Recently, Yaesu redesigned their website after many, many years. Part of the update included a new “Owners Corner”. This concept has been around for years, but they finally put some new features into it.
Now you can list all of the Yaesu products you own on that website, and they will put the appropriate links to manuals, software, and etc on your personal page. I hadn’t really thought about it before, but I realized how many Yaesu products I own.
Before 1997, I never owned a Yaesu product. I had Kenwood, Icom, and Heathkit rigs before that. I did have an experience with an FT-101B in around 1975 or 76. My friend Chuck, WA2QFU, let me borrow his Yaesu rig for a couple of weeks. I had my TS-520 at the time, and I don’t know why I was borrowing it. Now, I liked my TS-520, and still have it, but I thought the FT-101B had a better receiver. This didn’t make me sell my TS-520, but I always remembered that FT-101B as being a good rig, In 1997, I bought a Yaesu FT-920. It was an excellent radio and I had no problems with it, and in fact I still own it as well. It was a mid-tier radio that didn’t have outstanding specs, but did everything I needed, was attractive, and had good ergonomics. I improved it with an Inrad filter switch, 400Hz CW filter, 2.1 Khz SSB filter, and Inrad roofing filter.
In 2015, my 2m/440 mobile was a bit long in the tooth, and my club had recently purchased a Yaesu DR1X Fusion repeater. So to take advantage of the C4FM digital capability, I bought a FTM-400DR for my car. Then, since our repeater had no internet at the repeater site, I bought an HRI-200 internet linking device and an FTM-100 to act as a Wires-X node for our repeater. Shortly after that, a FT1DR HT arrived at the house.
Then I sold my Kenwood 2m/440 rig and got another FTM-400 as my base station. I also purchased a Yaesu FTDX-101D as my new HF rig in 2019. The FT-920 was 22 years old, and it seemed like it was time. Plus I received a retention bonus from my employer at the time.
In 2019, Yaesu announced System Fusion II, so I purchased another FTM-300 as my base radio, and converted the FTM-400 to act as a PDN node. Things were stable for a while, when I decided another HT was desired. I got aa FT-5DR. Maybe 2022 or so, not sure.
That was it, until 2025, when I had a plan to enhance my XLX927 reflector and YSF>Wires-X bridge. I wanted a low cost node radio, but unfortunately, the FTM-200 was not currently in production. I went to Dayton, but nothing was seen that would fit the bill.
So after Dayton, I saw some places still selling the FTM-510/510RASP for about $180 off. I picked up an FTM-510 to use as my new mobile rig and took one of my FTM-400s to use as a node radio.
I was using a FTM-400 as a bridge between YSF and Wires-X to connect to the XLX-927 reflector, but PDN node created a 3-4 second delay in the process. PDN nodes need to move through servers in Japan. My plan was to have another node using an HRI-200 device, but you cannot have to of those devices at the same IP address.
So I created a VPN on the same sever that hosts the XLX-927 reflector. Another HRI-200 was ordered. I am still waiting on all the parts and pieces and for Yaesu to provide my registration info so I can enable the new node, but hopefully, I can have another node with a new IP address and speed up the delays I was seeing before in the YSF> Wires-X bridge.
When I sat down and counted my Yaesu radios, I was surprised how many I owned. It increases gradually, but other than the FT-920 from 1997, everything else came in a 10 year stretch from 2015 until now. I do have a couple Icom HTs and an Anytone HT, but it seems like I have been happy with my Yaesu radios.
Admittedly, my situation is somewhat different than most hams. I am providing infrastructure for digital voice on 2m/440 that have inflated the number of radios I own. Two Yaesu rigs for sure and two HRI-200 internet linking boxes. But I have been happy with their radios, the large selection of ham related gear, their reliability, and their prices that tend to be a bit lower than their competitors. They have been a big producer of ham radio gear for over 50 years, and though the ham radio market is probably not a way to get rich, they continue to introduce new products at a rate not seen by other ham radio manufacturers.
But, I am not committed to Yaesu and only Yaesu. If I have a need, and the specs, performance, price is right, I would gladly buy from another manufacturer. I did just recently buy an Icom IC-50 so I could have a D-Star radio for testing (and fun).
