FT-8900

Who has a Yaesu FT-8900 and what antenna are you using. Some pic of set up please.

While I don't have an 8900, let me give you my two cents. Run a diplexer, so you can have antennas tuned for each 10m, 6m, and 2/440. Most of the "quad band" wonder antennas marketed for that radio are a pain in the ass to tune and keep tuned.

A 2/440 antenna you might already have. I would run a 58ish inch whip for a 1/4 wave on 6, and a quarter wave whip or hamstick for 10.

Most of the commercial type 5/8 wave VHF antennas will be resonant as a slightly loaded 1/4 wave on 6m, so are effectively a 6m/2m dual band antenna.

There's an Opek branded antenna that's pretty similar to the Comet SBB5 but is resonant on 6m as well so it's triband 6m/2m/70cm. It's also less expensive than the SBB5.

If I'm running all three bands I either run a 5/8 wave for 6 and 2, and a separate 70cm antenna, or a shorter loaded 6m antenna and then a dual band 2m/70cm along with diplexors as may be needed. I don't bother with 6 unless I have a specific need for it or it's spring/summer E skip season where there's always a chance for the magic band to do its thing.

It's no big thing to have a couple of antennas in the trunk to swap stuff around as needed for different bands. IMO any concern about having a single antenna to do everything is misplaced. I don't do 10m FM, if I did I'd just get a Larsen or Maxrad or whatever tuned for 10m and throw it in the mix. Actually I think I have an old Antenna Specialists NMO 27-30 around somewhere.

I have one, I put it back in the box, and it has been sitting in there for a couple of years now.

I like my 8800 much more.

10 m FM is about worthless out here, and 6 meter is not that active for me.

Send it to me, I'll put it on the air

Im so lazy that I dont even list it in the EE..

What makes you think I would wrap it up, and take it to the post office

You're local, so I can come by and pick it up.

I will be up that way in june to visit my brother, My thread my dib

I have an 8900 in a mobile application. No pix because it would look remarkably like an 8800 installation. I looked at some of the quad band antennas out there and none would work for my application. I am running a Larsen dual band right now and it works great.

If I had it to do all over again, would I spend the $40 again (the difference between the 8800 and the 8900)? I dunno. Maybe. It is nice to have the 'extra capability', but it is of extremely limited use.

I also use mine as if it were an 8800. There isn't ANY 6/10 FM activity in my area. Antenna is Jetsteam JTB3 on a milsurp mast clamped to my patio deck post, usually 20' up.

E skip season is just picking up. 52.525, or if you have General+ license 29.600, throw your call out from time to time in the car, you never know what will happen.

I worked Louisiana on my way out of the parking lot from the Dayton Hamvention last year on 52.525. Heard another station in Texas but he signed off. E skip is fun.

Had one. It was fun at times on the 6/2/440 antenna when the sporadic e would open but other than that it was a 2/440 radio. I think the display was a huge step back in technology from the ft90 or the ft8500 of years past. Ended up selling it to Toad77 and bought another tm-d710.

I have an FT8500 and find it amazing that they regressed from the frequency + alpha tag display with some of the newer radios. It's insane to have 100 or more memories in a radio and no alpha tags.

I bought one but returned it and bought a kenwood 710 instead. The 8900 is a huge step backward in memory management. It is not the same as the 8800, which us a fantastic rig. The other bummer its that the 8900 is fm only. So you lose alot of features to get fm only 6 and 10 meters which had almost no activity.

I wish someone would come out with a all mode our at least Ssb mobile for 2, 440, 6 and 10. If the 8900 had Ssb,, I would be all over it

It's called the IC-7000.

I thought that was a all mode mobile hf with a price tag over 1k. I didn't realize that it directly competed with high end dual band mobile rigs in the 500 dollar range. I guess I will do some more research.

It is. It does cover all the bands you mention, 10m/6m/2m/70cm all mode.

It doesn't "directly compete" with typical dual band mobile rigs, because typical dual band mobile rigs do not have SSB or other linear modes. You said you wanted all mode/SSB, then you pay the price for it.

So Maybe the 8900 is out and the 8800 is in. What about the 350 any of you running them.

Copyright © 1996 - 2013 :: AR15.Com LLC :: All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.