I had high hopes for a new Yaesu replacement for the FT-857D or FT-818ND at the Dayton hamfest. SUPPORT Membership - www.buymeacoffee.com/thetechp... #thetechprepper #hamfest #dayton
Something is going on there. Icom and yaesu have been steering clear of eachother with their new releases. Icom is focused on these small higher frequency things and yaseu has been doing a lot of mobile rigs which notably icom has not been.
I have been disappointed for years. Sold the 817-857-and went with the IC 7300 and 705. So happy, at the moment. Things change, loved Yaesu for 15yrs. I may go back, will see what they come up with.
I used to be a full in Yaesu guy, the last radio I bought was Icom. I. Just not impressed with the new versions od Yaesu and they discontinued the models I would like to buy multiple models of.
Before the 818 was discontinued, i was going to purchase one in addition to my 891. Two radios for the price of the 705. I am now considering a 705, mainly due to size. That and the weight of it and needing less battery. It would be nice if yeasu would have an ic 705 competitor.
Excellent! Nice work getting your license. Stay tuned EmComm Tools Community is an iterative build. I'm slow moving over features from the commercial version.
It is a little disappointing that Yaesu has not announced a replacement for the 857 & 818. I fear that if/when they do, the radios will not be as simple and rugged as their predecessors.
We just got tossed another curveball as the G90 had a hardware failure, but we're still executing on that exercise today. Stay tuned. This video will be released next Friday on both channels.
I guess it all depends on what you start out with as your first radio. I'm a fan of consistency. In my case, it was great learning the menu for the 818ND and then being able to use the 857/897 without any fuss.
I have the FT-8xx series (817ND for the baby) and they are great rigs, particularly for their age. I don't find the menu system in these rigs to be onerous. However, the newer FT rigs have more features, so more menu entries. I have to work with the FT-891 more to get a sense for its menus and intend to put it in my 4Runner, maybe this summer. It will be fun to be able to use 40m on the road and then do POTA activations when the weather is poor from inside the rig.
@@TheTechPrepper i started on the 891 and loved how easy it was to find things with numbered menus and when everyone was hating on yeasu menus i scratched my head. Later I got a ic705 (something people raved about) and the menu made no sense to me. It really is personal preference but I just appreciated hearing another appreciator of the yeasu menus
Totally unrelated, thanks for your content. You’re part of what motivated me to finally get into off-grid comms and the inspiration behind my Manpack build.
@@TheTechPrepper I’m on the GMRS side of things, so I built mine around a Wouxun KG-1000g plus. I was able to play tag with the local GMRS repeater 25 miles away with both a 15” whip antenna and with an N9TAX roll up slim jim about 12’ up in the air.
@@philrab Very nice. I have KG-1000G. It's been in the box since December 2022. I've been meaning to get my GMRS license for years and built a manpack for it. I have the ARMOLOQ frames too. The N9TAX is perfect choice for the VHF/UHF manpacks. Be careful running it whips above 5-watts. Also, you may want to consider a counterpoise when running a whip.
@@TheTechPrepper the whip antenna I have claims it’s good for 20 watts, so that’s all I throw at it. I got into GMRS because most of the people I want comms with aren’t radio guys and do not want the trouble of a Technician class license. GMRS has a lower barrier to entry, and being channelized it’s simpler for the lay person.
New sub here and glad I found you thanks to the Video with Trex Labs and the 1500 mile video you two colabed with. It looks like you will be a good source to bounce ideas and questions with over EMCOMMs. Thanks and keep up the good stuff. Vic de KE8JWE
Unfortunately, I think we may not see any new announcements from any of the big companies announcing radios like these older, ruggedised, manpackable, Yaesu rigs. My fear is that this design philosophy has completely gone to the wayside, and it’s an absolute shame. Not only did these radios look better (IMO), but they served a specific purpose perfectly, better than any other radio out there. On another note, it will be interesting to see how your operating practices change in a couple of years when the solar cycle starts to come down. The 818 might start to struggle a bit. It will be interesting to see!
I hope you are wrong, but I have heard rumors that Yaesu was working on what they call an "IC-705 killer." I'll wait a bit longer. I plan to switch to the FT-857D and FT-897D when we enter a solar minimum. This is part of the reason why I invested time and energy into learning weak signal digital modes like JS8. I also plan to learn CW in 2025. I plan to adapt.
Excited for the EmComm tools release to public! I just got a good job after not having steady work for about 2 years (tried to start my own business, turns out when everyone in town says the town needs a custom motorcycle shop, they were wrong. Or at least they don't want to pay for work. LOL) I'm getting a membership as soon as I get some stuff caught up.
Take your time joining up. In fact, shoot me an email and I'll send you a free membership. As a small business owner, I get it. Glad to hear that you are starting to get on your feet.
The Japanese market probably can't comprehend the USA's "radio prepared" mindset. Sad they won't even compete with the IC705, the market demand is there.
Yeah, disappointing but not surprised. I have a friend that has a 857 to sell soon and I am stalking. Bought a FT-90 few months ago and although it works (up to 50w) on 2m, 70cm is trashed which is weird, but old radios...who knows. Cheers y'all and happy Memorial Day weekend - salute to those that gave all for our freedom!
Yaesu's half hearted followup to the FT-897D and FT-857D was the FT-991A. All band all mode is only part of the secret sauce for portable and ECOM operations. You need a modest to low current draw on receive and ruggedness. A carry handle on a power hog of questionable durability doesn't make a good portable or ECOM rig. Icom had similar offerings for all band all mode that failed due to power consumption and heating. Let me clarify that I am only speaking of 100W would be shack-in-the-box rigs.
Seeing a new radio release from a vendor is one of the last reasons to go to Dayton. Hope you reconsider next year. Dayton is more about the experiences, the talks and seminars, and the swag (trading/buying/selling/giving/receiving) much more than it is about seeing a prototype of a radio under a glass case. But most of all, it's about the people you get to meet and spend time with there. Hope you make it next year because it would be great to see you.
@@TheTechPrepper I found a direct flight to Cincy. Columbus and Dayton airports are other options. I did rent a car. Also coordinated with N6ARA to share rides, and gave Tank Radio a ride back to the airport. Looking forward to next year already!
I was also hoping for a new radio from Yaesu to fill the void left by the discontinued 857d. They should do a refresh to the 891 and call it the FT-891A. Give it VHF/UHF/HF all modes. That would be a great competitor to the Icom IC-705. Oh well I guess we will just have to wait for next year.
I skipped this year as well. There is a lot to see and some good deals to be had though. I thought you mentioned you were going to be testing a 705. I'll be curious to your thoughts once you use one. I've thought about picking up an old 817/818 as a backup to my 705. I still have my TX-500. I think we will see more small production boutique radios in the coming years.
A member donated an IC-705 about two months ago. It is still in the box due to competing priorities. I plan to carve a 2-3 months to give a full deep dive. I slightly different use case for that rig. It's good to see Tom!
And this is a shame. I found a guy in Texas who will replace the display in my FT897D for 150. I purchased the repro display he recommended as there are several sources. the 891/991A are NOT replacements. Power hungry on receive is the main detractor. N9SAB and I are prototyping a field portable delta loop for 40-10m, but you need a tall tree to hang it or a pole at least 32 feet tall. Probably not something you'd be able to use in your terrain. Stay tuned.
I completely agree. The FT-891/991A are not replacements. The 891 is the right form factor, but the menu system is a nightmare, and as you mentioned, it draws too much current on receive. The receiver is nice though. I have been trying to sell m FT-891 for a while now. I finally decided to give it to my brother-in-law as a gift with the hope of him getting is Tech and General license. i am looking forward to a multi-band delta loop. Tim is a great guy. Good luck!
100% need an 857 replacement. 991a is great, but the 857 had the awesome size with the same power. RU-vid influencers unite, tell yaesu time to roll out a gen2 857
Keep them! Here's a spoiler for the collab video. Isaac's headphone jack snapped off on the G90, so he has no digital capabilities for our targeted contact tomorrow. I just received this news after posting this video. We're stick to plan as a gear can fail during SHTF. This is why I have a healthy distrust for Chinese radios. Japanese radios for the win!
This is the 3A TalentCell on Amazon. It's great as it also supports 5v charging via USB A. I've had this battery pack for 5 years. There's a 6Ah model, too.
@TheTechPrepper Awesome, thanks for the reply. I saw that plastic or rubber cover for what looked like a USB charging port. I apparently missed the video where you featured that battery pack (or didn't have the 817 at the time, so didn't pay attention 😄)
You might consider the 991A. power draw will be more but if you can get past that it's a very capable radio. I've ran mine in the shack for 3 plus years now and have been very happy with it.
I've considered it for a few years, but only for the shack. It's too big for the man-portable and vehicle portable work that I do. I'll upgrade to the FT-991A if the FT-897D dies.
Yes and no. I have actually cooked the finals three times, so for me that radio falls under the toy category for my emcomm work. I love the compact design and price point, but it is reliable. I still travel with it when I need to go ultra light an need to make a contact.
I was a late comer to the hobby, but I would have loved to be involved during the Vertex Standard days. There's something special about that vintage of Yaesu radios.
Where does EmComm stand? Are you about to roll it out to public? I like the military/iPhone set up of system. Looking forward to learning more modes in a no nonsense platform
@@TheTechPrepper thanks. I watched vid and will wait until group install is available. We all have your strong points and mine is not in programming Is there a list somewhere of your approved equipment so I can start gathering needed items to work in line with your system.
The FT-897D is huge. I would personally never running that as a manpack. I've never done it, so I have no idea what bag would be appropriate given the size Good luck tracking it down.
@@TheTechPrepper not in production anymore so would have had to buy two used radios. Just didn't want to wait for two used ones in good shape if I could find them. Plus 9700 tracks both bands together.
Is my 991A still relevant? At some point, I would love to have you over at our house. I _desperately_ need some guidance in regards to setting up my station. Just for listening and learning the controls at this point. I have no need to transmit nor can I until I get my license. Nevertheless, I appreciate the help and your continued dedication to the 2A community, HAM radio _and_ Arizona. Stay classy my friend.
Yes. In fact, I have been considering purchasing one for my shack rig for years. When the FT-897D dies, that's what I will be upgrading to. Unfortunately, I have no free time these days. My wife and the pups rarely see me. When things slow down, I plan to announce some type of meetup for the viewers in the Phoenix area.
@@TheTechPrepper No worries brother. My wife has been encouraging me to crack open this brand new box and start playing with my 991A lately. I literally opened it _once_ at the Phoenix HRO store and that was it! As you know all too well - 'life happens' and things tend to take priority over our hobbies. However, the time has come to indulge in this new facet of my life. FWIW, I stare at this untouched radio sitting in its pristine box, every single day. Alas, I simply cannot bear the thought of this $1200 radio sitting idly in the corner any longer. Unfortunately, I have *ZERO* confidence when it comes to setting up the radio in/around my home. It is quite literally above my paygrade. I have all the necessary equipment to get started. However, I have no idea what I am doing beyond the acquisition of gear. You, my friend, are the *_only_* individual I care/trust to have in our home to help me with this new endeavor. In fact, we have spotted each other around town before, but I never bothered to stop you for an introduction. After all, your Jeep is unmistakable. Just let me know when/if this brief layover in the North Valley is doable. I don't need to capitalize all of your time. Merely a few moments out of your day to help a newbie in distress. Brunch/Lunch/Linner/Dinner/Snacks and/or drinks is on me, Gaston. Stay classy my friend.
You would think with the success Icom has had with the IC9700 and IC705, Yaesu or Kenwood would jump in the game. I was let down as well. Especially with Kenwood. Why no mobile version of the THD75???
I like Kenwood and have wondered why they never jumped into the portable HF market. Personally, I love the Kenwood D710GA. I've been running it in the Jeep for 4-years without any issues. I think that they would make a great portable HF radio.
Definitely a disappointing lack of new products. Given the pace of product development from the Chinese manufacturers, especially on the HT side, I think our best bet for a ruggedized field radio may come from them. Specifically, now that Xiegu has released the X6200, I'd love to see them follow it up with a successor to the G90.
I have a hard time getting on board with the build quality of the Chinese radios. But, you are right, they are innovating. We just had a major fail with the Xiegu G90 for my T.Rex Labs collaboration. The 3.5mm jack snapped off the PCB. More on this coming next Friday.
GMRS packs a lot of value and covers your family for 10 years for only $35 USD. You can always try to memorize the answers for the amateur radio Technician license. The hands on operating is what matters. Good luck!
It's called hope. Those radios have such a cult following and the FT-817/8 is easily the best selling radio over the last 20+ years, so the decision is baffling.
I am not a TOY STORY ham. Can play with what I have When my 746pro died, I went with the 7300. Why? I have the 703+. So the LDG impedance matchers, and Hiel equipment plug and play. (703 needs 8 pin to round mic adapter, I have.). So, the 7300 becomes plug and play for me. I am disappointed we are not seeing 100w mobiles from I and K in HF. And all mode mobiles from I K and Y in 2/.70M. H-Town hams want those. Especially an 706M2G Next Gen. If there is a 100W X90 type rig, I K and Y are going to be in a big world of hurt.
The IC-7300 is a great rig. I actually have been using the IC-7200 for over a year and love it. Like you said, it's pretty much plug and play. I love to see some 100 watt HF portable rigs for the big three Japanese manufactures. My big issue with the Chinese radios is the lack of quality. The next video will talk about a major fail regarding the Xiegu G90.
@@TheTechPrepperAlso, I seems to have the same layout for the front panel of their rigs. I have used other I HF rigs at other places and events, and can figure out the rig just by looking at it
