Comparing Yaesus FTM400 DRXDR and FTM100 DR Roger

Comparing Yaesu’s FTM-400 DR/XDR and FTM-100 DR Roger Reini, KD 8 CSE May 12, 2016 S

Overview S Introduce Yaesu’s two System Fusion mobile transceivers S What they have in common S Key differences S My experiences with the two S Conclusions

The Two Rigs FTM-400 DR/XDR FTM-100 DR

What They Have In Common S 144/430 MHz bands S 1 analog and 3 digital operating modes: S Analog FM S V/D Mode (simultaneous voice and data in 12. 5 k. Hz channel) S Voice FR Mode (full 12. 5 k. Hz used for voice) S Data FR Mode (full 12. 5 k. Hz used for data) S 50/20/5 watt switchable power output

What They Have In Common S 3 watts audio power (8 W with external speaker) S GPS antenna and receiver S APRS capability (1200/9600 bps) S Bluetooth-ready (with optional accessories) S Digital group monitoring (GM) functions

What They Have In Common S Wideband receive: 108 – 999. 99 MHz (cellular frequencies blocked) S Optional voice guide and recording functions S 500 channel memories for both main band A and sub band B S Store and retrieve settings via micro SD card

What They Have In Common S Updatable firmware S Rather involved procedures for updating firmware, including turning on the transceivers while holding two other buttons down on the panel and the toggling of special switches to enable the updates S Current consumption: 0. 5 A receive, 11 A xmit @ 50 W (2 -meter), 12 A xmit @ 50 W (70 cm)

Differences FTM-400 DR/XDR has touch screen FTM-100 DR does not

Differences S The 400’s control head cannot mount to the body; the 100’s can mount to the body S Switches for firmware updates: the 400 DR requires the speaker cover to be removed; the 100 DR has switches accessible externally, covered with rubber caps (the 400 XDR has one, too)

Differences S The 400 has dual-receive capability, while the 100 has only a single receiver S On the 400, APRS can be monitored on the second receiver while monitoring on the first one. S On the 100, APRS can’t be monitored in the background

My Experiences S I own both FTM-400 DR and FTM-100 DR S 400 DR is in the vehicle, 100 DR is at home S Basic performance is very similar S Hearing little difference in voice quality between DN and VW modes

My Setups FTM-100 DR at home FTM-400 DR front panel in car

Conclusions S Both rigs are capable, good performers on FM and C 4 FM digital S The 400 -DR/XDR is better able to work with APRS due to its second receiver; this makes it better for use by a net control station looking to monitor field stations via APRS

Stop the Presses! S New System Fusion rig: Yaesu FTM-3200 DR S 65/30/5 watts S 2 meter only, no UHF S No APRS capability but does have Group Monitor S Unsure if front panel separates

For More Information S Yaesu: http: //www. yaesu. com/ S System Fusion: http: //systemfusion. yaesu. com/ S FTM-400 DR: http: //systemfusion. yaesu. com/ftm-400 dr/ S FTM-100 DR: http: //systemfusion. yaesu. com/ftm-100 dr/