Yaesu: Is Yaesu producing defective FTM300D radios?

[k6cpo]

My guess is that the so-called "test equipment" is not accurate.

 

[10-43]

People choose to get items made in China because of cheap labor costs. They can make garbage there, or good quality there. Depends on what the owner asks for. Think about all the cellphones made there. But I’d rather buy a Yaesu designed in Japan, and made in China vs a Baoturd designed, & made in China.

I have no problem with the quality of major brands made in China, but I would prefer if we were not so dependent on China. If not made in US or Japan, I like to see made in Vietnam, South Korea, Taiwan or maybe other Asian countries other than China. China has the world by the ....

 

[KK4JUG]

I have no problem with the quality of major brands made in China, but I would prefer if we were not so dependent on China. If not made in US or Japan, I like to see made in Vietnam, South Korea, Taiwan or maybe other Asian countries other than China. China has the world by the ....

If that's what you want, buy clothes. I have clothing made in Bangladesh, Honduras, Mongolia, Viet Nam, Israel, Cambodia, El Salvador, Peru, India, Honduras, and I quit looking.

 

[robertwbob]

interesting.my ftm 200d is stamped made in japan. mic says china. and all reviews read its not good. humm my 200 is a very fine working radio.easiest yaesu to program manually.
only 1 bad,when you get to end of stored freqs you must either go back or put 001 in mic,its not continous manual search

 

[hypersight]

Yes they are producing garbage these days. 2 years back I purchased the FTM300 from a reputable ham radio store here in Canada. About a month owning it, the A band went full volume no matter where the volume control was set at. Obviously a defective volume pot. I exchanged it for another one. Again, almost a month later it lost all audio on both bands. I returned it for a full refund.

 

[KK4JUG]

Since about 2015, two Yaesu mobiles (including an FTM-200) and 2 Yaesu portables and not a speck of trouble.

 

[MTS2000des]

I own:
FT-911 (2016)
FT-5DR (2020)
FT-8800 (2009)

All three work to spec, never any issues, the 8800 is pretty much on 24/7 often in XBR mode.

Yaesu has a 3 year parts/labor warranty with US based service center. Icom does too but only a 1 year warranty. JVC Kenwood pretty much gave up on dealing with crybaby cheap hams and sells real radios to people who have real money.

Paying for pizza and beer and demanding steak and ale. The cheap ham mantra.

 

[k6cpo]

I own the following Yaesu radios, acquired over the last 13 years: VX-1, FT-270, FT-60, FT1D, FT5D, FT-1900, FT-7900 (three), FT-8900, FTM-100D, FTM-350, FTM-400XDR and FTM-500. Most were purchased new, but several were purchased used from private individuals. I also have used but never owned the FT2D, FT-817 and FT-8800. EVERY SINGLE ONE of these radios have lived up to expectations and ALL have operated as they should have. I accidentally dropped the VX-1 on concrete and broke the battery door, but Yaesu Parts actually had a replacement in stock, 22 years after the model was discontinued. I was traveling on Amtrak and using My FT-60 to monitor the railroad's frequencies. Somehow, I banged it against something and caused a nice star-shaped crack in the LCD window, but it didn't affect the performance of the radio and I still use it once in a while, crack and all.

This just points up that Yaesu produces a quality product. I would not hesitate to buy another Yaesu. I suspect a lot of the issues with radios are due to operator error by people who don't read the manuals thoroughly. A good example is those who had issues with the speakers on the FTM-400 because they didn't read far enough in the manual to learn they should have used the adapter that came with the radio when using a mono speaker. Granted, part of the problem was that Yaesu put that information on Page 162 of the manual, but it doesn't forgive not reading the entire thing.

 

[MTS2000des]

I am impressed with the build quality of Yaesu radios since the late 1990s when they began shipping radios like the FT10/40/50 and FT-60 which were built as rugged as Motorola iDEN gear, performed superbly, and were just overall FUN radios to operate (The FT-50 with it's voice recorder were HOURS of RF FUN). Then they brought out really cool innovative products like the FTM-10, FTM-350, and real quality shack in a box radios like the FT-897, FT-857, FT-817/818.

It costs real money to design this stuff especially with no commercial counterpart products and sell them to CHEAP HAMS who DEMAND hand holding Apple store level support at Wal-Mart/Family Dollar prices.

 

[a727469]

While I feel your pain on “defective “ equipment, as stated by others there are many variables to consider in power measurement. Not to downplay the issue, but if everything else is working perfectly and you like the radio I would live with the few watt difference which will not affect real world usage. Yes, I know it is the principle of the thing, but personally, I would not spend any more time on it and either return or enjoy the radio.

 

[robertwbob]

I have no problem with the quality of major brands made in China, but I would prefer if we were not so dependent on China. If not made in US or Japan, I like to see made in Vietnam, South Korea, Taiwan or maybe other Asian countries other than China. China has the world by the ....

viet nam,bad taste in my mouth

 

[10-43]

viet nam,bad taste in my mouth

How about Japan? It depends on your generation. Have you ever seen a map of the Japanese Empire for 1942? The possible outcomes of history can be quite interesting. If Japan had not tried to move so far east, Korea and Vietnam probably would have never existed and those two wars as well.

 

[10-43]

I am impressed with the build quality of Yaesu radios since the late 1990s when they began shipping radios like the FT10/40/50 and FT-60 which were built as rugged as Motorola iDEN gear, performed superbly, and were just overall FUN radios to operate (The FT-50 with it's voice recorder were HOURS of RF FUN). Then they brought out really cool innovative products like the FTM-10, FTM-350, and real quality shack in a box radios like the FT-897, FT-857, FT-817/818.

It costs real money to design this stuff especially with no commercial counterpart products and sell them to CHEAP HAMS who DEMAND hand holding Apple store level support at Wal-Mart/Family Dollar prices.

I became a big fan of Yaesu as well. I wish they had fixed the rotary selector on the FT-857. 2 steps forward, one step back or maybe two. I replaced mine and it helped, but it still happens sometimes. I have a better rotary switch that solves the issue when tested jumpered in, but it won't quite fit in the control head. It almost will. Yaesu could have fixed that issue, but like so many other manufacturers it was never acknowledged.

 

[MTS2000des]

I became a big fan of Yaesu as well. I wish they had fixed the rotary selector on the FT-857. 2 steps forward, one step back or maybe two. I replaced mine and it helped, but it still happens sometimes. I have a better rotary switch that solves the issue when tested jumpered in, but it won't quite fit in the control head. It almost will. Yaesu could have fixed that issue, but like so many other manufacturers it was never acknowledged.

That and the display failures. But in all fairness, the LCD display failures caused by ribbon/flex/conductor pads isn't specific to Yaesu. Like most manufacturers, source LCD modules from 3rd parties. Almighty Motorola had just as many display failures on Jedi radios, XTS's too.

 

[mrweather]

Have owned a couple dozen Yaesu radios in my 25 years of being a ham. The only turd among them was the FT-7100. Other than that, they've been trouble-free

 

[10-43]

That and the display failures. But in all fairness, the LCD display failures caused by ribbon/flex/conductor pads isn't specific to Yaesu. Like most manufacturers, source LCD modules from 3rd parties. Almighty Motorola had just as many display failures on Jedi radios, XTS's too.

Fortunately I never had the LCD issue. I did inspect mine to see how this happens when I had it apart. Mine seemed to be fitting snug.

 

[MTS2000des]

Have owned a couple dozen Yaesu radios in my 25 years of being a ham. The only turd among them was the FT-7100. Other than that, they've been trouble-free

The white elephant dual bander that was. You can tell how many fixes the factory did by the number of colored dots on the box. I think they rushed that radio to market. Many die of EEPROM failure, are buggy when they do work, and IMD performance is subpar. Even Toyota makes a TuRD now and then.

 

[10-43]

I wish Yaesu would introduce a replacement for the FT-857D. An FT-891 with 2M and 70CM. I have an FT-891. For HF and 50Mhz a good improvement.

 

[rf_patriot200]

I wish Yaesu would introduce a replacement for the FT-857D. An FT-891 with 2M and 70CM. I have an FT-891. For HF and 50Mhz a good improvement.

Yaesu just released a new rig, Replacing the 817, but I don't recall the Model # . The FTX1F is new for Yaesu.

 

[10-43]

817/818 no longer on their website. FT-710 is new, but certainly not a replacement for the 818. It's similar to the FTDX10 in appearance. Not small like 818 and not QRP.