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.