Noisy City? No Problem! Yaesu FTDX3000 Receive Antenna Port Explained

In this video, I discuss how to make use of the Yaesu FTDX3000 Receive Antenna Port. If you suffer from high noise in the city, as I do, a radio with a receive antenna port option can make a really big difference.

[@tx2sturgis]

I use that RX port for a receive LoG, Loop on Ground. Similar to a beverage on ground but more omnidirectional. Works great.

[@glennstevenson6242]

Thank you for explaining that to me. Your advice will help me enjoy my FTDX3000 more.

[@gbpauluk]

Thanks for sharing a very informative video,I run a Yaesu ftdx1200 and suffer from a high noise floor at home. I have a few antennas up including a rotating moxon so will give this a try at the weekend. Cheers an 73

[@krishnanramesh990]

Thanks for the input.useful for my FTDX 1200 living amidst the High rise of a large metro !

[@dougtaylor7724]

Never heard about receiving on a higher band antenna for noise reduction. Interesting study. Thanks for your video!

[@lawrencethompson465]

Hi Derek, delighted to see this video on your rig. That is a really helpful feature. Your videos are always chock full of useful operating tips and I always learn something. Best 73. KE4RPX

[@thestingyham1188]

How are you doing now, post-covid, Lawrence?

[@lawrencethompson465]

@@thestingyham1188 Hi Derek, doing OK. Is your email the same as last year?

[@ado75]

I have my FTDX3000 about a year. I really need to get to know it better... so your vids will be a great help. I've started to play around with the idea of a receive loop... so hence I came across this vid☺👍

[@thestingyham1188]

Glad to help

[@the_nothing]

outstanding idea! Perfect timing as I am replacing my ol' FT-900 with an FTdx1200 tomorrow! City living can be tough some times, and the S9 noise levels has been my #1 complaint.

[@thestingyham1188]

That's good. I learned, after making this video, that the 1200 has a RX antenna toggle for Antenna 2, as well. Enjoy!

[@hl1sb_Philip-Yu]

I enjoyed your video for the RX Ant. port. It's a big different of noise level between the vertical ant & the horizontal ant. The vertical ant is an omnidirectional ant so that it's picking up a lot of noise. 쌰It's a great video and audio quality ! Nice narration!^^

[@thestingyham1188]

Thank-you... the interesting thing is that I didn't even have the RX antenna turned much toward the signal. It would have made the signal even stronger vs. the noise, if I had. :)

[@heater165]

Thanks for that . This is vu3vfs . I own a ftdx 3000 too. I live in a similar urban environment. I get 59+5db noise here. It's been so disappointing. I'll try this. Thanks for telling this.

[@paulocblanco78]

youre the best, i have same radio, created tried all antennas, still very noisy. i live in the city, surrounded with solar panels and inverters, what i did, i made a doublet antenna, 4;1 balun. im down S2-S3. made the antenna 65ft. its awesome.

[@Swampfox10mm]

Nice!

[@JohnHill-qo3hb]

Great info, I use a Wellbrook on the Rx Ant.

[@Ei2iP]

Excellent tip, keep up the good work

[@Frankh77]

Calum did a video about a wire loop laying on the ground as a good low noise receive antenna. Looking forward to trying it this year.

[@thestingyham1188]

Just a note that DX Engineering sells a device to make a RX Antenna port for radios which do not have them. It protects against overload, etc. It's called the RTR-2 Modular Receive-Transmit Interface.

[@aidanmarley3351]

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[@aidanmarley3351]

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[@aidanmarley3351]

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[@dennisbrantley5108]

@Aidan Marley No problem :)

[@Bluescout612]

Good videos I learned three things about my DX3000 that I did not know. Jim KI7SSO

[@steveverhoef5667]

Very cool.. very well explained!

[@thuff3207]

A very good idea and having the choice, noise is one of the issues we have to deal with today. In the USA this noise can be a bit less but its still an issue this can help. It would be nice if it could do diversity receive for more reduction.

[@chadvandam7179]

Divircity receiv please explain?

[@hl1sb_Philip-Yu]

Thanks for sharing your know-how of seperated antenna operation on 40m band. It looks working well^^! Hope to see you on the air soon.. de hl1sb

[@lightnin_lou]

Thanks for the video.

[@ve3xyd]

Please note that Vertical antennas are very noisy in the city environment, horizontal antennas pickup less noise by nature...

[@redjohn20001]

I have one of those X Phase qrm eliminators (not had much luck with it). Does your Yaesu work by antiphasing noise or is it simply a receive aerial input for a less noisy antenna? Your video made me think that a dipole, on the next band up or down, used with the X Phase may work better than the results I have been previously experiencing.

[@thestingyham1188]

No special phasing or anything. It is just receiving on the 20m antenna directly. I know the 20m yagi, which is surely functioning as a dipole on RX in this use, is up higher off of the roof and horizontally polarized, as well -- that helps. When I want to use the 20m antenna on 20m, I do have to long-press the ANT button and switch the menu item back to TRX, so I can utilize it on 20m. My 17m yagi also works OK as the RX antenna on port 2, but it is a much quieter signal, and not as good as the 20m antenna is receiving for the 40m band. I really wonder how a 30m antenna might work. Side note -- I also have the 40m u-tune box, and it doesn't work nearly as well as this RX antenna does.

[@kelvinbarbery4094]

Great information thank you 2E1ADT uk

[@chadvandam7179]

So I guess I could do the same thing with my KENWOOD 590 SG, As it has a receive only antenna port.

[@radioaustralia5070]

Have you thought about using RF gain

[@biltztom2685]

What about the new FTDX10 , I live in a city also and I think to buy one together with the ATAS 120 antenna on my porch. Do you recomment to buy the FTDX3000 instead ? Now it is discontinued and has a good price.

[@thestingyham1188]

Well, that's subjective. It really depends on how much noise you have, and how well the FTDX10 would be able to filter that kind of noise. There is not receive antenna port on there. If noise is a huge problem for you, you might want to consider a radio with a RX antenna port, such as the 3000 or a Kenwood 590SG, which is also an excellent radio. I understand your plight... I would love the features (and pandapter) on the 10 model, also.

[@kc2mxh]

Hello great video. Can you use a 2 elwm yagi on 40m as a receive antenna and use a half wave dipole as a main transmitting antenna?

[@thestingyham1188]

Yes you can! I do, sometimes. Results vary. Needs some receive amplification, though.

[@nigelackland3668]

Would that work with a mag loop? Interesting idea the RX antenna, thanks for posting.

[@cleanairideasin9491]

Yes, and very well. I have done this but the only negative is that you have to have a way to tune the loop as you move around the band.

[@WladImirZhel]

Hello ! I need your advice. 3000-D in production for 10 years. Today, YAESU has many new digital models. In terms of reception quality, what do you think is better to choose 3000D or "RF direct sampling system" ? Thanks

[@thestingyham1188]

I think RF Direct Sampling works great if you are not in a noisy area. If you battle high noise, like I do in Seoul, then you might not like RF Direct Sampling unless it has a strong front end and roofing filter (Hybrid like Elecraft). If you are not in an overly noisy area, then I think RF Direct Sampling is very nice. I believe the new Yaesu's also have a roofing filter and strong front end.

[@WladImirZhel]

@@thestingyham1188 Ок, I also live in a metropolis with a high level of interference. I also use MFJ 1026. 3000D applies good roof-filters and, and non-standard down-conversion. I like the icom 7610, but I don’t know how much better it is when received in the city, there are no reviews today ...

[@dambuster6387]

Noise is a Great problem these days, Found on the web W2PM Mini Dimond RX Loop same idea as a rombic but vertical mounted rather than parrale to the ground it has a SWR 1.2 from 160 m to 10 m and a 30DB front to back ratio, the down side it has minus 50 DB gain and I use a pre-amp by W7IUV which has 20 DB of gain both the pre-amp and the loop are very cheap to make and provide a good signal to noise ratio, there is a terminating resistor 660 OHM on one side and on the other side a matching 16 to 1 (800ohm down to 50 ohm) transformer and very easy to make The loop has a 7ft wing span mine is made from heavy duty electrical conduit for the frame and a 4 way junction box. in the middle.

[@thestingyham1188]

Sounds similar to a Flag RX antenna. I was going to build one, but never got around to it. I am space-limited, and do not have rotators.

[@JohnnyClavin]

So, the antenna is reducing noise not the radio or is the radio doing some filtering to cut out static.

[@thestingyham1188]

The antenna is less sensitive on the frequency being used, because it is not the tuned band for it. For whatever reason an Engineer can better explain, both DX signals from stations and the noise level are reduced, only the noise is reduced a fair bit more than the DX station's signal. You then kick in the preamp, and do whatever you wish to do with noise reduction, contour, RF Gain, and filtering, to achieve the best receive.

[@daveschwarz5279]

I use a Bonito active magloop on the RX port for my Flex radio.... very sensitive does pick some noise but can be directionally nulled out .... need to find a cheap TV antenna rotator, impossible task!

[@thestingyham1188]

Does Channel Master still sell cheap ones for TV antennas?

[@thestingyham1188]

www.channelmaster.com/TV_Antenna_Rotator_p/cm-9521hd.htm

[@thestingyham1188]

Or this even cheaper and in stock. Not sure it rotates 360? www.amazon.com/AUDIOVOX-Remote-Antenna-Rotator-VH226F/dp/B008468PWC

[@Utrick]

Hi, I live in Seoul just getting started in amateur radio and I'm wondering where you purchase most of your equipment

[@thestingyham1188]

Hi, please join our FB group, named Korea International Ham friends group (or something like that -- haha). Honestly, you can find rigs here, but unless you catch a deal, they are not usually priced well and may have problems. New rigs bought in Korea from a dealer are usually 1 1/2 to 2 times what you would pay in Japan or the USA. Also, we have a really stupid license renewal problem, at the moment.

[@bcyoon6823]

@@thestingyham1188 Thanks for your information about my dream rig. Moreover, you pointed out the exact issue that it is very hard to buy a new rig for amateurs. Very small ICOM radios are being sold in Korea “officially” with a relatively high price. In case of YAEUS or KENWOOD, we have to buy devices directly called “직구” from the US or Japan. I think it is from the decreasing number of people enjoying HAM as a hobby and an apartment residence where it is almost impossible to set up antennas, Esp. HF. After importing radios by ourselves, we have to get an approval to use them and renew it every 5 year. What you mentioned as “a really stupid license renewal problem” may be that problem. But it is what it is. :( BTW, I think we came across at Acah Mt. and hope to encounter on air. :) DS1RCJ 73.

[@thestingyham1188]

@@bcyoon6823 Currently, foreigners who want to get a license are limited to a 3 month license, with one (possibly 2 more) paid 3-month renewals ONLY. After that , they're done. No more ham licenses. I was lucky to be grandfathered and given another 5 year license, because I have been around a longer time. New foreign hams, however, are not allowed to operate very long. I think the person in charge of this for the government was trying to push the US (and other countries) into a reciprocal licensing agreement for Korean hams in the USA and other countries. Unfortunately, the US seems to be uninterested, and the result is we are stuck with no extended licenses for new foreigners using ham in Korea. That is the stupid license renewal problem I was speaking of. :)

[@marrkparkes3775]

@@bcyoon6823 124t49jh

[@Team-fabulous]

Is this phasing the antennas to reduce noise like a QRM eliminator.

[@thestingyham1188]

No, it is simply listening on an antenna not meant for the band. Less noise while remaining signal is lesser than a resonant antenna, but stronger above the noise floor. You then use your internal RX amp to raise the signal.

[@henrycross8776]

So, with this rig, I can just key up and the Rx ant wont overload ?

[@thestingyham1188]

When you have the menu set up to utilize the RX antenna, the rig switches antennas automatically when transmitting. It will listen on the RX antenna you choose, then when you push to transmit, it will automatically switch to the resonant antenna you have set in the menu. Then it goes back to the RX antenna when you let go of the TX button on your mic. Of course, the rig is also capable of typical antenna operation. You set up the RX antenna in the menus. There are other rigs with this function, as well. The Kenwood 590SG comes to mind.

[@kirklawrence4326]

@@thestingyham1188 so I think you answered his question here for the most part, but the dx3000 (as well as the dx1200 in my case) pulls the input off the receiver circuit on the rig when transmitting, correct? I know DX Engineering suggests a connection to the control box of their PRO-1B and to your footswitch/key (on the rig) to effectively shut-off the receiver pre-amp (of the PRO-1B) as to not intentionally overload the rx front end of your receiver. They claim it's precautionary. But I'm thinking, Yaesu must protect the circuit inside the radio from such a connection anyway...so the device from DX Engineering may not need the suggested connection(?).

[@johnratcliffe6438]

Have you tried connecting the receive antenna to a QRM Eliminator?

[@thestingyham1188]

I have known people who had them. Those can work, as well. The negative is that they too require adding a 2nd receive antenna. The mini antennas provided with the units are often lackluster. Results vary greatly for some ops using QRM Eliminators, from what I've heard, and there is a lot of tweaking involved.

[@624radicalham]

@@thestingyham1188 I love tweaking. Part of the fun. They work miracles, in many cases even with the internal whip if the noise is an apartment unit nearby with a noisy TV. I could not do HF without an MFJ1026

[@DonauweIIe]

you could have connected the rx antenna to the other antenna ports, wouldnt that have the same effect like using the same antenna on the rx antenna port ??

[@thestingyham1188]

Yes, one can do that, and I tried that with older radios. I encourage people to experiment. The negatives of doing this are: 1. Having to manually switch is annoying. 2. The switch can wear out. 3. If you forget to switch at the right time, you run the risk of damaging your radio / blowing-out your finals, due to mismatch. The RX antenna port just makes it a lot easier (and safer) by handling all of the switching internally.

[@DonauweIIe]

@@thestingyham1188 the ftdx3000 switches automatically between antennaports, once set, like RX on Ant1 and then as soon the PTT is pushed, TX on Ant2. the finals usualy have a protective circuit, they reduce the output power when there is a antenna missmatch, they wont damage that quickly from a missmatch. of course likes are different, some people will like an RX Ant port. btw, if you set the contour filter to +10, that will emphasizes the higher tones to compensate the attenuation of the higher tones in the DNR, the audio then becomes so much clearer and more intelligible.

[@Dg-zj6jo]

hi sir has this got a built in tuner please

[@thestingyham1188]

@@Dg-zj6jo The FTDX3000 does have a tuner built in

[@Ra_dio_Iberico_ea4ggc]

De EA4GGC, Ese Aparato ¿Si esta bien y no esta Averiado? Yo Tengo Uno, pero es FTdx 3000MP (Versión con Todos sus Filtros Opcionales) El Problema te puede llegar de las Lamparas Led-Radian Interferencias . Puedes verlas, con un buen Receptor de Radio y no te quejes, El FTdx 3000 de la Yaesu, es DEMASIADO BUENO para tener Fallos... lo han dejado (DISCONTINUED) para vender los Otros, No tan BUENOS. Saludos de EA4GGC Y Cuidalo, un Abrazo desde Madrid España(Spain)

[@thestingyham1188]

My friend has the FTDX5000 and just like every other radio, the city noise affects it in a similar way. I have 2 floors of other families living above and below me, as well as buildings full of 8 to 10 families each surrounding my building on all corners and sides. That is the reality of Seoul, Korea. No matter what I do, I cannot control noise from all of them. The older superhet Icom and Kenwood and Yaesu radios do better than many of the cheaper SDR-based radios, such as the Icom 7300. In my experience, the absolute best for handling noise at the front end has been Elecraft. I wish I could afford another one. They are in completely another league. Any radio with a receive antenna port is a great help, along with experiments using off-band antennas.

[@cthoadmin7458]

Why are you the stingy ham? You seem to have quite a generous setup… 73,Tim, VK4QP.

[@thestingyham1188]

Ha, thanks. I build my antennas from wire, pvc, and fishing poles. :). Mostly buy radios used.

[@tx2sturgis]

Not stingy at all...you gave $$$ for that radio!

[@thestingyham1188]

Got it for 1k used. Great deal. Especially now.

[@5p1cc]

Your vertical has a commonmode problem..

[@thestingyham1188]

That was already tested. Not sure if I mentioned it in the video because it was a long time ago, but I ran an MFJ isolator to choke that line on the vertical. Adding the choke lowered the noise level perhaps half of an s unit, but honestly I really couldn't tell much difference. Just a guess, really. The 20m yagi had its own Balundesigns 1:1 current balun.

[@5p1cc]

The lineisolator might not solve the whole issue about CM but if it reduced the qrm you had some of it removed. I had an old FT-107 with the extra antenna port and i used to counterphase the antenna signat into that, from an external antenna too... it sometimes reduced qrm about 30 db or more. BTW your noiselevel is a bit less than mine, and i live en a small village... i wpould have expected a lot more from a big city like yours 🙂

[@hamzah6251]

why dont you just use the rx antenna for everything then?

[@thestingyham1188]

The higher bands have a low enough noise level that I can receive better on them. The trade-off with a RX antenna can be less gain. My 17m and 20m antennas are yagi, and receive much better with lower noise, due to the different band and ability to null around the antenna. More signal is directed in one direction, while other areas of the antenna are nulled.

[@hamzah6251]

@@thestingyham1188 thanks! makes sense