Yaesu FTM-400DR

Yaesu FTM-400DR external speaker pinouts

Yaesu FTM-400DR external speaker pinouts
pinout schematics for the remote speaker connection

Tip is one speaker lead. Ring is the other. The sleeve is not used... the schematic details it very nicely. Cut the connector off the motorola plug and head to radio shack and buy a 3.5 mm stereo male plug..

If you use a single speaker then you want to wire to the tip and ring. If you use two speakers, then the - side of each speaker goes to sleeve. Then the + side of speaker A goes to tip and the + side of B goes to ring.

If you will use both speakers (one for each band) then use the explanation below. For a single speaker use the Yaesu adapter only, or replace the mono end connector on speaker with a stereo end. Connect the speaker wires to the tip and center band only. Aftermarket stereo to mono adapters short the tip and center bands together and will cause poor or low level audio on one or both bands.

Shell is common, tip is Band A, ring is Band B, if you want to use separate speakers for each band. Use a stereo-to-mono adapter (included with the FTM-400, anyway) to have both bands on one speaker.

Tip, ring, sleeve. Band A, Band B, ground.

If you use ONE speaker then use the tip and the ring.

[YaesuSystemFusion] Firmware updates

I have just bought my second FTM-400dr which is badly lacking in updated firmware, main is ver 1.9
I know that there are at least 2 updates for the main and at least one for DSP
My question is do I need to do all the updates published on the Yaesu site or can I get away with just doing the latest firmware updates

FTM-400 Mic Wiring

Does anyone have a wiring diagram for the mic cord?

Having a lot of reluctance to part with $ 43 dollars for a simple mic extension for the 400, and looking at the RJ connector with a magnifier, it seems they are using a 4 wire (I could be wrong) system. If I was sure, I could make my own since I already own the tools to do it.

I went through this with another brand radio and ended up using standard off the shelf pass through RF extension cables with the same number of pins. You don’t need to know pinouts because you are passing everything straight through.

You can make your own mic extension using a 6P6C flat phone cable extension and a double female coupler. Usually less than $10 on-line and works FB. (Use a flat cable to minimize any crosstalk.)

As long as you wire the two jacks the same why would you need the diagram.
Aren't you just passing pin 1 to pin 1 etc??

A Brief Demo of The Yaesu FTM-400DR

FTM-400DR Cross Band

It does have cross band. It is not in the operation manual.

FTM-400DR Cross Band Repeat:

Initial setting

· Set [A] band, [B] band in different band VHF/UHF or UHF/VHF.
· Turn the APRS MODEM setting OFF.
· Set signaling in CTCSS or DCS, as desired possible [A] band, [B] band individual treatment setting.
· Start Cross Band Repeat mode movement while pushing the DISP + F + GM key when I do power supply ON.
· During Cross Band Repeat mode, it becomes a mode for exclusive use of the analog.
· The cancellation of Cross Band Repeat mode, while pushing the DISP + F + GM key when I do power supply ON.
· There is no setting of the CW ID transmission in Cross Band Repeat mode.

Yaesu FTM-400DR, Yaesu FTM400D Mobile Transceiver Review

Had the DR about 5 months now. Like it so much that I put that one in the shack and just bought the XD model with the improved GPS for the car. Our RACES group just put up a Fusion repeater so wanted to have ability in the shack to do digital.

So far, no issues with reliability. Coming from Kenwood’s TM-V7a (Blue Face), TM-D700a, and 710a, I had to get used to a Yaesu’s differences in terminology and functions. I’ve been able to use digital thru another local fusion repeater as well as playing a little on simplex and the audio is clear, albeit a little robotic sounding in the DN mode. In VW, it’s less robotic but still detectable. Also have played a little on Wires-X via a local node. That feature, once one get’s the hang of it, is quite nice to have.

Positive Issues include the display’s ability to list all the info right there: frequency, channel number, and channel name. Like the layout of the controls. There was a comment about digging into menu re: squelch adjustment. I just assigned one of the lower touch buttons for squelch adjust. The ability with a push/hold of the Dial to reverse the size of the name vs. frequency is nice. Very bright display except if sunlight is shining directly on it. APRS beaconing is easy to turn on/off, especially if one dedicates one of the programmable touch buttons on the display. Very versatile to assign front panel functions keys as well as on the mic (except some functions are allowed on one but not the other) Touch screen for me works just fine even though some commented it didn’t match current smart phones touch screens. Just a different touch feel, but easy for me to get used to. The supplied programming cable (if firmware version 2.0) supposedly works with Yaesu or RT systems software for programming however I have not tried it. I like and prefer the ability to program using microSD card (Yaesu has approved some cards for use, others may or may not work, I put one in, turned on radio and it seemed to freeze, but if waited long enough, radio recognized card.) FM analog signal reports have been good. Have not experienced any inter-mod or other anomalies.

Observations: BE AWARE OF THE EXTERNAL SPEAKER SETUP! Unless one uses the Yaesu speaker, use the supplied adapter or if one puts a standard mono 3.5mm speaker in, could blow the audio amp in one band. The jack is a stereo TRS type and the speaker + & - are on the tip and ring. Takes awhile to understand where the settings are in the menu, Finding offset and tone under the “Signaling” was new. Guess they had to name it something based on their menu system, but once understood, very easy to configure. Separate memory banks: 500 each side.

Yaesu FTM400DR Yaesu FTM-400DR Review

While the use of D-Star appears to be stable or slightly declining, DMR-based radios are becoming increasingly popular. Most DMR Tier 2 radios sold are made by either Hytera or by Motorola. Apart from sending text messages, both brands are largely compatible. The Tier 2 standard offers two time slots.

DMR Tier 1 (no time slots, FDMA) is another system, generally much cheaper, but all radios available to date are mono band. It didn’t come as a surprise that there was a lot of interest in the Yaesu FTM-400DR, the model which replaces the analog FTM-350. Contrary to the Chinese offerings this Yaesu is dual band, and does 50 Watts on both bands. There are four modes available.

V/D mode is Voice and Data communication in the same time frame. Stable and reliable digital voice and data communications are maintained by using extraordinarily strong error correction capabilities. This mode will be the basic mode of C4FM FDMA Digital HAM radio.

Voice FR mode uses the full rate of data capacity for voice. This mode enables you to transfer clear, high quality voice data.

Yaesu FTM-400DR Product Reviews

I own three FTM-400DR's. And absolutely love the radio. The touch screen works great and it spoils me - I hate going back to a "conventional" radio.

I've had no issues with the GPS. It will typically lock within 1-2 minutes of when I start my commute in the morning. It's quite a kick to be on the repeater linked via WiRES-X and seeing distances of 300, 600, or 3,000 miles show up on the screen!

The biggest surprise for me was the quality of the receiver. In highly congested RF areas (in my case 35 W north, south, and through Minneapolis), I could not work our repeater with my Kenwood TM-V71A. They could hear me, but the QRM was too much for the Kenwood. With the FTM-400 I now have continuous coverage through this same area. At most I might miss a syllable or two. What a huge difference!

The radio is also nice in that it really does make 50 watts - even when the car is shut off and the battery is down to 12 volts.

Another big plus is the ability to use a micro SD card to store/back-up radio programming. This allows me to use a different SD card for trips to different areas as well as copy my channels to the other FTM-400's. (Having different channels in different positions on three different radios will drive you crazy!)

To be honest, there were some reliability problems in the beginning. I had to return both my 400's (only had two at the time) for repair. But the units were updated with design fixes and have now been quite good.

BTW, I'd be crazy to buy a third FTM-400 if I didn't really like the radio and felt that it would be solid over the years.

I primarily got the radio because it does Fusion. At first there wasn't much Fusion activity in our area, but it has now really taken off. And, quite frankly, I much prefer to operate Fusion to FM. It's just more fun.

If you do decide on the 400DR, I hope you enjoy it as I have enjoyed mine.

Yaesu FTM-400DR Product Reviews

This entire radio is poorly thought out and engineered. It seems like Jun Hasegawa, sat everyone down in a board room and said, forget about actual usage, let’s just make this radio and fusion look good on paper. The biggest annoyance is that the screen is way too bright at night, even on its minimum setting. The touch screen is mostly useless and obviously an afterthought. The screen on this thing is like time traveling back to the 1980s. APRS is crippled, if Yaesu cannot do it right they should just leave it off. The STUPID camera mic, take 10 minutes out of our day to send some extremely low quality photo at a completely useless resolution. Then if someone keys up in analog you get to start all over.

System Fusion is a disaster! According to the repeater book there are 34 Fusion repeaters in my area. I have tested and only 2 of them are set up to work on Digital. There are 30-something more between Minneapolis MN and Omaha, NE and during a recent drive, there is only 1 that has digital enabled in Des Moines, IA. Digital and analog should not be fused. Now we have people linking analog/digital repeaters and the audio is mostly unintelligible horrible garbage. Wires X is the dumbest thing to ever hit ham radio. What a total mess! Now we are in this never ending “waiting on firmware” before it works on the repeaters. The firmware isn’t coming. Stop wasting time waiting for it! It’s like Yaesu is having a GOING OUT OF BUSINESS SALE with their lame repeaters and dirt cheap prices on the FTM-400DR.

Yaesu FTM-400DR Product Reviews

I've owned a TH-7, a 700 and 710 from Kenwood and this rig beats them hands down. I have no issues with the display brightness, nor with the touch screen, its works great. There are a lot menus but the rig has a lot of features. Programming the micro sd card and then copying the programming from that to the rig beats the hell out of taking the rig out of the truck to program or hauling a computer out to the vehicle. Good job Yaesu. The mike switch is too sensitive so I bent the spring and filed the PTT button on the switch inside the mike down to give it more travel. Works fine now. That is the only criticism I have for a fine radio. Some have complained about lock up time on the satellites for APRS. This radio finds and locks onto the birds much faster than my Rand McNally GPS does. IT can even see the birds when I am parked under my metal carport. I have no issues with the built in GPS. Perhaps those with problems don't have the control head out where it can see the satellites. Mine sits on top of the dashboard with a clear view through the windshield.

FTM 400D APRS Basic Setup

http://youtu.be/HZcovAWeJYA

Yaesu FTM 400 Setup

http://youtu.be/_hC2G5vBCO4

Pages