Pay Now, Regret Later?

Having not bought much for ham radio for quite a while now, I had a quick search online this morning for anything new that may have slipped my notice.

I was very interested to find Yaesu had announced, earlier in the year, their forthcoming FTX-1F HF/VHF/UHF rig - essentially a 'new technology' version of the wildly popular but now defunct FT817 and 818 portable rigs.

 

At least the controls are better than the FT817/818 models!

Now, you can argue as to the usefulness or otherwise of waterfall screens and such like; I personally think they are nice but by no means essential and an unnecessary drain on valuable battery power in the field.

But the more human-friendly controls, coupled to the 'all band, all mode' offering is certain to capture the attention of those of us who realise 6W maximum output doesn't equate to 'just 6W' available - a watery environment will easily see that multiplied up by 10 and more times, without anything more complex than a 1/4 wave vertical antenna.

6W, of course, was the maximum offered by the FT818, which attracted considerable derision at the time of its launch for being only 1W, or a less-than-stunning 0.79dB more output than the preceding FT817. 

The price of the FTX-1F is not currently announced; it's likely to be in the £1200-£1500 range, pitched to directly fight it out with the long-established Icom IC-705. At the moment, most outlets are offering those who are too rich or too dumb, or both, the option of getting on the order list by placing a deposit of around £50. In the UK, at least, succumbing to this temptation means you instantly become liable to pay the, as-yet-unknown, full price when it's finally announced.  That's not a good basis on which to look after the household budget, if you ask me.

One advert for the FTX-1F; most other outlets offer the same deposit purchase basis. Payment of a deposit in the UK means the rest becomes legally liable in due course.

 

I suppose those who focus on HF might save around £700-£800 and opt for a Xiegu portable rig. I certainly would, now that they have been considerably improved and the Yeasu FT818 is no longer available new. Those who participate in SOTA and the like, where VHF and UHF may be more of a consideration, may well opt for the FTX-1F, though the Icom offers the same bands and the same output. At the moment, we don't even know the exact final size and weight of the Yaesu - both quite important features for a portable rig.

We're certainly going to see some kind of price war, probably rather limited between the Icom and the Yaesu, given they are so very similar in aim and specification. We can also expect Xiegu and others to step in with their own, doubtless cheaper HF/VHF/UHF units in short order.

I might be tempted by the Yaesu as a replacement for the Kenwood TS-480SAT I've had in my car for years, should it ever fail on me. Then again, the availability of more power for those occasional, marginal SSB contacts, is very useful to draw on when conditions dictate.

Meanwhile, this video nicely covers what's appeared on the marketing stands so far: