Yaesu FTM Series - FTM 200 vs FTM 300! 

I have the FTM-200 in my pickup and love it. I think the PMG function really circumvents the need for dual receive, and is nicer. Also, the new radios can sample so quick, it is virtually dual receive. I use APRS on channel B and it does not miss a beat when monitoring channel A. I never use cross band repeat which would be the only reason for me to get the FTM-300. I also like the ergonomics and look of the FTM-200 over the FTM-300. I have the FTM-400 for a base station at home. I could see the FTM-300 or forthcoming FTM-500 as possible replacements. Just my 2 cents.

Well done sir. The choice of the 200 was easy for me due to discounts during Hamvention 2023.

Thanks. I'm on your same journey as a newbie. Much appreciate the review and you confirmed my selection of the 200. Price point is a huge consideration since I just bought and antenna, cable, etc., for my HT and will now have to get a power supply also.

Thanks for the video great info. I’m looking forward to see what the 500 has to offer. I’m hoping yaesu will blow us away with new innovative features and not just another dual band/fusion radio. My 400 dead last year after only 5 years. I sent it to yaesu only to have them send it back saying they couldn’t find a problem with it, Thant does make me wonder if I want to give them more of my cash but we’ll see. I do miss the dual receive and APRS.

FTM200 in the truck... With PMG I don't miss the dual revive. Great radio.

Great thoughtful comparison. I'm going back and forth between the 200 and 300. I notice Yaesu seems to currently (thru 3/31/23) have a $40 rebate on the 200 -- see Gigapart/DX Eng/HRO. So right now there is a $100 difference. I am also budget minded, so it's a factor. Regards!

Good review but you missed one very important difference in the two radios. While you mentioned cross-band repeat, the reason the 200 cannot do that is the lack of a second vfo. The 300 has two and can have two active frequencies on at a time. This allows for communicating on one channel while running aprs simultaneously on the other for instance. Both great radios, as is the 400, and the 500 looks to continue this tradition as well. Thanks for the review...

Great summary! I have the FTM400 and am not THAT crazy about it. But, I like fusion and icom really doesnt have anything that competes. I am leaning towards the FTM200 cause I dont use dual rx or dual tx on my FTM400 except for APRS on B side, which the FTM200 will do easily. If i wanted to play with cross band repeat (which I do) then I have the 400. I never use the scope on 400, not cause it sucks just cause i dont really see usefulness. Scanning kind of solves that for me. The PMG on the 200 looks very helpful, i just dont understand why they limited to 5 memories?? why not 7 or 10? I have it when they implement something nice then limit it... The bummer is the 300 is only $60 more dollars then the 200 and the bluetooth addon is $45. (which I think would be nice - think bluetooth to car audio system maybe, or a bluetooth headset like truckers use) . Like you I am on budget, trying to get into POTA / SOTA and have VHF/UHF in homes and vehicles and field expedient is very costly... Also, I was ready t o pull trigger on 200 then BAM 500 announcement. I probably wont want a 500 due to crazy cost but am wondering if it will push price down on the 200 / 300. FYI, just bought a Radioddity DB20-G for $100 looks like fun. will switch between GMRS and Ham easily.

If price weren't a factor, which of the two would you choose, and why?

Cross Band is a very useful feature. It's why I sprung the extra $50.

The 100 has been discontinued as well and now they have the 500 in the line as the flagship

Is that the same screen the 500 has ?

I had a 200 for the past few months and I changed to a 300 and sold the 200. Why? The 200 is a SINGLE RECEIVER while the 300 is a DUAL RECEIVER ... which is what I wanted. I made the mistake to buy the 200

This does 20 Watts and the FTM 300D does 50 watts

Big price difference with very little functionality change. With the 300 you get 2 extra knobs and dual receive. I read somewhere that Yaesu is stopping production of the 200 if they haven't already.