Both rigs cover up to 70MHz. I know the FT710 can be widebanded without uncasing. I am not sure about the IC7300mk2.
The Yaesu radio is considerably less expensive in the UK and comes with a Yaesu cashback. I think Yaesu offers a 3 year warranty.
I am sure both are good radios.
Wimo has a video on YouTube about the FTX-1 Field. They did this before the radio arrived in Europe. It is quite a decent overview of the product.
It is quite a respectable radio but far too expensive in the UK and, I presume, mainland Europe. It comes without GPS and Bluetooth. If it was £999 or less I might have considered it, but at this utterly stupid price I am afraid, like many, I shall give it a miss.
For a long time I have said Yaesu has lost its way. They make some good products, many of which I have owned, but for some time they have appeared to have been drifting. I have serious concerns about their future in this market. I hope I am very wrong and the FTX-1 drops in price a long way!
Unsurprisingly, MLS is singing the praises of the new Yaesu FTX-1. They clearly want to sell it, especially to the customers that put down a deposit.
In my view it was seriously over priced in the UK and lacks many features as standard. I decided not to bother.
With great fanfare the UK dealer MLS has announced that soon people who pre-ordered the rig will get deliveries after the first UK unit arrived.
I fail to see what the attraction is: it is £400 more than the ICOM IC-705 and, as far as I can see, offers less than the ICOM rig apart from 4m in European versions and the larger battery. The IC-705 is now several years old .
When I saw what was on offer I was seriously underwhelmed. In my view at under £1000 they might have stood a chance. At £1599, no chance.
People who must have a shiny new radio, maybe, but the vast majority will give it a miss at this stupid price.
If ICOM next make a true mutlimode, multiband portable, they could make a killing. In my view Yaesu has seriously "lost the plot"..... and the market.
Yet again, I see MLS is offering cashback on certain Yaesu rigs. With the discounts, these look good value for money.
UPDATE 1248z: with the cashback the FT710 is well below £1000, whereas the FTX-1 is a stupid price. I my view Yaesu has kicked itself in the shins with the stupid, stupid FTX-1F prices.
I think Yaesu has lost its way.
This new Yaesu radio has really disappointed me.
It is far too expensive and lacks features the IC-705 has had for years. Before it was released I seriously considered trading my IC-705 in for this new radio. Like many, I shall stick with the IC-705.
I really think Yaesu is floundering around.
It is not yet available in Europe and just a few weeks after launching it in the USA, they have released a firmware update. I am not at all impressed. Even the firmware update looks messy.
Yaesu get your act together, and very soon, or the market will judge you harshly.
This podcast seems to back up my assertion that the FTX-1 was launched in a hurry.
Many are very happy with it, but I still think it is far too expensive. It is even more expensive when you add features the IC-705 has had for years!
At £999 I might have considered it. As it is, like many, I will stick with my IC-705. With the recent price reduction the IC-705 looks far better value.
I am puzzled that the Yaesu FT710 is far far less that the FTX-1. On the first Sherwood tests it is way down on the FT710 performance. Personally I think Yaesu is struggling and finding it hard to stay in the amateur radio business. If they were hoping the FTX-1 would be their saviour, I hate to disappoint them!
It is normal to see software bugs that are corrected, but this product look like it was released far too early. Some of these issues will be fixed in software updates. I hope they haven't got to do hardware changes too.
In the USA the FTX -1 is now on sale.
People have reported some bugs with the Yasesu radio and I am not sure if these have been corrected with latest firmware. Certainly in the UK, the Yaesu radio is far more expensive that the IC-705.
In my view the ICOM IC-705 represents far better value. There is certainly (at least) one video on YouTube comparing the two.
I am definitely NOT rushing out to buy the FTX-1F. Personally, I still think Yaesu is floundering again.
Yaesu has released some firmware updates to the FTX-1F. In my view it is FAR too expensive and under-featured.
My own view is this radio is far too expensive and lacks many essential features (you pay extra for GPS and it lacks wifi!! I don't think it has Bluetooth either).
The ICOM IC-705 looks far better value even before they dropped the price. Hopefully the price of the FTX 1F will soon fall so that it becomes a market leader.
I have the feeling ICOM will soon sell the IC-705A with some features that kill the FTX 1F. Often the price of radios drops before they sell a new version. If so, I think Yaesu is finished or soon will be.
Selling a competitor to the IC-705 with what seems like fewer features at a higher price? Are they stupid? If I was in charge of their marketing team I would sack the lot. In the last few years they seem to have made some daft decisions. They come across as followers rather than leaders, and poor followers too.
Many like it, so I have attached the video of it being unboxed.
As I think I have mentioned before, Yaesu has announced 2 new radios: the FTX 1 Field and FT1 Optima: the 6/10W and 100W versions.
There is no doubt they make some very good kit, but they seem to have "lost their way" in recent years. I was seriously considering the FTX 1F, but I won't bother as the spec offers me nothing I really want and the price is far too high.
I really was expecting the FTX 1F to be under £1000. At that price they had a chance, but at the current price many, like me, will simply say "why bother?". Some will always want the newest shiny radio, but I cannot see a mass market like the FT817.
When the FT817 came out a quarter of a century ago it was a real first and a world beater, unlike today.
I am losing faith with Yaesu, who appear to be drifting yet again. The last I heard was they were planning a worldwide launch after FCC approval. With the goings-on in the USA, I cannot see the FCC approving it soon. Also, Japan now faces a 10% tariff in the USA. I expect all Japanese manufacturers are revisiting their business plans. We have heard nothing more about this product since it appeared under glass last summer in Tokyo. I expect (if not withdrawn altogether!) Yaesu is trying to see which features will make it a real winner.
In my view the FTX-1F was put out in Tokyo to judge reaction. Unless it comes to market very soon, it is dead. It is interesting that we have not even seen updated specs!
Meanwhile, the IC-705 is already years old, has many features already and the only thing against it is price. Just imagine if ICOM dropped its price by £150. Yaesu would be scrabbling around in a right mess.
Since the FT817 was introduced about a quarter of a century ago a lot has changed. At that time Yaesu had a totally unique product that sold really well across the world.
These days there are several competitors and the Chinese are coming up fast.
In my view Yaesu are now playing "catch up" and the longer they delay getting the FTX-1F to market, the harder it will be.
Basically, as far as I can tell there is none, at least available to Jo Public.
No doubt dealers have been told the selling price and any features. There is a video bemoaning the fact that "early 2025" looks more like the end of June.....or never.
Last night I looked on the Japanese website of Yaesu, hoping to find some clues about the FTX-1F such as price, recent specs, availability etc.. My Japanese is poor (well non-existent!) so I searched all categories. On the Japanese site I could see no mention of it at all!
These are the rumours (that I have seen so far):
I may be very very wrong, but I am surprised we have heard nothing factual since last summer. even though it was due to be released in "early 2025".
Hmm.
On present form I give Yaesu less than 5 years to quit the amateur radio market.
If you don't want to buy a Chinese radio, it is probably one of the lowest cost new HF/6m 100W radios on the market.
The last I heard was a rumour that the worldwide release of the Yaesu FTX-1F was waiting on the FCC approval.
Despite this, I am puzzled by the lack of more detailed specs.. Has anyone seen any more detailed specs than those released last summer and any idea of the price?
There is far more competition than when the FT817 was first released.
This was recently on the FTX-1F IO group...
"Talked to the folks at the Yaesu Booth, at the Orlando Hamfest, today. They said the FTX-1F was ready to be released, worldwide. The current holdup is type acceptance, by the FCC, here in the United States. They want to release the radio simultaneously, around the world. They said they could not even bring a radio to look at, because it was not type accepted, yet.Buddy WB4OMG”
What surprises me is that better specs have not been released giving more detail.
MLS, one of the large UK distributors, is selling the DX Patrol Ground Staion for QO-100. I guess you have to add a GPS external reference, ...
