FT-710 on 8m

Someone posted on Facebook today that the FT-710 is about 10dB deaf on 8m. It can be persuaded to TX on 8m by putting it is engineering mode by pressing buttons. However use outside of offered amateur bands probably invalidates your warranty. I have no idea what power it puts out on 8m as I never tried it. I sold the FT-710 some time ago.

Yaesu FT-710

This is a very good transceiver, scoring very highly on the Sherwood tests. However, I missed 2m and 70cm and found 4m a disappointment. In the end, I went back to the ICOM IC-705 that better matched my needs. 

It is my view that Yaesu has lost its way in the amateur radio market. They are capable of making some excellent products, but need to get a grip before it is too late. In my professional life, I saw signs. Yaesu has them all. Let's hope I am very very wrong. I like Yaesu.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/commercial-rigs/yaesu-ft-710 .

Yaesu FT-710 and ICOM IC-705

Both are excellent radios. 

On the Sherwood tests the FT-710 came 4th, which is very good.  It is disappointing Yaesu has chosen to, effectively, ignore the QRP market it once dominated. It is almost as if Yaesu has given up. 

The FT818 was really about component obsolescence and really had none of the features expected in a modern QRP rig. To many, it was a total disappointment. 

Yaesu introduced the FT-710 which is SDR based. Personally, I found the ergonomics easier than on the IC-705. The FT-710 includes 4m, but does not do 2m and 70cm which I missed.  It also has an auto-ATU. 

ICOM launched the IC-705 some years ago. It is a 10W portable unit covering 160m-70cms, all modes, but it omits 4m and the auto ATU. It is also too expensive. Having tried 4m both in the Es season and before, 4m has proved a disappointment. Personally, I was expecting more from the band.

In the end, I went back to the IC-705 as I missed 2m and 70cm more than I missed 4m and the auto-ATU. It is a 10W radio and far smaller. As a QRPer, 10W is quite enough, especially on FT8 and WSPR. On its battery it is a 5W radio. Had Yaesu announced a new QRP rig, I might have traded my FT-710 in for one. Sadly, I see no new QRP rigs from Yaesu on the horizon.

Personally, I give Yaesu a maximum of 36 months in the amateur radio business. 

As a Yaesu fan of old, I very much hope I am wrong.  They have had chances and blown them.  To my mind, they are a company floundering.

Yaesu FT-710 versus ICOM IC-705

My IC-705 was traded in some months ago for the Yaesu FT-710. Both are excellent radios and I have enjoyed them both. The FT-710 has 4m but no 2m or 70cm. The FT-710 also has an auto ATU which I find quite useful. The FT-710 is a 100W  radio whereas the IC-705 is a 10W radio (5W with the attached battery). As a QRPer, 10W was more than enough for me.

I was hoping that Yaesu would announce a new QRP SDR transceiver at Dayton as a proper replacement to the FT817. Sadly, no such product was announced. Had one been announced, I might have traded it for the FT-710.

In my view amateur radio is at a crossroads. In many countries, amateur radio appeals mainly to older males. As these age, fewer new rigs will be sold and magazines will lose advertising revenue from dealers. Some will get smaller, less frequent, or close. In my view, several larger manufacturers will leave the amateur radio market as they will be unable to make profits. My prediction in the UK is that amateur radio will cease to be a service supported by OFCOM. I can see (not many years ahead) when CB, ISM and amateur radio will all become a "free for all" as these generate no income and are unnecessary hassle. The watchwords will be "no interference".

FT-710 webpage now ready

In the last hour, I have added the FT-710 page to my website. Over time, I hope to expand this.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/commercial-rigs/yaesu-ft-710 .

10m FT8 (Sunday)

At 0945z, I turned on my 10m FT8 using the FT-710. So far, spotted by 9 stations and I have spotted 43 stations after just 5 minutes.

Stations spotting me
on 10m FT8 TX
(8W) late morning

UPDATE 1342z: 230 stations have spotted my 8W 10m FT8 TX today (see map). On 10m FT8 RX 698 stations spotted.

UPDATE 1725z:  688 stations have spotted my 8W 10m FT8 today and 1485 stations spotted here. I have not seen 10m this good for many years.

UPDATE 2055z:  1909 stations have been spotted and 817 stations have spotted me today on 10m FT8 with 8W. 

UPDATE 2110z:  QRT.

FT-710 and FT8

As our visitor arrived earlier than expected, I was unable to do the firmware update until Friday AM. I am taking things in easy stages. The CAT now works correctly. FT8 RX works correctly. The PC is doing (yet another!!) Windows update and I will try FT8 TX next.

My brain is like treacle with things that would have been so easy in the past now being unbelievably hard.

Stations spotting my FT8 TX with
10W from the FT-710 on 10m today

UPDATE 1451z: Now working on FT8 on TX and RX. For some reason it refused to work on TX with RTS selected (as they say do), but works when CAT selected in WSJT-X. Odd. 144 stations have already spotted me!

UPDATE 1506z: OK I am lazy!  My TX is currently set to "fix TX frequency" in WSJT-X, meaning I rarely go after others. With 271 stations spotting me, I have not been called by a single station.  ALC is very low and I am running about 10W.

UPDATE 1528z: So far today on 10m FT8  with about 10W spotted by 317 unique stations using the FT-710. May try 12m.

UPDATE  1758z: My 2m big-wheel and coax match on my FT-710, so I am giving 4m a try. I am on 70.154 MHz with about 10W of FT8, although there seems some uncertainty about the 4m FT8 frequency.

UPDATE 1827z:  No spots of me (or others) on 4m FT8. I hope I am on the right spot.

UPDATE 2101z: I gave up on 4m for several reasons: not sure of FT8 frequency, poor antenna, low activity. Now on 6m FT8 and being spotted by quite a few. Furthermost on 6m FT8 is MI0BOT (478km). The convention in the UK is to TX evens, but of course more UK stations will spot you on "odd" periods as they are listening then. Judging by the number of stations on RX (none at all!) I guess most people are just on RX.

Stations spotting me
tonight on 6m FT8 TX

UPDATE 2211z:   QRT now. 14 spots of me on 6m FT8 TX.

FT-710 and FT8

As you may recall, I have been struggling to get this working. Later today I have a "window" to update the firmware and try the recommended settings again. Hopefully I can get things going.

Our grandchildren go shortly and our best man (from a long time ago!) arrives late afternoon.

FT-710 and FT8

Thank you for all the suggestions. 

I was going to do this yesterday (find out why the FT-710 does not work with FT8), but had no time. Today is make or break time: I shall check the firmware version, try at a lower speed that 38400 (probably 4800) and if all else fails give MLS a ring for help! 

In the end, it has to be something daft and I shall say, "of course"!

UPDATE 1709z:  It would appear my firmware on the FT-710 is not up to date. I am not sure if doing the reset to factory settings some weeks ago did this or whether these firmware updates post date the rig being shipped from the factory and MLS? Anyway, clearly I should make sure the firmware is fully up-to-date before I try to get FT8 working. The rig talks about CAT-3 settings and elsewhere CAT-1. This has left my small brain confused, HI.

Still no luck with the FT-710 on FT8

My other Windows PC came back yesterday and works fine with my tiny QDX. It has already been spotted all over the place and works fine on RX too. 

Sadly I have still not got my Yaesu FT-710 to work on FT8. I cannot get the CAT to communicate with the rig. I have downloaded the drivers, adjusted the settings for the driver speed as they say, selected the correct port and all settings and still no joy.  This is so frustrating.

After lots of trying, I just cannot see what I am doing wrong. If this is "finger trouble" at my end I just do not understand. I shall give it another try or it will have to go back. It is a pity, as this is a good rig.

2nd Windows PC returned - FT8 test later

My second Asus Windows PC has been returned from repair under warranty. This was very fast. Later I hope to try this on FT8 with my FT-710. At the moment I am too giddy.

UPDATE 1335z:  At first I tried to sync to internet time. Of course, I forgot that it did not recognise the connection! All sorted now and synchronised. Still to try with the FT-710. Need to install a driver first and WSJT-X.

FT8 on the FT-710AESS

One of my aims this week is to try FT8 on my FT-710. As a keen QRPer, I usually run low power and this will be no exception. In the end I overcame my issues with noise on FT8 RX with the IC-705. I hope this is not an issue on the FT-710. If it is, I shall add ferrite chokes on the USB cable between the rig and PC.

Plans for Saturday

In a few moments, I hope to go on 8m QRP FT8 and 10m QRP WSPR TX with my 500mW beacon. Later, I need to test the FT-710AESS.

Yaesu FT-710 MLS price

Puzzled. 

MLS has just announced the price of the new 100W SDR transceiver, that seems to have a very similar spec to the FTDX-10. It seems the price is lower than the FTDX-10 and the rig a little smaller. What I cannot understand is why Yaesu has done this.

Was the FTDX-10 not quite right? Where is a proper FT817 replacement? It still seems to me that Yaesu is in a muddle and trying to find its way.

See https://www.hamradio.co.uk/top-deals/ft-710 .