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So want to pick up a FT-101, which one do I want?

i paid a massive amount of money for one was supposed to be like new when i got it it was trashed by ups. dumbass seller did not put insurance on it so i lost over 600 \bucks put it in a crate in my closet. o it worked 2 hours after put nos tubes and another 65 bucks
some day i might fix it. it has am filter in it
 
40+ yrs old radio's now.
.....
If you can't work on your own gear, have the equipment to do so...ANY rig that old nowadays can quickly turn into a "Money Pit" if you need to rely on someone else to keep it operational...MHO

Gary

This is the most important part when considering a radio of this age. If you aren't able to do the work yourself it can be frustrating and expensive.
On the other hand if a particular radio is on your buck list then you may not be concerned with potential maintenance issues.
For me I have a Kenwood 830 line that I fire up once in a while.
 
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I have owned Two different versions & was not impressed with either. I had the FT-101EX & FT-101B & both were pretty much the same on SSB. The EX had the AM filter installed so it was far better on AM but still not impressive. I had to almost beg someone to buy the EX & it was loaded with a full set of crystals & had the AM filter. I sold it for just $150 recently & am so happy that is is gone. Remember most of them & other Boat Anchor rigs need constant repairs so put some money aside if you buy one & that includes if you work on them yourself since often they require parts. I would not accept another one of any version for FREE since I hate gear that always needs repairs & both of mine did quiet often. I see them as Highly Over Rated.

SIX-SHOOTER
Yeah i had that issue too when i sold my 101EE. Nobody wanted it because "it twerent ah E" and the ee had an am filter and full compliment of crystals as well as speech processor. Of course the ones that didn't want it because it wasn't the E were all CBers.
 
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I still have a 101 B and a E.
They are both in storage.
I have not even looked at them in at least 4 years.
I did have a lot of fun with the 101 many years back running that radio on AM and SSB but to be honest I would not spend any money on one today.
In fact I would be hard pressed to spend any money on anything built by Yaesu now.
I used to be a Yaesu fan but that is no longer the case.
I don't want to be another $1K plus beta tester again.

73
Jeff
 
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My FT-857 is a wonderful "shack in the box" .
It's so hard to listen to . It just wears me out.
I use other receivers and transmit from the 857. Kinda defeats the purpose.
 
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I have the 897D and yes it is a lot of radio in a small package.
The audio DSP is not that impressive on voice modes , however it is a good little CW rig.
The nb is almost useless in a mobile.
The speach processor is a joke.
Also be aware that if you expand the tx you will lose the auto repeater offsets.
I got the 897 over the 857 because of how little heatsink there is with the smaller radio.
I have run it at home, in the mobile (have the mobile bracket) and used it camping many times so I can not say it has not been a good radio , just not a great radio.
Now it is starting to develop the Zebra syndrome on the display that Yaesu is very aware of and still will not own up to, but will fix for a couple hundred bucks.
However they will not tell you that sometime down the road it won't fail again.
I also had a VX5R that was DOA when I bought it new and had to go back before I could even use it.
The display backlight was too dim and made it hard to read in bright sunlight.
The printing on the keypad did not last even a year before I had to have that replaced and required you to keep it in a case to prevent it from wearing out again.

That was followed by a VX7R that the RX sounded like hell from day 1. It also had to go back for a fix that took care of it , but the TX audio was never anything to write home about.
There was a mod to fix that issue but it involved poking holes in the waterproof membrane over the Mic element..... I was like WTF?
The water proof feature was one of the selling points of the radio.
Then about a year later one of the cermanic filters failed in the radio.
I had that fixed and i threw in the towel and got rid of it.
All of this has left a bad taste in my mouth for any Yaesu branded products.

73
Jeff
 
Never liked the older Yaesu radios, mainly because they used sweep tubes & were
a little drifty.
Their more recent offerings 1200, 3000, 5000 are pretty good.
The 891 mobile has some good feedback also.
Also the three year warranty gives the buyer a feeling that they are confident in their
products.
I recently picked up a FTDX3000 and am quite pleased with it.Very quiet receiver and
good tx audio. Time will tell.
 
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I recently picked up a FTDX3000 and am quite pleased with it.Very quiet receiver and
good tx audio. Time will tell.

The FT-3000 is a nice looking radio. To me it's a nice layout on the front and with the 3 coax ports has some nice antenna connection options.
 
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