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.
Need to program each bank, but if you use programming software, easy to copy and paste. Nice thing about separate banks is that you can put the digital coms in the A bank, and APRS frequencies in the B bank as required, OR put channels for scanning in the B bank and not have them in the A bank. So there are some advantages to that setup. The Digital function is global and not programmable in a memory so if one is working digital then moves to an analog channel, you need to toggle off the digital or your blast out digital.

Negatives: When in a memory channel, if one changes the tone/tone sq settings, the changes seem to stay put for that channel, even if not saved in memory. Found like some others, that if left off overnight, the GPS in the DR takes over 5 minutes and sometimes up to 15 or more for the GPS receiver to get a lock. If turned off for only a hour or so, it locks on in less than a minute. I can’t swear to it, but it may lock quicker if you set the correct UTC time and internal clock time, and don’t change for Daylight savings time. However, once locked, it works like a champ. Mic cord is a little short and if main unit is a ways away, the price I paid for the mic extension cable is about $20 too much. The coupler though, has some electronics in it and does have the ability to connect certain Yaesu round 8 pin desk or hand mic. That’s probably where the extra $20 comes from.

Like to see: All functions programmable either on mic or display. Memory banks. Ability to use the TNC for packet like the Kenwood D710. Ability to upload standard .jpg images from computer to microSD card to radio then be able to transmit them to others.

To sum it up, I’ve had no lock ups as described by some and no issues with the radio. No radio is perfect and I think overall, this is a nice package for the price, especially with the rebate. I found an old catalog from a well known radio store and in 2001, my Kenwood TM-v7a dual band/receive was selling for $650.

I’d give it about a 4.5 due to the sometimes slow GPS on the DR and lack of some preferred features, but since that’s not possible, I’ll go with a 5.