Yaesu: Yaesu FT1900 R

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n4yek

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I recently was given this radio by my dad, who was also given this radio but never hooked it up.
Any thoughts positive or negative about this radio?
Just curious.
 
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K4EET

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Looks like a nice VHF FM transceiver with the biggest downside apparently being excessive heating of the unit on transmit; even on low power (5 watts). My 55 watt Icom IC-208H FM transceiver has a fan on the heatsink. If that unit doesn't have a muffin fan on the heatsink, perhaps you could mitigate heat by somehow adding a 12 VDC fan. But overall, it does look like a nice rig; especially if it was free. :) 73, Dave K4EET
 

jbantennaman

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If two people owned it and it never made it out of the box, they must not have been hams'.
My radios have already been sent back to the factory 3 times because they wore out and quit working, from extended transmit.
If you are a real ham, you will find a way to mount a muffin fan to the heat sink and connect it in such a way that it only comes on when the heat sink gets hot!
Amateur radio equipment has a duty cycle, unlike a CB radio where you can sit and talk for hours, a FM radio needs a rest between transmissions. Most Yaesu transceivers has a 3 /7 transmit time.
This means that out of 10 minutes, you can transmit about 3 minutes.
So the rag chew where one guy talks 15 - 30 seconds, and then you talk 15 - 30 seconds, after your 6th go around, you are out of time. It limits your conversations to less than 6 minutes in 15.
Good if you are a part of a round table where your turn only comes once every 4 or 5 minutes, but not good when you are only talking to one person for an extended period of time.

My FT 8900R transceivers lays down and quits after about 10 minutes of rag chew.
Always has, always will.

You can transmit on an ICOM until the fuse blows or the car battery goes dead.

My recommendation is to buy a Kenwood.
I have never had a problem with my TM 271....
 

n4yek

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Here are some opinions from eHam.net.
Yaesu FT-1900R Product Reviews
Thanks, I found that helpful
Looks like a nice VHF FM transceiver with the biggest downside apparently being excessive heating of the unit on transmit; even on low power (5 watts). My 55 watt Icom IC-208H FM transceiver has a fan on the heatsink. If that unit doesn't have a muffin fan on the heatsink, perhaps you could mitigate heat by somehow adding a 12 VDC fan. But overall, it does look like a nice rig; especially if it was free. :) 73, Dave K4EET
Free is nice, always is. :) I will look at possibly putting a fan on it, thanks for the advice.
If two people owned it and it never made it out of the box, they must not have been hams'.
Both were hams, they just never hooked it up.


Thanks for the replies, I was just wondering about the radio.
 
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TheSpaceMann

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My FT-7900 can run for a long time on 75 watts with just a little heating! Adding a fan or heat sink could cool down the 1900.
 

KD0LDK

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I had one of these back in the day, great little rig. It's simple and one I could always rely on. I never had any overheating issues but I generally ran it in low power in a well ventilated spot. Nice and simple 2M!
 

k6cpo

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The FT-1900 was my first mobile. It didn't stay in the vehicle very long because of what I consider its single biggest flaw: It's not dual band. I replaced it with an FT-7900 which was replaced by an FTM-100. The 1900 is now connected to a power supply in my workshop where I listen to it when I'm working in there.

My FT-7900 can run for a long time on 75 watts with just a little heating! Adding a fan or heat sink could cool down the 1900.

The Maximum power on the FT-7900R is 50 watts.
 

TheSpaceMann

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The FT-1900 was my first mobile. It didn't stay in the vehicle very long because of what I consider its single biggest flaw: It's not dual band. I replaced it with an FT-7900 which was replaced by an FTM-100. The 1900 is now connected to a power supply in my workshop where I listen to it when I'm working in there.



The Maximum power on the FT-7900R is 50 watts.
Yep! Sorry about the typo... I meant 2900! Thanks for pointing it out!
 

captainmax1

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Never had a problem with my FT8900R dying on me no matter how much I talk. I hear the fan kick on all the time but no problem with it timing out.
 
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