By now probably most everyone has read Rob Sherwood's review of the new kid on the block, the Yaesu FTDX10. It has pushed the IC7300 out the door for the best bang for the buck place. What I was most interested in was the phase noise of the radio. It is minimally down to at least -148db. That is where the 7300 falls flat on its face. Additionally, so does Yaesu 450D and 991A. Those 2 radios are one radio shack radios. I know this because I own both of them.
$1700, what a great price point to recommend a new ham that wants a contest grade radio that he can build upon. Seemingly, based on the Sherwood stats, the FTDX10 would work well in a 2 radio environment. That would beg the question, would they be ideal for an SO2R setup. $3400 for 2 radios and add a $100 to $300 dollar controller and you are GTG. WOW! Granted the radios do have many shortcomings when it comes to a full contest grade radio but for the most part they, could be an excellent choice. The problem with field day is that tons of people have Ic7300s and they are a disaster at FD. The FTDX10 should solve all those problems being low on phase noise. Maybe our FD ops will be much easier and if the rigs were FTDX10s. We shall see. Where the FTDX10 falls flat is in a few areas that can be worked around. The areas that they are deficient are, one antenna port, no rx antenna port, nonstandard plugs for ALC and PTT lines for an amp and other associated station accessories, such as amps, sequencers, etc, and ofcourse, no diversity receive capability. My all time hate is the RJ45 connector for microphone input. And, I don't believe it can do dual watch. It is either VFO A or B not both. This is what I can gather from the literature in the trade brochure. All except, dual rx and diversity can be worked around. At this price point this is an excellent box. It is about the same size as a current K3S but a bit shorter in height. There is an optional CW filter/narrow banpass filter of 300 hz but I have no idea the steepness of the cut off for that filter. Plus there is an adjustable rise time feature that allows the user to produce an undesirable cw signal. This is one of the big negatives that Yaesu incorporates into their radios. Same size as a K3S, built in Pan, Video out, 3 usb ports, SD card for DVR recording providing record on fly and 5 memory bands, 5 built in CW memory slots, optional outboard keypad to key DVR and CW memory banks, with all of these features, this now is the best bang for the buck and the rx surpasses the K3S spex plus the DNR and filtering is astounding in Yaesu radios. Heh, even the cheapest 450D DNR function can eliminate 40 meter alternator noise in my F150 when I run mobile. It is even better in this radio, most likely, because it is generations better and an SDR. It weighs 13 pounds, did I say DXpedition or travels well. That is yet to be seen. Some of the main mechanics of the main tuning and bezel knobs might cause some worry. Time will tell. The radio is made on a cast aluminum frame much the same as the 991A. My 991A has been abused, mobile, salt water ops, special events, FD, camping, portable from picnic table...still works great. I have used it on FT8 for days at a time running 80 watts. No problems. Now that I am retired and home, the 991A has been relegated to 2/440 operation only. I just might sell it and raise money for my new FD radio, the FTDX10. The real issue with this radio is, the K3S used prices might just have dropped another $500. The K3S is nearing the EOL time and the replacement with better RX stats and a pan adaptor included with no extra cabling or boxes fitting into the same size as a K3/K3S for Less than 1/3 of for the most part what a a full K3S/P3 with video out would cost. Yes you would be missing a few features but for the most part, Yaesu has hit it out of the park with the FTDX10. Have I turned the dial on one, put a set of cans on my head, operated CW on one, in a word No. I might end up driving to Ohio to take a listen to one at DXengineering, if they are open (post Covid 19) and see what all the hubbub is about. Dollars and cents wise, almost 3 FTDX10s can be had for the price of one K4 base model. As with all Yaesu and Icom products, the first offering is to recoup R&D, and what the market will bare. My guess is that it will stabilize just as the 991A did, which was initially MSRP $1999, I am thinking down to what it is now, $1199. So that would within a year, put this radio dropping to compete with the 7300 at about $1200 for the Yaesu. Even right now, I would choose the FTDX10 over the Yaesu, hands down. It is just a far better radio. I'm wondering when Elecraft is going to come out with a mid market radio like perhaps a...KX4? Best DX and happy Contesting, Morgan NJ8M BS + MS + $2.98 = COFFEE Real Life Experience = Priceless, says the man who set his back yard on fire with a breadboard tuner loading a 160 meter inverted L with 1000 watts. LOL ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
