Yaesu: FTM-510DR
- Thread starter devicelab
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K4EET
Chaplain
Frankly what's there to talk about? Yaesu changed a thing or two, probably not for the better and upped the price.
It's nothing I'll be spending my money on.
My FTM 400D has a bigger screen for my blind ass while in the vehicle. Plus it has an on screen keyboard. Something used would work just fine vs. whatever the 510 offers. I’d rather use “new” money on the Kenwood that’s coming out.
The 400 did have a nice screen, I'll give it that. I ended up selling that to a friend of mine that wanted to do C4FM and hotspots and such. I'm not a fan of Yaesu's C4FM anyway, we've proven time and time again that other digital voice modes (especially D-star) will talk further with less signal and still be readable.
Had 2 100's sold both of those, and while still having the 300, I"m not a fan of it either. The first time I got to the highest channel I had in memory and it just stopped instead of looping back around to channel 1, I was done. It had pretty good specs on the service monitor on analog receive on both 2 meters and 70cm, however so I'll give it that. It sits in my spare room except for a couple of 'events' we have in the area which include their C4FM stuff. The only possible reason I'd ever consider a 500 it's faceplate has what I'm told is a usable speaker in it. I've yet to hear it personally, a buddy is gonna let me run one for a bit while he borrows something of mine so, we'll see. I seriously doubt I'll up the money for one however regardless of how that turns out.
I'm not holding my breath on the Kenwood, we'll see. I'm sure that's gonna be pricey. In the mean time at home, I'll just keep running my older Kenwood's which work just fine.
I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that Yaesu has a problem in their Design and Production Departments especially when it comes to System Fusion mobile radios.
Here are some production dates to consider:
FTM-400DR 2012-2015 discontinued
FTM-400XDR 2015-2022 discontinued
FTM-100DR 2015-2020 discontinued
FTM-3200DR 2016-???? reportedly discontinued
FTM-300DR 2020-???? reportedly discontinued
FTM-200DR 2022-???? reportedly discontinued
FTM-500DR 2023-2025 discontinued
FTM-510DRASP 2025- in production
Seems to me that they have trouble keeping these radios in production. Are these discontinuances due to unresolvable design problems or are they running out of parts? Are these radios being designed around components that have short life spans? Or, are the production planners not doing a good job keep stocks of parts on hand to build these radios? Or, is corporate not allowing the planners to buy enough parts?
Here are some production dates to consider:
FTM-400DR 2012-2015 discontinued
FTM-400XDR 2015-2022 discontinued
FTM-100DR 2015-2020 discontinued
FTM-3200DR 2016-???? reportedly discontinued
FTM-300DR 2020-???? reportedly discontinued
FTM-200DR 2022-???? reportedly discontinued
FTM-500DR 2023-2025 discontinued
FTM-510DRASP 2025- in production
Seems to me that they have trouble keeping these radios in production. Are these discontinuances due to unresolvable design problems or are they running out of parts? Are these radios being designed around components that have short life spans? Or, are the production planners not doing a good job keep stocks of parts on hand to build these radios? Or, is corporate not allowing the planners to buy enough parts?
KF0NYL
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It does make you wonder what's going on with Yaesu and why they keep introducing new models and discontinuing other models so quickly.
devicelab
Whacker Extraordinaire
Well the 400DR had the GPS issue. I don't know if that it was its only problem. I was an early adopter of the 400DR and was very excited to have it mobile, but then the GPS wouldn't pick up satellites. I later tested it on the dash and it took over an hour to get the GPS working.
SA4MDN
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- 71
XDE model sorted that out
People keep buying them so why wouldn't they. When the answer to most things people complain about is "it's a feature", I'm not sure why they keep buying them though. I guess they need the latest technology (tongue in cheek) at their disposal.
I really like my FTM-400XDR but I run a FTM-300DR in the car mostly because the small head makes it easier to find mounting locations and the display is bright and crisp. But like was commented above, I hate that it doesn't roll over as you turn the channel knob to the end of your channel list.
I've contacted Yaesu about this (perhaps it could be changed in a firmware update) but no response.
I've contacted Yaesu about this (perhaps it could be changed in a firmware update) but no response.
I had a 400D as well. I sold it but kept the XD with the improved GPS. Yaesu is quick to come out with something new, but we often see revisions to fix flaws. Serious flaws that seems as though no one tested the device in the field. I am unsure I will purchase Yaesu in the future. If I do, the model will have been out a few years to ensure there are no issues. Thus, I expect it will be a used device.
I have a Kenwood D710 mobile on the shelf ready to go, should the Yaesu fail. I used it for years and it has many more to go. The mic buttons are big, so I would easily control it with my thumb and keep my eyes in the road.
I have a Kenwood D710 mobile on the shelf ready to go, should the Yaesu fail. I used it for years and it has many more to go. The mic buttons are big, so I would easily control it with my thumb and keep my eyes in the road.
I was told that's a "feature"
I'd personally probably dust off the 710 and put the 400 on the shelf. I traded one off a while back and while k was happy getting the radio I got, kind of wish I still had the 710.
Yaesu is pushing the idea that new = better and improved.
I‘ve had three or four D710’s. I sent all but one back in to Kenwood for the free filter replacement and then later sold them as good working radios to fellow hams after using them again myself for a while. The one I kept never had the bad filter, but the replacement filter models worked just as well. If one enjoys analog only, the D710 is solid. I use the Greenlight Labs external GPS with it.
Yaesu, you have no one to blame but yourself for the direction this thread took. I doubt they’re crying on the way to the bank though.
Yaesu, you have no one to blame but yourself for the direction this thread took. I doubt they’re crying on the way to the bank though.
KF0NYL
Member
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- Oct 20, 2023
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- 159
I am not one that has to keep up with the Jones's but there are plenty that are.
I personally do not care for Yaesu's menu system and I got a bit turned off by their customer service so I stick with other brands instead.
Day in and out I run a Kenwood 641 with 2,1.25 and 70cm at home. Got a 741 in the works to run mobile. I've got other stuff ONLY due to some events we have around here a couple times a year. I do like my Icom 5100 but unless it's one of the events no one is on D-Star any more. 12 or so years so there were 20-25 of us scattered around that did D-star simplex. Was neat when the band opened a little making 100 + mile contacts there but those days are gone I guess so I am 95% analog now.
