three are likely the best we have seen out of Japan. No expense was spared.
Thanks for the video. I own both a Flex 6700 and a FTDX-101MP. Both are outstanding radios but I must say that since I bought the Yaesu, I have not used the 6700 much. I love the Yaesu and have grown to prefer it much more than the SDR.
I have had this radio since 1990 and still have it and it's all I use.... Originally bought an Ft - 990 and then traded it in on the 1000... You'll love it
Hello Scott, this was a great video. As for myself, I do not like the buttons and controls. I started off a few years ago with the FT 991A but when I came across the Flex 6400, I realized I found the radio I could understand. It really depends on a person’s preference, knobs/dial or SDR. Even today I only use my FT 991A for local vhf/uhf repeaters with a Raspberry pi and the MFJ 1234 server software. My background has been with computers, networking and VOIP communications. For these reasons the SDR was much simpler for me to learn how to operate the software and radio. I just was no good in turning knobs or even remembering which knob to turn. I did use Ham Radio Deluxe with the 991A which heled me do better at operating the 991A, but the Flex 6400 also provided seamless remote capabilities. This was important to me since I am on the road 4 months of the year. I did also order the Maestro but was on backorder. My first remote operations were at our condo on Orange beach Alabama. I realized during that time the laptop tablet actually provided more that I wanted which included allowing me to get on the Web, email, and search RU-vid. And again, I don’t like knobs and dials, thus I did cancel the Maestro and purchased a great laptop/tablet combination for less the cost of the Maestro. I think for me the other big driver was the band situation awareness the Flex provided me both in the shack and remote. I am looking at the same screen being local or remote. Before purchasing the 6400 I did consider the Yaesu FTDX101D. Thanks for taking time to develop this video. 73 Randy KN4YBA
Thanks Randy. I still own and use the 101ZD, and I'm not sorry I made the switch. I can understand the need for easy remote operation in your case...and the Flex 6400M fits the bill perfectly for that application.
Pretty confident I will buy one of these soon, I had an FTDX10 to play with for a few months, much the same applies to the ergonomics but was soon able to interface it to a Raspberry Pi to do remote operation and digital modes. For normal SSB activity I have also been spoilt by old rigs with dual receivers on separate antennas. Sadly many of the Eham reviews state the radio cannot do things which it can. It is a shame that many owners have not had the attention span needed to learn how the radio works. The RF environment has changed a lot over they years, as much as I love my "Classic" rigs the SDR topology has a lot going for it. Edit: I have now had my FTDX101MP a month or so, added the optional filters figuring I will get plenty of use out of them over the future years. Hopefully I will not be seeing the inside of this radio again for many years to come. Very pleased with the radio, predictably the image rejection is not impressive, if you tune around 32MHz you will hear stations operating on the 20m band. Of course this is the price of having a low first IF frequency. Since I don't usually tune around 32MHz I don't regard it as a big issue. Noise reduction is very impressive, playing with the FTDX10 previously did a lot to convince me...
I've always wanted one of these rigs and after a short hiatus away from the hobby a local SK's family was selling his FT-1000D which is in amazing condition both cosmetically and functionality. It's my primary HF rig and mine is a 1995 model. I only use SSB and have worked further than I thought possible with only simple homebrew dipoles and the 200w. I'm moving to where I will have a tower and a Mosley TA-33 which will really let it shine! I will never sell mine. I got the MINT FT-1000D w/the SP-5 w/Timewave DSP for $700. I enjoy it daily and the only rig I've liked better was the FTdx9000D at W1AW which I operated a few years back.
How is the receiver on the Yaesu versus the Flexradio? I agree that buttons and knobs are nice. I guess it’s whatever you get adjusted to. I run my 6400M on Smart Control. So I use SmartSDR on my Computer. KB3Z
The receiver has that innovative QRM buster feature that is just the bomb. That makes it head and shoulders above many others. Flex had something like this but it was hidden in menus and IMHO not very effective.
Ive used the 1000 for three months now. The receiver is amazing, everything actually works, ie the notch, IF shift and width, dual noise Blankers. I'm finding even with heavy static crashes from thunderstorms, it can muffle them down to a very pleasant listening experience. Since I acquired the ft1000, I also acquired from the same person through my buddy the Yaesu FL 7000 four button solid state matching amp. This guy purchased both of these pieces of equipment new, so I am the second owner. A killer combination, no fiddling with tuning and dipping like in tube amps. Just throw the switch and you are ready to go. Gives me 6 to 700 watts output and the guys on the nets I work say I have the biggest signal from Nebraska they ever heard!
I purchased a 6400 and it had all sorts of issues. I literally had to unplug the lan cable to start it up then plug it back in. Flex told me it was a known issue and a fix would come eventually. So here I am looking at the 101d and the 7610. I’m leaning to the 101d.
Thanks for the GREAT video, Scott! The 1000D was, and still is, a fantastic rig! I loved mine, but after family, kids, chores, career, and no time, I reluctantly sold my 1000D as well…Yes, I regret it! I was a “Too Busy to Key” fellow and went silent for many years. Kids are grown, I’m now retired and really getting back into the hobby! I’d love to find another one! I’ve been looking hard at the Yaesu FTDX 101 MP. Only time will tell!! Peace and Blessings!
Beautiful collection! I'm really happy I found your video. My grandfather gave me his Browning's he had for 30 years. One of the Astatic microphone is The Browning Labs Mic. I always thought it may have been rare,, but never thought too much about it until I watched your video. The casting of the base on a original BL D-104 seems slightly thinner, it just feels a bit different in your hands. As do the very old Lolly Pop Astatics. And the composition of the base metal is a little different and a darker grey base color. I have also found out that some of these actually left the factory with 'flat head screws that held the bottom on. The few BL stickers you could get (non original to the mic) had a slightly different tone of color than the original."I'll never get rid of this beautiful microphone that's for sure!" Thank you for showing your awesome Astatic collection! 73's
There’s something special about the older radios, I had a 1000D many years ago which I regretted selling, I have others, FT902DM line-up an FTDX10 which is also a fabulous radio but I recently saw another 1000D for sale and rapidly bought it for £725 (UK) The quality and feel just draws you to this radio, the heavy tuning dial spins so smoothly, needless to say, my other radios have not been touched in the past few weeks!
