What to know, what to avoid, and how to make it work. This video is a general knowledge base answering potential questions that a ham would have about buying a used radio from Japan online.
One of my good friends has traveled to Japan several times (and also married a Japanese girl). I have had some interesting discussions with him and a couple things he said to me likely are part of why these radios are being offered cheaply on eBay. One is that it is illegal to throw away appliances and furniture. There's basically a fine/surcharge that must be paid in order to recycle of them, and it's not cheap. And second is that culturally, Japanese people hate old appliances. They tend to want new as it is way more of a status symbol to have new stuff there compared to the US. Of course, don't take this for actual 100% fact, but it is an educated guess.
I was looking for an inexpensive vhf/uhf radio to add to my shack as my HT wasn't up to the power task and my old Conar 450 stop working and doesn't have PL. I perused the listings on ebay for used radios. Very interesting offerings. As I looked at the descriptions on the listing I noticed many where for use in Japan only, meaning they were not set up for the USA and therefore some parts of the band plan would not be available in the radio. Some descriptions were a bit vague. I decided to forego the Japan radios and stayed here in the US market. Ended up purchasing a new Icom IC-9700. More radio than I was looking for but it will be fun exploring all its features, especially satellite. 73
Thanks for this. Answered my question on if it’s worth it. For me it isn’t. I have bought vintage film cameras from Japan with great results however. Thx
If you know what bands you want to work, and like the cheaper price they aren't a bad deal. It's only a problem for folks who buy not knowing their favorite repeater may not be available. The real issue to me is that it is not clearly indicated in the e-bay ad what the seller is getting. IMO it borders on a fraud issue for some of the sellers who list shipping from US states, when in reality they are coming from Japan.
Say you've done all your research and are ready to pull the trigger on a radio from a seller in Japan. Ebay generally tells you the price and shipping costs, but just hints at US customs. What have you been paying in customs costs, and is there any other info on this subject you can share?
Several months ago I bought what I thought was a Yaesu FT-857D from Japan. Paid about $1100.00 for it. I was shipped by Fedex and came rather quickly in my opinion, about 3 days. The original factory box had been opened but all of the stuff inside had obviously never been opened of the plastic bags everything was pack in. It looked like "open box". Came with 2 manuals printed in Japanese. Quite some time later I was looking at the box it came in and it said Yaesu FT-857DM. There is also another label that says for use in Japan only. Now I guess I'll have to take it to a radio shop and have the specs checked on it.
I guess you've found out by now that you were sold the Japanese domestic market version of the radio. Band limits differ (Japan is in ITU Region 3) , the radios are not "MARS modifiable" and the manufacturers' U.S.-based service centers will not repair Japanese domestic version equipment. This is the danger from buying from third-party sellers. Stick to buying from the U.S.- based retailers.
@@jamespuckett6457 the knob broke off upon arriving due to poor packaging....it cost me quite expensive to get refurbished knob,the seller really making good fcking money....then the ribbon broke off....easy repaired..at last i bought 100watt amplifier for the radio...i was unable to test it as i am outstation...if i knew im gonna spent alot, i would buy Made in Indonesia HF Radio, cheap, high quality, functional radio...
I purchased an Icom Ic-7000 #1 with Japanese frequencies. The HF frequencies were easy to open from 1.6Mhz to 30Mhz, minus the 26Mhz to 27.99Mhz. The receive was easy to modify from 30Khz to 200Mhz, then UHF is 400Mhz to 470Mhz. I can not find a way to modify the transmit on VHF and UHF. They are still locked on 6 meters 50Mhz to 54Mhz, 2 meters 144Mhz to 145.99Mhz, 70 centimetres is 430Mhz to 439.99Mhz. I have tried many configurations and 2 meters and 70 centimeters remain crippled. I just gave up and will be selling it as an HF and 6 meter radio only. The 2 meter and 70 meter bands will only be bonuses for sideband use and maybe data.
Now I am curious, what are the basic HF band differences between Japan and the US? I'm going to watch the other videos for the conversions! Interesting video.
The HF are about the same, maybe exactly the same. However, 2 meter and 70 centimetres are heavily crippled. 2 meters covers 144Mhz to 145.99Mhz. 70cm covers 430Mhz to 439.99Mhz. The MARS modifications only increase HF transmit, except for 11 meters. VHF and UHF do not seem to be modifiable for transmit. Though they can be modified to receive a lot more. 6 meters is the same.
@@indridcold8433 And I've seen some old Kenwoods "New in Box" from Japan for extremely high prices. Likely been in storage for decades. They should be selling for a lot less as they could be quite gimped internally by now... It's a gamble.
I recently bought a full Japan only ftm-300d. Not realizing that it wasn't set up for US band plans. FedEx would charge me $300 to return to Japan. F u c q k! Any good use for this now that I'm not sending it back.
Sure, APRS and many digital modes run on the lower portion of VHF. You also may be able to access or create a Wires X node in the Japan bandplan and access Fusion. Or, if you want to access repeaters and nodes on the higher VHF frequencies, set it up with crossband repeat on UHF to another radio and still use all of the radio's digital capabilities.
While looking at ebay; saw a ICOM IC-290. (Understand IC-290a is USA) Besides the voltage conversion issue, is there anything else which requires attention ? Also, is there no duty issue ? BTW, my main interest in this radio is the ability to work CW on two meters. Seems like it would be a good way to practice CW because I cannot put up a respectable HF antenna.
Well, this appears to be a mobile so 12 volts is 12 volts. Just bear in mind that Japan bands for 2 meters are 144.000 to 146.000. It's an older rig, so I'd imagine it can be opened up. BUT this is what I talked about in the video! Unless you can find some mod to do it you are on your own. I didn't see one. Won't be a problem if you're doing CW on the lower portion of 2m though.
Thank you tim , i have been wondering about those radios coming from Japan You have given good information now i can see what is good to buy thank you again
I bought an ICOM ic-7100 from a Japanese seller and I love it. Only thing I don't care for is not having full use of the 2m and 70cm bands. It came with everything and the CD. I paid $850 shipped but probably would have passed for a US model if there was any indication that it was the euro version. My bad for not checking the seller on that one but it really is a great radio.
Cool video. I recently saw a wave of ICOM 52 (HTs) flood ebay before they were available in the US. Not that I had an extra $700 laying around but I wondered if these were legit. All my equipment is second hand and don't have any complaints. But then again, these were all local hams that my BIL K2EAG has known personally. 73 de K2BNY
Somewhere around $180 shipped for the TS-780 and I think a little under $350 for the TS-790V. It was close to a year ago. No duties and taxes whatsoever. Incidentally the radios are still working great!
@@timpoliniak7361 great! thank you so much for the response. I am considering buying a Bluetooth speaker from Japan on ebay and I was concerned about this whole duties and taxes thing that sellers put in their descriptions. So hopefully I will be safe if it is under $200.
@@Ross_Eddy speakers are under a TOTALLY different classification for Japan customs. Even though ham radios HAVE an internal speaker, the shipping classification for speakers is much different. They consider them a magnetic hazmat or some such.....it was explained to me once. Just a heads up.
