[Yaesu] FT-1000D

[Randy Farmer]

>I just saw an ad for a new FT-1000D at a very low price.  I am thinking
>of making the call and buying a new 1000D.  My question is, how
>important are the second receiver filters that are optional?

Depends. As far as I know, the only option filter for the subreceiver is
the XF-455MC 600 Hz unit for CW. If you use the radio for CW DXing and/or
contesting, you'll find the filter to be quite useful in sorting out a pile
on a calling frequency to find exactly where you should be transmitting. It
would probably also be useful for receive diversity on CW, something I
haven't personally tried. It is fairly easy to install, but if you put one
in, be SURE you trim the pins soldered through the board slightly. I
neglected to do that when I first installed mine and was rewarded with a
dead receiver due to the filter input and output pins shorting to the
subreceiver shield tray.

As to general impressions, I've had mine for five years now and have used
it for LOTS of heavy-duty contest operation. Simply put, it's without peer
for demanding applications like contest or DX operation. The only quibble I
have with its design is the choice of puny op amps to drive the headphone
output in a $4K radio. I had to get a small Radio Shack stereo amp to get
sufficient audio power to be useful in my (admittedly elaborate) audio
switching setup in the contest station. And the microphone input seems to
be quite sensitive to RF on the mic cable -- I had to put tiny 1mH chokes
in the hot line and PTT line directly inside the mic connector to scotch RF
troubles when I ran 1500 Watts to a shunt-fed tower on 160 meters.

The receiver is excellent. It's not quite the performer my heavily-modified
Drake R-4C was, but it's amazingly close. I also like the 200W power output
capability, especially now that I'm in a situation where I don't have the
ability to run an amplifier. And the human engineering is excellent. You
don't have to navigate a bunch of menus to set the thing up, an important
consideration if you're going to be spending lots of time at the controls
in a contest.

I lost the receiver PIN diode in the T/R switch circuitry a couple of years
ago due to, in my opinion, a badly designed factory modification in the T/R
driver circuitry (a series diode that doesn't belong where it was put).
This was kind of a pain to fix, but Yaesu was quick to supply me with the
necessary part, and I soon had it running again. Other than some damage
from lightning (which Yaesu repaired under warranty) this is the only
trouble I've ever had with the radio.

One warning: If you plan to use the computer control feature of the radio,
be sure it has ROM version 6.1 or later installed. If the radio is really
new, this should be no problem. The ROM version can be checked by holding
the 1.5 MHz and 7 MHz band keys down at power-up; this will test the
microprocessor and display circuitry and display the ROM version. I believe
it requires a trip to the Yaesu service center to install a ROM update, but
I'm not sure.

I'd advise you to go for it. You'll be getting the best performing radio
available.

Randy, W8FN
Weatherford TX (Near Fort Worth / Dallas)

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