FTdx10 & FTdx5000MP: Operating in SSB Contest Conditions (Video #11 in this series)

[@Roadglide59]

I've been away from operating for a few years as life changes priorities. Finally retired and will be moving to the Philippines in a few months. Along with retirement come my favorite hobbies: Ham radio, billiards, scuba, fishing, and metal detecting. I purchased the FTDX10 today along with some wire antennas and random other equipment. Thank you for your videos, I'm binge watching them so setup will be easy. Keep up the great work. 73's

[@n4hnhradio]

Congratulations on your retirement, Jim. Great hobbies all. The FTdx10 is a great transceiver. None are perfect but Yaesu scored very well with the hybrid receive architecture. I look forward to hearing how you do with it. 73, Doug

[@FA7X]

Just found your channel while looking for filtering tips. I spent some time this weekend trying to work some Light Houses and quickly realized that the North American QSO Party was going on as well. I only have an antenna for 20 on my Icom 7300 and the band was pretty full. there was so much "high metallic noise" that I gave up and used it as an opportunity to really experiment with the 7300's filters. Uh, yeah, it could be a lot of operator error (mine), but they don't seem to be in the same league as the FTDX10. I was able to pick up a few tips from your videos (I didn't think to lower the RF gain. Gonna try that next time) Thank you.

[@n4hnhradio]

Most of the tips I show with a Yaesu radio can be used with radios from Kenwood and ICOM. Kenwood and ICOM just label certain things differently. Yaesu IPO (Intercept Point Optimization) is more equivalent to operating your ICOM or a Kenwood with no preamplifier enabled. Intercept Point Optimization actually uses a very small amount of gain, but it maximizes the signal-to-noise ratio along with that gain. It doesn’t amplify enough to degrade the S/N ratio. Kenwood and ICOM have RIT and XIT, which are called RX Clarifier and TX Clarifier in a Yaesu. The ICOM transceivers use a technique called Twin Passband Tuning. The Shift and Width functions are blended together. I find the Yaesu approach of independently controlling Shift and Width to be a more straightforward workflow. 73, de N4HNH

[@_PikeWxRadio]

So many lessons learned in 20 minutes i wish i came to this video first haha. Im glad to watch all the others. I would join on patreon if i could but just no able to right now because this is the most in depth content related to yaesu radios out there. Great stuff Doug it really is an art form. I now have to apply this to my 891. Thanks for the efforts of putting this out there.

[@n4hnhradio]

You’re very welcome! 73, de N4HNH

[@M7BVV-Phil]

Hi so i just got a Yaesu a FTDX10 two days ago, (love it) ...I can not believe the audio qulity compared to my ic-7300 which is a great radio, but in my humble opinion is just not as good as the Yaesu ftdx10 for pulling in stations which other wise i would not here and of course its DNR when needed is incredible, its completely in a differant ballpark to my yaesu ft40D,which funnny enough is still my go-to rig. That being said i'm sure I'll have many years of fun to come with the Yaesu FTDX10 !...thanks for sharing ,73's

[@n4hnhradio]

Congratulations! You chose wisely. No company makes a perfect radio but Yaesu gets close.

[@ncphotos]

Great video of the FTDX10 working station love it!

[@n4hnhradio]

I’m glad you enjoyed it.

[@ullismills1]

Just love the sound of the reciever that the Ftdx 5000 produces..My dreamrig, maybe one day😉👍

[@n4hnhradio]

My dream-rig was the Kenwood TS-990S, until I put it up against the FTdx5000MP. The 5000 certainly earned my admiration. I hate to say it, but I think it’s days are numbered. Yaesu has been making it for more than 10 years. They tend to stop making great radios in their prime. 73, de N4HNH

[@Finkployd78]

I picked mine up yesterday and this weekend couldn’t have been a better “jump into the deep end” exercise in how to operate it.

[@n4hnhradio]

Congratulations! 73, de N4HNH

[@tglenn3121]

Thank you for this video. I'm considering buying this radio.

[@n4hnhradio]

Both transceivers are titans.

[@propagating-radio]

I appreciate this video series. You were a big part in convincing me to buy this rig. It’ll be here this week.

[@n4hnhradio]

I’m glad you found the series helpful. 73, de N4HNH

[@Atomshamradio]

Ftdx10 great radio love it it grew on me like my 2 7300s

[@mikesage9544]

Another very credible video Doug. Thank you. The only thing that you forgot to mention is that the 5000 is over 10 years old. Now that really puts matters into perspective don't you think!! Impressive in the extreme. Send me a PM when you are able..73

[@n4hnhradio]

Indeed Mike,. The manager at my local radio store says they have about done all they can to the radio receiver and transmitter, so they are putting pretty faces on now. The 5000 definitely hangs tough with the young whippersnappers. But, in the credit where credit is due department, the FTdx10 has demonstrated greatness for less than half the price of a FTdx5000MP. That’s great for those who want a contest class transceiver for under $2,000. My email in good on QRZ. 73, Doug

[@paulhastings3109]

I did change the menu on 991a as your setting

[@paulhastings3109]

Updating FTDX-991a what the process of doing so. Never in my life done this. I sure have FTDX-10 my Christmas, what Thrill that will be

[@n4hnhradio]

Each radio updates in a different way. The link below covers the update instructions for the FT-991A. You will need to download the update file first. Instructions: www.yaesu.com/downloadFile.cfm?FileID=16504&FileCatID=42&FileName=FT%2D991A%20Update%20Firmware%20Information%2006%2D24%2D20.pdf&FileContentType=application%2Fpdf File: www.yaesu.com/downloadFile.cfm?FileID=16503&FileCatID=42&FileName=FT%2D991A%5FFirmware%5Fupdate%5F202006.zip&FileContentType=application%2Fx%2Dzip%2Dcompressed Are you having any problems? My rule of thumb is don’t update unless you are having problems. I’m still running version 01-04 in my FTdx10. The current version is 01-08. 73, de N4HNH

[@toddsternish]

Couldn’t have asked for a better weekend to do this kind of video... you’re a QRMillionaire!

[@n4hnhradio]

Ha! I couldn’t pass up the chance to test the receivers in overcrowded band conditions. Thanks to Bill, ZS6CCY, for being my subject, even though he doesn’t know it. Bill is a great DX’r. He is kind to everyone. He was exercising some extreme patience as others would move in on his frequency. But yes, this was the weekend to shoot such a video. 73, Doug

[@granitebuilt5836]

I'm still trying to get the hang of the dnr on the ftdx-1200.

[@n4hnhradio]

You might want to watch the videos I shot about dealing with noise. Knock the noise down with ATT, IPO, and RF Gain first. Then use DNR to finish up. The FTdx1200 has the same DSP chip as the FTdx5000. The 1200 can do a good job dealing with QRN. 73, de N4HNH

[@TingILi]

If I would like to have an SDR radio that I will go for IC-705 which is base on the C/P value. My FTdx 5000 handle everything I expected.

[@paulhastings3109]

On the 991a I think I need a driver. Still working on my cw. Don't remember all just Bits and Pieces. Looking for a tank key J38. That's what I started on. Was doing 10 to 15 words tnxs de KQ4CD

[@n4hnhradio]

The link for the driver is below: www.yaesu.com/downloadFile.cfm?FileID=9493&FileCatID=42&FileName=CP210x%5FWindows%5FDrivers.zip&FileContentType=application%2Fx%2Dzip%2Dcompressed 73, de N4HNH

[@johnmarron1944]

Another excellent video on this fabulous rig the only downfall I have with it is unlike the icom 7300 were you can record your cq message on ssb and cw and press play .on the icom it has a repeat function .but on this rig it will play your cq call once then you have to push the button to get it to play again very annoying if in contest..or on with something else in the shack ...but perhaps yeasu could put this into there next software update. 73 .john m0asn.

[@n4hnhradio]

Yaesu is unpredictable about what they choose to update. I think they only update what their employees think needs to be updated. Maybe the Japanese aren’t into contesting. I’m not into contesting either, but I can understand how handy the auto repeat could be for a contester.

[@robertallbright]

Comparing the FTDX10 and 5000MP I feel the 5000 definitely has the edge 73 Rob G3RCE

[@n4hnhradio]

Still my favorite Robert.

[@cherylfreese7841]

What antenna are you using on the ftdx 10?

[@n4hnhradio]

For 40, 20, 17, 12, and 6 meters, I use a ZS6BKW, from NI4L.com. I also use it for 60 meters, letting the antenna tuner match it. I don’t need the tuner for the other bands I listed above. The ZS6BKW will also tune for 80 meters. I like to build my own but NI4L does a great job and he uses high quality materials. For the price he charges, I would rather let him measure it, construct it, and tune it. 73, de N4HNH

[@CapeCodCNC]

Your making it really hard to decide what to get for my first radio. 991a was my first choice now this FTdx10 looks really good or do I bite the bullet and get the FTdx101, hmmmm..... last one could put me in the dog house! I better start practicing asking for forgiveness....

[@n4hnhradio]

If you don’t need the 2m/70cm bands, that the FT-991A has, go for the FTdx10. The FTdx10 is a single receiver version of the FTdx101D. Neither of those radios include 2 meters and 70 centimeters. But I prefer a separate radio for those bands anyway. I like to be able to monitor 2 meters while working HF. 73, de N4HNH

[@ScottBrown1406_Repair]

If you are a contester, go with the FTDX-10. The filtering knobs on the faceplate will be appreciated. I have a FT-991A and I think it is a great radio as well. I am getting a FTDX-10 today... I am a contester and can’t wait to get into the thick of it with my new radio. I would have waited for a FTDX-101D but my shack has to be in a dirty garage. I would my subject such a radio to that environment. Plus I don’t have fantastic antennas in the air either. Another thing to think about. You have to have ears to get the most out of these radios.

[@n4hnhradio]

Scott, just think....I’m only using a ZS6BKW for these videos. That’s a computer-optimized version of the G5RV. Imagine what it would be like with a Yagi or a Cubical Quad. 73, de N4HNH

[@nelsnelsen6741]

I can hear you but I can't hear the radio very well at all

[@Atomshamradio]

Yeah let's buy an expensive radio to do s9er signals what a waste I hate contesters s9ers

[@n4hnhradio]

I don’t care for contesting either, but I’m not going to allow comments on my channel that express hate.