Yaesu: Yaesu FTM 300D replacement

[laflaone]

I bought this radio from HRO on 12/16/2024, 2 days after I got my tech license. I'm new to ham radio. As late as Nov, 2024, if you said "ham" to me, I would think you were talking about my favorite at Thanksgiving Dinner! In my ignorance, I did not know that Yaesu was discontinuing the radio, and that HRO would very soon thereafter take it off their website.

A question: should the microphone plug into the head unit, which obviously has to be accessible at all times, or plugged into the main transmitter unit, which could be under the driver's seat or on the back floor out of the way? Isn't this a no brainer? Are there any good mobile units that have the mic plugging in where it belongs? This is the main reason I am looking for a replacement for the FTM300. Make and price are not a consideration. Good design and features are.

Thanks. K1WKH, 73

 

[kayn1n32008]

I bought this radio from HRO on 12/16/2024, 2 days after I got my tech license. I'm new to ham radio. As late as Nov, 2024, if you said "ham" to me, I would think you were talking about my favorite at Thanksgiving Dinner! In my ignorance, I did not know that Yaesu was discontinuing the radio, and that HRO would very soon thereafter take it off their website.

A question: should the microphone plug into the head unit, which obviously has to be accessible at all times, or plugged into the main transmitter unit, which could be under the driver's seat or on the back floor out of the way? Isn't this a no brainer? Are there any good mobile units that have the mic plugging in where it belongs? This is the main reason I am looking for a replacement for the FTM300. Make and price are not a consideration. Good design and features are.

Thanks. K1WKH, 73

The no Brainer, is that the mic should plug into the control head, so you don't need to have a mic extension in addition to the control head cable.

It was one of a couple issue I had with my TM-V71A mobile, that I didn't like. It was a much better radio than the FT8800 it replaced.

For an answer, hit up Google amd see if you can see where the mic plugs into the radio.

 

[AK9R]

The microphone plugs into the RF deck, not the control head. This is described in the owners manual which ships with the radio and is available in PDF form for download from Yaesu's website.

As for new radios that have the mic plug on the control head, one that I know of is the Yaesu FTM-510D. There may be others. If a radio interests you, go to the manufacturer's or importer's website and download the manual.

 

[GlobalNorth]

For some reason, Yaesu uses the 'mike to RF brick' cable on their recent generation mobiles. I have a crew cab truck and had to buy the factory RJ-45 extension cable for my FTM-400. It works, but it isn't an elegant solution.

 

[KK4JUG]

My Yaesu FTM-200 is under the front passenger seat and, yes, the mic normally plugs into the RF unit. That's the only real complaint I have with the radio. I bought an RJ-45 extension cord for the mic and everything works just fine. It was only a minor hassle running the control head and mic extensions. One caveat: some vehicles have heat outlets under the front seats pointing backwards. My radio is near the center of the vehicle away from the vent. I also put a hook strip of Velcro on the bottom of the radio. The strip adheres to the carpeting and the radio doesn't move around.

You didn't ask but I also keep the data/programming cable plugged in at all times. It doesn't interfere with anything. To program, I simply pull the cable out from under the seat and plug it into the computer.

 

[k6cpo]

There are after market mic extension cables that will work just fine for a lot less money than the Yaesu cable. Here's one I used on both my FTM-100 and FTM-400 with no issues. The only reason I'm not still using it is because I bought the FTM-500 which has the option of plugging in the mic on either the control head or the radio body.

7 ft Modular Extension Cord, Straight Wired, RJ12 (6x6)

Extend your telephone connection quickly with L-com's convenient extension cables. Available with RJ11, RJ12, or RJ45 connections, these handy extensions will extend your telephone or data lines up to 7Ft. Each cable features one male RJ plug and one inline female RJ jack.

www.l-com.com

 

[KF0NYL]

You can also make your own extension cables using Cat5 or Cat 6 network cables. You just need to know the correct pinout. And network cable testers are pretty cheap and will tell you what the pin out is on the cable. Just match any new cable to the existing cable.

Matching pinouts is more important when it comes to extension cable for remote heads than it does for hand mic's. A straight through cable will normally work just fine for a hand mic.

 

[k6cpo]

For some reason, Yaesu uses the 'mike to RF brick' cable on their recent generation mobiles. I have a crew cab truck and had to buy the factory RJ-45 extension cable for my FTM-400. It works, but it isn't an elegant solution.

My Yaesu FTM-200 is under the front passenger seat and, yes, the mic normally plugs into the RF unit. That's the only real complaint I have with the radio. I bought an RJ-45 extension cord for the mic and everything works just fine. It was only a minor hassle running the control head and mic extensions. One caveat: some vehicles have heat outlets under the front seats pointing backwards. My radio is near the center of the vehicle away from the vent. I also put a hook strip of Velcro on the bottom of the radio. The strip adheres to the carpeting and the radio doesn't move around.

You didn't ask but I also keep the data/programming cable plugged in at all times. It doesn't interfere with anything. To program, I simply pull the cable out from under the seat and plug it into the computer.

The microphone connectors on Yaesu mobile radios are not RJ-45s. They are RJ-12. The RJ-45 is an eight conductor connector/cable and the RJ-12 is the proper six conductor/cable.

 

[KK4JUG]

The microphone connectors on Yaesu mobile radios are not RJ-45s. They are RJ-12. The RJ-45 is an eight conductor connector/cable and the RJ-12 is the proper six conductor/cable.

My bad. I knew that. Anyway, it works.

 

[N4DJC]

On the new Yaesu FTM-150R, the mic attaches to the control head. It’s a nice looking rig but no APRS or color screen.