I have narrowed it down...

[TheFall]

Hello all,

I am fairly new to the forum as well as the hobby and I am looking to get my first mobile rig. I have a Yaesu FT-60 hand held that I have been using for a couple months and it just isn't cutting it for my pickup. I am looking for some recommendations and opinions to help me decide between the two radios I have narrowed my choices down to. The radio will be going in my Duramax 3/4 ton truck.

I have narrowed my choices down to 2 Yaesu radio. Both these radios are in my price range of less than 500$ CAD but have very different features. The two radios are FTM-100DR and FT-8900r.

I like the FTM-100DR because it has way more bells and whistles that the 8900r. The GPS, provided it works well, would be nice. I am not sure how much I will use the rest of the features nor do I have an in depth understanding of the significance of them, as I am still pretty new to the hobby. I also like that in order to use all the bands available on this radio I would be able to get One cheaper antenna as opposed to one more expensive quad band antenna or two antennas specific to the different bands as well as the cost of setting the radio up for 2 antennas. I know its petty, but this radio would also "Fit" better with the interior of the pickup because of the modern head plate.

I like the FT-8900 because it has 2 extra bands, cross band repeat and is essentially 2 radios in one package. I like that I can listen to 2 bands at a time, I think that it would be very handy to be able to listen to the local RCMP as well as the bands used by the truckers on the highway, the scenarios are endless with the different bands that could be used simultaneously. It would also be nice to have the option to cross band my hand held while I am away from the pickup truck fishing, gold panning, ext. Now I realize the HF portion of this radio, due to it being only FM, has its limitations and there will probably not be much activity on these bands but it would be nice to have them since the radio is 40$ more than the 8800 that lacks the 2 extra bands.

If you have any opinions, feelings, likes, dislikes or what you own choice would be between the two radios please share. It will be greatly appreciated and I would like to say thank you in advance to anyone who shares.

PS If I had the money I would be getting the FT-857d oh well, one day

 

[mmckenna]

Don't forget to consider the antenna you'd need to utilize the full features of the FT-8900. I've only seen a few antennas that will cover 10, 6, 2 meters and 70cm, and in my personal opinion it was butt-ugly.

Also, not sure how the licenses are organized up here, but in the USA, the technician license doesn't give any privileges in the FM part of the 10 meter band. Hopefully it's different up there.

I've always been interested in the 6 meter band. It's been a long time since I owned a radio capable of working there, and when I did I enjoyed SSB. I hear mixed reports about the usefulness of 6 meter FM from the locals around here.

I think you might find you enjoy the APRS side of the other radio. If you do get out in the sticks, it can be pretty handy. The bigger display is nice if you do a lot of driving.

Either way, cross band repeat can be useful, but you can do that pretty well with 2/70. Unless you have good 6 meter FM repeater coverage....

 

[KE0GXN]

I am kind of in the same boat as you, I also own the FT-60 and have been looking to upgrade my VHF/UHF capabilities as well.

I have actually researched both radios. Both are good. Obviously the FTM-100 has a lot more bells and whistles, Fusion, GPS, APRS, etc.

If you are primarily going to use it mobile in your car, I would go with the 100. It has a lot of useful features that one can take advantage of while mobile, i.e. GPS, APRS, etc.. Also, if digital System Fusion is prevalent in your area, having the 100 would benefit you great there.

I do know hams that own the 8900 and all of them have had nothing but good things to say about it. The only basic things I noted during my research if you are wanting to compare the two is:

With the 8900 the buttons are not backlit. Seems trivial on the face of it, but when you’re driving down the road at night and need to complete a function on the radio it can be a problem. Also it puts out 50 watts on 2 meter and only 35 watts on 440. Whereas the 100 puts out 50 watts on both bands and it’s buttons are backlit.

If it were me and I was picking between the two and the radio was strictly for a mobile install, I would go with the 100 hands down. However, if having an HF capability and cross band repeat were a bigger priority, then I would go with the 8900.


They both are good rigs and I seriously considered the 100 at one point myself, but after some thought, I realized I didn't need all the bells and whistles it had and instead needed something with cross band and dual watch/monitor. In my case the radio was going to be used primarily as a base station at my house, so while the GPS/APRs stuff seemed cool, it was not going to provide me much benefit sitting on my desk. While I have a couple of Fusion repeaters in my area, there is not much digital traffic out there, as most folks I have noticed in my area stick to analog on the repeaters. That may change, but for now I can get by with analog just fine. So in the end I decided to save up and go with a whole different brand and radio.

I don’t know if you are an ARRL member or not, but a resource I use is their QST product reviews to help me in my research. What I would pay close attention to is the measured lab results. That is where you can get the most accurate facts on whether a given radio performs to specifications or not. The write ups are good too, but I am more interested in whether the radio puts out what it advertises along with the reviewer’s opinions. Otherwise eham is another source you can look at and YouTube for reviews.

Good luck!

 

[AK9R]

While the FTM-100D is a dual-band radio, you can only listen to one band at a time. With the FT-8900, you can listen to two bands at a time. Also, if you do get into APRS, the FTM-100D can only do APRS once it's set up for that. With other APRS radios, such as the FTM-400D or Kenwood TM-D710, you can do APRS on one side of the radio and do voice on the other side.

While the extra bands in the FT-8900 sound like a nice feature, I'd be hard pressed to pay extra for them unless I thought I'd find lots of activity on 10m FM and 6m FM. And, as previously mentioned, it will be tough to find a really effective mobile antenna for all four bands (yes, I know, Comet and Diamond make antennas for this radio, but I'm not sure they are great performers).

 

[mrweather]

If the OP determines that he doesn't need the extra bands, the FT-8800 is pretty much an FT-8900 without 6 and 10 and with better memory management. It's cheaper to boot too (right now Radioworld has them for $419.99 with the separation kit).

 

[TheFall]

Thanks for the replys so far everyone.

I think I will have to do some more research on the amount of digital that is used in western Canada before I can make a decision between the two (any knowledge on this is appreciated, I may have to post a threat about the subject in the western Canada forum).

Currently I am leaning more towards the FT-8900 as it fits more of my needs and the people I will mostly be communicating with while mobile will be analog. I am however, mostly a listener so if there is a vast amount more of digital to listen to I will probably go that route.

GPS Central (radio worlds Brick and Mortar shop) has the 8900 for 475$ so I don't mind spending the extra money for the 8900 and yes I know that the radios are virtually the same and that the FM HF bands will be of little use.

Maybe I will have to save and just get the FTM-400DRX and get the best of everything lol

 

[AC2OY]

Good luck on your decision Fall!

 

[Project25_MASTR]

I've always run into the problem of amateur grade mobile antennas being cheap, heavy, somewhat impractical with a bit of snake oil mixed in.

I've found that it's often hard to beat a roof mounted NMO 1/4 wave antenna so that often limits the radio selection. The radios I use are dictated by my operating modes and career so I'll aways have separate radios in the trucks (P25 on VHF and DMR on UHF).

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

 

[jwt873]

Thanks for the replys so far everyone.

I think I will have to do some more research on the amount of digital that is used in western Canada before I can make a decision between the two (any knowledge on this is appreciated, I may have to post a threat about the subject in the western Canada forum).

Currently I am leaning more towards the FT-8900 as it fits more of my needs and the people I will mostly be communicating with while mobile will be analog. I am however, mostly a listener so if there is a vast amount more of digital to listen to I will probably go that route.

With a FTM-100DR Fusion radio, the only digital you'll be able to monitor would be Yaesu Fusion signals. You can figure out how many Fusion capable repeaters there are in your area by consulting the Repeaterbook site: --> https://www.repeaterbook.com/repeaters/index.php?state_id=ca01 Fusion repeaters will pass FM signals so you can use them with a conventional radio. The only thing is with the FT-8900 you won't be able to copy people having Fusion QSO's.

I took at Repeaterbook and see that you have a 6 meter repeater out your way. That's good. You would be able to access it with the FT-8900.

10 meter FM can be fun, but it's pretty sporadic. We're heading in to sunspot decline, so 10 will be open less.

There are repeaters there, but most have tone access. That means if you manage to hear a repeater during a band opening and you want to work it, you have to wait until it ID's to learn the call sign. Then you need to look up the proper tone on the internet and program it in to your radio. It's not what you want to do while mobile.

 

[Project25_MASTR]

There are repeaters there, but most have tone access. That means if you manage to hear a repeater during a band opening and you want to work it, you have to wait until it ID's to learn the call sign. Then you need to look up the proper tone on the internet and program it in to your radio. It's not what you want to do while mobile.

Really depends on who built the repeater. If it has a tone output on it (many do though not always listed) Yaesu has a tone scan feature that would allow you to scan for the tone. However, this won't always work as not all repeaters send an output tone. Tone scan isn't too difficult to do while mobile.

 

[jwt873]

Really depends on who built the repeater. If it has a tone output on it (many do though not always listed) Yaesu has a tone scan feature that would allow you to scan for the tone. However, this won't always work as not all repeaters send an output tone. Tone scan isn't too difficult to do while mobile.

That's true.. I wasn't aware that the FT-8900 did tone scan..

But, another problem working DX repeaters on 10 occurs when the band is wide open. You may hear a Florida repeater in Oregon, but you'll also hear Georgia, the Carolinas, Alabama etc.. It gets difficult when several show up on the same frequency. I've seen this.

Can you tell I'm not a fan of DXing 10M repeaters

 

[TheFall]

With a FTM-100DR Fusion radio, the only digital you'll be able to monitor would be Yaesu Fusion signals. You can figure out how many Fusion capable repeaters there are in your area by consulting the Repeaterbook site: --> https://www.repeaterbook.com/repeaters/index.php?state_id=ca01 Fusion repeaters will pass FM signals so you can use them with a conventional radio. The only thing is with the FT-8900 you won't be able to copy people having Fusion QSO's.

I took at Repeaterbook and see that you have a 6 meter repeater out your way. That's good. You would be able to access it with the FT-8900.

10 meter FM can be fun, but it's pretty sporadic. We're heading in to sunspot decline, so 10 will be open less.

There are repeaters there, but most have tone access. That means if you manage to hear a repeater during a band opening and you want to work it, you have to wait until it ID's to learn the call sign. Then you need to look up the proper tone on the internet and program it in to your radio. It's not what you want to do while mobile.

So, if I understand correctly, with the FTM-100DR I wouldn't be able to listen to other forms of digital radio? How will being able to use digital affect the simplex use of radio? Sorry I am still very new to this hobby and learning as quickly as possible, there is a lot to take in. There are a couple fusion repeaters around here according to my repeater book app. I was mostly considering digital so that I would have it if the bands that I listen to moved to digital. I generally listen to the Oil field, LAD and forestry channels. Even though I can't transmit on the channels, if you know where the trucks are, you can stop in a safe place to avoid meeting them on hills or corners. Usually once the first truck sees you he tells the other trucks where you are anyway.

The above is why the dual receive of the FT-8900 appeals to me.

 

[SigIntel8600]

So, if I understand correctly, with the FTM-100DR I wouldn't be able to listen to other forms of digital radio? How will being able to use digital affect the simplex use of radio? Sorry I am still very new to this hobby and learning as quickly as possible, there is a lot to take in. There are a couple fusion repeaters around here according to my repeater book app. I was mostly considering digital so that I would have it if the bands that I listen to moved to digital. I generally listen to the Oil field, LAD and forestry channels. Even though I can't transmit on the channels, if you know where the trucks are, you can stop in a safe place to avoid meeting them on hills or corners. Usually once the first truck sees you he tells the other trucks where you are anyway.

The above is why the dual receive of the FT-8900 appeals to me.

If you are not into 10 meter FM and 6 Meters. Look at the FT-8800. It is on closeout at a great price. Dual receive and has scanning banks which the 8900 does not. I have the 8900. Here is another option, I just purchased one, The Alinco DR-638 is a part 90 Land Mobile Radio that covers ham 2M/440 as well.

http://universal-radio.com/catalog/fm_txvrs/0638.htmlhttp://

 

[kayn1n32008]

Sorry I am still very new to this hobby and learning as quickly as possible, there is a lot to take in.

It is a TON of stuff to take in. I strongly suggest you reach out to either the Calgary Amateur Radio Association http://cara.memberlodge.com/ , or the Foothills Amateur Radio association http://fars.ca/ .

In addition I sent you a Private Message with an email address to get in contact with me off the board.

Welcome to the hobby. The sky is literally the limit in this hobby.

 

[Project25_MASTR]

Most of the commercial modes will be either DMR, NXDN or P25.


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[AK9R]

So, if I understand correctly, with the FTM-100DR I wouldn't be able to listen to other forms of digital radio?

That is correct. There is amateur radio activity, and amateur radio repeaters, using DMR, D-Star, NXDN, P25, and System Fusion. The Yaesu System Fusion radios can monitor analog or System Fusion, but not the other modes. Currently, there are no radios that can monitor all of the digital voice modes currently used in amateur radio. There are rumors that such a radio is in the works, but it has yet to see the light of day.

How will being able to use digital affect the simplex use of radio?

Not at all. The radio can be used simplex or through repeaters using either analog or System Fusion.

The above is why the dual receive of the FT-8900 appeals to me.

Just keep in mind that the "dual receive" means you can listen to two frequencies at the same time. The FT-8900 has this feature as does the FT-8800 and FTM-400D, but not the FTM-100D.