Yaesu FT1D (C4FM digital)

[Chris-KH2PM]

I have pictures of the PCB. Opened mine up awhile back. BatWing logo on the green printed circuit boards.
The overall layout of the hardware is identical (keypad layout, LCD, antenna and knob locations) to the XPR series HT's.

Pics:

Vertex-Standard VXD-720

Vertex has come out with some recent firmware updates, so now DTMF works in analog, RSSI displays on the LCD when you power on the radio and press the Left arrow key 3 times followed by the Right Arrow key 3 times, same as the XPR's. The V117LI Lithium battery (upgrade) has IMPRES circuitry inside, and will function the same (precondition/discharge, etc) as a MOTO IMPRES XPR6550 battery in an IMPRES charger.

As for the Yaesu FT1D, it looks like an interesting HT. Comes with a GPS built in. Too bad it won't communicate in P25 C4FM with Motorola XTS digital radios and such, or I'd be very interested. If
Yaesu has any business sense, they'll offer a version that works on the DMR-MARC/DCI MotoTRBO networks already in place and growing weekly. A new proprietary digital format will fail miserably, unless
they price it so cheap that most hams can't pass them up. I seriously doubt that will happen.

 

[mkewman]

I do not see Yaesu supporting either P25 or DMR with this radio. Full P25 has encryption which can't be used on the ham bands; yeah, I suppose they could omit that and be non-standard. But more importantly, P25 or DMR both would encroach on their professional level $1000 VXD-720. Gresham's Law all over again.

Ummmm... Full P25 is not encrypted. Project 25 is collaborative project to ensure that two-way radios are interoperable. Encryption by it's very definition is NOT interoperable. You are misinformed, but that's beside the point.

 

[WQ9P]

A friend and I bought FT-1D radios recently (we are early adopter types...) and have been playing with them. I paid $365 for a barely used unit, he paid $430 for new. We're both very pleased and impressed with the technology packed into this small package. (We also have VX1Rs.) The digital modes work well and the audio is very good. The units have a mode where they will automatically switch between FM and digital so they can be used as standard analog radios but will switch to digital if they see a digital signal. No cumbersome setup before you can use digital.

It will be interesting to see what capabilities the Repeaters implement when they are released. We plan on working to get one installed locally when they become available.

 

[N8OHU]

Ummmm... Full P25 is not encrypted. Project 25 is collaborative project to ensure that two-way radios are interoperable. Encryption by it's very definition is NOT interoperable. You are misinformed, but that's beside the point.

I think what he meant is that the APCO P25 standard supports encryption, much like DMR and NXDN do. It's also the standard that is generally used by Law Enforcement and Fire and Rescue, among other groups.

 

[SCPD]

yaesu ft1d

yaesu ft-1d.Hows the sound?Is it better than D-Star?Sound less garbled?

 

[JStemann]

I was looking over the specs for the mobile version (ftm-400dr) and comparing them to the ft1d. I noticed emission designator F7W listed for both. According to the radio ref wiki, the only format listed ending in f7w is NXDN. I realize F7W doesn't really provide enough information to know about compatibility, but has anyone tried the ft1 with another nxdn radio?

I seriously doubt I'd jump into a new digital format (yaesu's) unless it worked with an established (p25, dmr, dstar,) digital format, but at least with nxdn you wouldn't have to rely/wait on everybody buying/building out yaesu's network.

Yes, i do realize dstar is "essentially" Icom's, it does, though (I believe) have the 2nd largest repeater network (next to analog fm) out there and it is an open standard.

Jeff

 

[kb9mwr]

Yea, not surprised. One of the big reasons I am moving away from buying Yaesu products... Why support a company so bent on not listening. Hello Kenwood, at least they listen to their customers.


Sent from an unknown place...

I have been buying Yeasu for years. It always seems like the best bang for the buck. I bought my first Icom for D-Star a couple years ago. The radio is build well, and works good in analog, but the D-Star R2D2, drives me away, along with low audio output (IC-92). The D-Star repeaters are design joke.

So when I read Yeasu was getting into digital, I was excited... Then the discovery of a non-standard, really kind of pissed me off. I am thinking my next radio will be a Kenwood. They were always second in my book, and now they seem to be embracing updatable firmware.

 

[AK9R]

As it turns out, Yaesu does have a plan for digital communications over amateur radio.

Dennis Motschenbacher K7BV, Executive Vice President for Yaesu, made a presentation this week at the ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference where the Yaesu DR-1 repeater was announced.

You can view the video of the presentation here:

HamRadioNow Episode 99: Yaesu Announces Digital Voice Repeater at the Hamvention@ - YouTube

 

[DisasterGuy]

A friend and I bought FT-1D radios recently (we are early adopter types...) and have been playing with them. I paid $365 for a barely used unit, he paid $430 for new. We're both very pleased and impressed with the technology packed into this small package. (We also have VX1Rs.) The digital modes work well and the audio is very good. The units have a mode where they will automatically switch between FM and digital so they can be used as standard analog radios but will switch to digital if they see a digital signal. No cumbersome setup before you can use digital.

It will be interesting to see what capabilities the Repeaters implement when they are released. We plan on working to get one installed locally when they become available.

Have you attempted to interoperate with a P25 repeater or any P25 terminal equipment?

 

[Chris-KH2PM]

Have you attempted to interoperate with a P25 repeater or any P25 terminal equipment?

Totally incompatible, as expected. I have an XTS-5000 and tried it out of curiosity. They don't even sound close to the same when listening to the 'digital' sound on an analog receiver. I even tried using DSD, which will monitor P25 from my XTS great, but nothing from the FT1D.

I travel extensively, so eventually I'll end up in a town with a Yaesu C4FM repeater up and running and get to use the 'digital' modes. I like experimenting with new-tech, so I bought one from HRO. It arrived the next day, as I'm within 2-day shipping of the Woodbridge VA store.

Overall I'm VERY pleased with the quality of the construction & overall feel of the FT1D. Crisp buttons, nice solid metal case. The more I use it and understand the extensive manual, the more I like it. Even if I never get to use the 'digital' features of the radio, it's a great analog HT. Audio quality is excellent. The GPS is sensitive (even works indoors), the APRS features are awesome. The receiver has great audio... aircraft, Shortwave AM (no SSB/BFO, unfortunately such as the Kenwood THF6A has). Receives AM and FM broadcast great. Even CB radio comes in clear as a bell. 800mhz analog comes in great. 220 & 6 Meters receive capability. Overall I have not found anything analog that this radio has trouble hearing, within it's receiver tuning specs. The GPS is built in, not an extra cost feature.
Programming cable is included with the radio, and ADMS-6 programming software is available for free to download from Yaesu or you can buy the RT Systems programming software, which I did, as I've used it with my FTM-350 and found it to be worth the price (See HRO).

Hopefully the Yaesu DR-1 repeater will have enticing features in addition to the analog/digital (mixed-mode) capabilities that have been announced so far. I've never owned a D-STAR radio, or even used one, but I have used P25 (we had two P25 Quantar's up for Ham use for a few years here) and I'm currently on DMR/MotoTRBO so it will be interesting to compare.

As for Yaesu choosing an incompatible digital format, I too am a bit annoyed, but time will tell whether or not the FEC (forward-error-correction) capabilities of C4FM FDMA offer enhanced digital reception. I have found that to be true with DMR already. Maybe there will be some surprises with the repeater, some features such as Dual-Band capability; hopefully it will be marketed at an attractive price with incentives for current repeater owners to swap out their current analog repeater for a discount. It will take such moves to make their System Fusion attractive for the majority of us analog old-timers.