Yaesu FTDX-10

As readers will know, I have been strongly considering one of these. 

At the moment MLS is offering a very good deal, but I am still undecided. I am probably not buying one, although it is very highly rated in the Sherwood RX tests. With the £100 MLS gift voucher and Yaesu £85 cashback, now is probably the very best time.

It has a very good receiver, 4m and an auto-ATU, but not 2m or 70cm. At 100W on HF it has about 20 times the power I would ever use!

New radios

IC-705

Some people just have to buy the latest radios. Some of us buy new radios infrequently. At the moment there seem fewer radios on the market at a price I can justify.

If I was buying a radio for the future I would probably consider the IC-705 from ICOM or the more expensive FTDX10 by Yaesu.  These are sold by the major dealers.

FTDX10

Neither are what I really want either as a result of price or bands. I am a dedicated QRPer and 10W would be fine.  As I said earlier in the week, the FTDX10 does cover 4m, but does not cover 2m and 70cm. The FTDX10 does have an internal auto-ATU, whereas the IC-705 does not. The IC-705 does have a few things not on the FTDX10 such as Bluetooth and GPS.

I guess one question is how often would these features be used? 

My ideal radio? IC-705 with 4m and an internal auto-ATU at a lower price.

FT991A versus FTDX10

About 18 months ago, I bought a Yaesu FT991A.  I thought about part-exchanging this for an ICOM IC-705 as a dedicated QRP man. 

Since then the 100W Yaesu FTDX10 has launched. This does not have 2m or 70cm, but does have 4m and an auto ATU. It is more expensive. For 2m and 70cm my FT817ND is probably fine.

Knowing my luck, just after I bought an FTDX10, they would launch a QRP version!

For now, I may just stick with what I have unless I get a very tempting offer.

Yaesu FTDX10

Yaesu has just released its new hybrid 100W SDR transceiver the FTDX10. It is based on the FTDX101. 

I wonder if Yaesu is considering an SDR QRP rig to replace the FT817/818 and to compete with the IC-705? 

The new radio does not cover 2m and 70cm, but does have an auto ATU, although I expect the range is limited. It also includes 4m TX.  It is a fair bit more expensive than the IC-705.

At the moment I am torn. As a QRP fan I have owned 2 FT817s and several other Yaesu products. They have all been reliable. The standard Yaesu warranty is 3 years. 

Although I stand to be corrected, I do not think the Yaesu radio has the GPS and Bluetooth features that the IC-705 has. At the moment, the IC-705 is still better in my view.

New Yaesu radio

Steve G1KQH has informed me about a new Yaesu radio that will be sold by Martin Lynch. At the moment they will be taking deposits. It is called the FTDX10 and will be an SDR transceiver covering HF, 6m and 4m with 100W. Check the Martin Lynch website for more details.

See https://www.hamradio.co.uk/amateur-radio-base-station-radio-yaesu-base-station-radio/yaesu/ftdx10-compact-hf-50mhz-100w-sdr-transceiver-deposit-free-delivery-pd-12059.php

It will also available from Wimo in Germany at 1798 euros.

See https://www.wimo.com/de/ft-dx10