Yaesu: FTdx1200 and mfj969 compatibility

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geraldw3210

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Hello everyone.

ok so i already have a tuner the MFJ969 Deluxe and ive decided on a FTdx1200 radio. But i thought i read somewhere something about some issues between these two items??? I cant think of anything that would be an issue they are both quality pieces and should play well together.

Oh i have 3 antennas i could use a tram discone, a par endfedz 49ft model and a ZS6BKW dipole, my first rig and i will be doing general rx/tx on 20/40 maybe few other bands.
 

prcguy

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The FTDX1200 has a built in tuner that should handle your ZS6BKW just fine. The only problem I see is the radio itself and most everyone I know that bought a FTDX1200 has dumped it for another radio. They all get complaints of transmit IMD where you can be 5KHz away from another conversation on SSB and they will complain you are wiping them out from bleedover.

Plus for about $200 more you get a receiver that is $1,000 better in the Icom 7300.
Just my 2c.
prcguy


Hello everyone.

ok so i already have a tuner the MFJ969 Deluxe and ive decided on a FTdx1200 radio. But i thought i read somewhere something about some issues between these two items??? I cant think of anything that would be an issue they are both quality pieces and should play well together.

Oh i have 3 antennas i could use a tram discone, a par endfedz 49ft model and a ZS6BKW dipole, my first rig and i will be doing general rx/tx on 20/40 maybe few other bands.
 

geraldw3210

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hi thanks but the icoms are the ugliest radios i see and im not very confident of their performance. i read a ton of reviews and tried several radios at the shop , im no fan of icom
 

prcguy

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Ever seen this before? Receiver Test Data See where the Yaesu FTDX1200 rates compared to other new radios in a similar price range? The Kenwood TS590SG and many others blow it away in performance and look where the ugly little Icom 7300 rates. Gee, its right up there and just below the flagship $4,000 Yaesu FTDX5000.

Still not very confident of its performance? Sounds like maybe your local radio shop can't compete in the cut throat pricing on Icom 7300s and is pushing radios they can make more profit on. I'm not saying the Icom 7300 is the best HF radio ever made but I will say with confidence its the best HF radio made under $3,000 today and it only costs about $1,300.

There are a lot of things to consider buying a new radio and I'm just trying to help you avoid the buyers remorse that many people I know had with the Yaesu FTDX1200.
prcguy

hi thanks but the icoms are the ugliest radios i see and im not very confident of their performance. i read a ton of reviews and tried several radios at the shop , im no fan of icom
 

geraldw3210

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Ever seen this before? Receiver Test Data See where the Yaesu FTDX1200 rates compared to other new radios in a similar price range? The Kenwood TS590SG and many others blow it away in performance and look where the ugly little Icom 7300 rates. Gee, its right up there and just below the flagship $4,000 Yaesu FTDX5000.

Still not very confident of its performance? Sounds like maybe your local radio shop can't compete in the cut throat pricing on Icom 7300s and is pushing radios they can make more profit on. I'm not saying the Icom 7300 is the best HF radio ever made but I will say with confidence its the best HF radio made under $3,000 today and it only costs about $1,300.

There are a lot of things to consider buying a new radio and I'm just trying to help you avoid the buyers remorse that many people I know had with the Yaesu FTDX1200.
prcguy

WOW ill tell HRO ou think they suck as a supplier of ham radio gear.!!!

ill look at your link i havent purchased yet so i can always reconsider.

know any of these folks who dissed he 1200? id like too hear from some of them
 

AK9R

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Yes, you asked a question about a particular radio being compatible with a particular tuner. In that question, you referred to issues other people had raised, but you don't tell us what those issues are. So, we are shooting in the dark with regard to your question. What we can do is offer advice based on our experiences with many different radios and many different antennas.

You then go on to mention three antennas that you currently have. One of which, the Tram Discone, is intended for 25 to 1300 MHz so it is not suitable for your intended purpose of operating on 20m and 40m. Another antenna you mention is the Par EndFedz 49-foot model. I've looked at the specs of various Par antennas and I don't see a 49-foot model, so I'm stumped...maybe prcguy knows what your talking about. The third antenna you mention is a ZS6BKW.

So, using the information you provided, prcguy stated in the first reply to your question: "The FTDX1200 has a built in tuner that should handle your ZS6BKW just fine." That is the answer to your question. You don't need an external tuner to use your desired radio with one of the antennas you already possess. In other words, save your money, don't buy the MFJ tuner (BTW, have you ever looked inside an MFJ tuner? "Quality piece" is not a term I'd use to describe them.)

prcguy then went on to provide you with some advice about your chosen radio based on his knowledge and experience. Your reply is "icoms are the ugliest radios i see and im not very confident of their performance". This tells me, and maybe prcguy infers the same thing, that you are buying a radio based on opinion, pre-conceived notions, gut feeling, and radio salesman recommendations instead of looking at facts. prcguy then provided you a place to review the facts and states that maybe your radio shop is "pushing radios they can make more profit on". This is a fact of life. Retailers want to make a profit. Retail salesmen are programmed to steer customers towards products with higher profit margins. OTOH, prcguy isn't trying to sell you a radio and he won't make a commission on your purchase.

So, who you gonna believe? We see lots of folks come on here who are in the midst of a radio-buying decision. Many of the "regulars" here have been messing with radios for years and some of them work on radios or radio systems professionally. They generally make recommendations based on their knowledge and experience. Whether you choose to listen to their advice is your decision.
 

prcguy

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In my experience HRO is one of the more expensive retailers and don't compete well with GigaParts, DX Engineering, MTM and others. I also find their counter help is not very knowledgeable, at least at my local HRO.

Several years ago at the Dayton Hamvention I was purchasing a hot new hand held that was quickly selling out and AES and others had a better price but I was in front of the HRO tables. I asked HRO they could match AES and others price so I don't have to hike to the other building and buy from them and the guy behind the table at HRO told me to take a hike because he would not match any prices. I do have a commercial account at HRO and use them occasionally in a pinch if I'm in their neighborhood.

Most of the people that ditched their 1200s are people I talk to on a regular basis. To my knowledge none of them are RR members, but I can probably put you in touch with some of them. As W9BU mentioned, I'm not making a dime off you and am just offering experiences to help you make a better choice. In the end you will pay a lot of money and we all hope you will be satisfied with whatever you buy.

BTW, my ugly little Icom 7300 is one of the lowest performing radios I own, but that's because of the type of radios I usually buy. The last thing I needed was another HF radio but the 7300 is so good when it came out it was a no brainer and I bought one anyway.
prcguy



WOW ill tell HRO ou think they suck as a supplier of ham radio gear.!!!

ill look at your link i havent purchased yet so i can always reconsider.

know any of these folks who dissed he 1200? id like too hear from some of them
 

geraldw3210

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BTW, my ugly little Icom 7300 is one of the lowest performing radios I own!!!!

makes me want too run right out and buy one.


i visited HRO but doesnt mean ill buy from them, i shop around ill find the beat deal
 

prcguy

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Compared to my Elecraft K3, KX3 and KX2 it is, but I'm very pleased with the 7300. Its 3X the radio compared to my TenTec Eagle and has a much better receiver than my Tentec Omni VII and at 1/2 the cost.

A few of my friends that dumped Yaesu 1200s bought Icom 7300s and a few bought something else because the Yaesu1200 has been out for several years and the Icom 7300 is still fairly new.
prcguy

BTW, my ugly little Icom 7300 is one of the lowest performing radios I own!!!!

makes me want too run right out and buy one.


i visited HRO but doesnt mean ill buy from them, i shop around ill find the beat deal
 

wrath

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A local buddy of mine just last week bought a 1200 ,in very short order he declared it the most miserable POS radio he ever owned and took a loss to sell it fast ,he actually offered it to me as a an even trade for IC 7000 , I was smarter than that. If you do end up with buying for looks , there is a discontinued board made for that rig that will allow you to add an SDR receiver to it which improves it tremendously , still not a radio i myself long for or would trade for , and a warning regarding HRO , I bought a radio from them last year ,it was Kenwood, I installed the voice module and found the radio didn't work, called them they said send it back , i told them i installed the voice module , they said return that also , i did ,this might be small issue for some guys , but in the course of the exchange they managed to throw out my factory boxes and "spare parts " for instaling the voice module in a different radio, when I brought that to there attention they dismissed it "as you can always buy a new module for $69 " if you ever want to put it in a different radio to get the parts needed, I used to pay the more expensive prices because a buddy of mine was the manager , he always made sure the customer was satisfied , that's not HRO policy apparently and I won't deal with them again because of the "I don't care if your happy or not ,we have your money attitude" yes to some it's a non issue to me it matters, I still have all the packaging and manuals on every radio i have bought over the past 30 years so that when I die and the gear gets sold , the new owner has it , so for someone who didn't own the gear to decide the parts and boxes were garbage and expect me to not have a problem with it , makes me wonder what else they dont care about doing when the customer isnt around , so thats my experience and the reason I have not bought a radio from them again , I don't like when people cut corners on something they don't own and expect the client to just like it .

Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk
 
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