YAESU FT-991 review

I held off buying initially as I was worried about all the problems being reported. I was torn between something top drawer like the FTDX-5000MP and an all things to all men like the FT-991.

The FT-991 should have been my choice of radio as soon as it came out. Its got all I want from a radio – decent receiver, battery capable, and one radio for all bands, all modes, both portable and base.

However, I was stuck in the “I like a traditional radio” mentality and kept buying and selling the FT-817ND/FT-857D/FT-897D but the receiver is just too noisy, even using an external speaker and DSP, they never stayed in the shack long. When the FTDX-5000MP went down to £3,600 including the station monitor, I snapped one up – my 3rd FTDX-5000 since becoming a ham back in 2008. Alas, I wasn't happy running on a uninterruptable power supply should there be a power cut and so I tried an FT-991. The FTDX-5000MP is going up for sale – as is the FT-7900 which becomes surplus to requirements.

I have only had it two weeks but my PA stage hasn't blown yet, even under some pretty tricky tuning cycles on the extremes of 160m using the YT-1200 ATU (which is excellent – used one on the FT-450D and FTDX-3000). My other fear was the longevity of the touch screen. That seems quite robust and I find myself saying “hey do you think anything lasts forever? Especially something costing only £1,150!”. OK the receiver isn't going to be hardcore like the K3 or the FTDX-5000 but remember the kind of pileups T32C DXpedition had to handle with just FT-450D rigs, well, I think following their achievements, anything is possible and the FT-991 is streets ahead of the FT-450D.

No, I am glad I didn't take the plunge on day one of sales of the FT-991 but now they seem to have sorted the bias issue on the finals and the firmware is a little more mature (I don’t use digital voice or APRS so not worried about those fixes being outstanding), I think this is the radio for me. And if it breaks? 2 year warranty and hey, after that I can just pay for a repair, its not like I have many hobbies.

The FT-897D boasted the perfect size and abilities for my needs, but the receiver was just too tiresome to use in anger. Now I have a compact radio that does everything I want. And I have to say, touch screen menu navigation instead of going into menus with physical buttons is so much faster. Last night 3 40m SSB state-side QSOs, barefoot 100w with an end-fed wire, one after the other, one in a pileup and I was like “yeah this radio breaks through”, all thanks to the microphone EQ used on the FT-950/FT-2000/FTDX-3000/FTDX-1200/FTDX-5000/FTDX-9000).

Other “shack in the box” options other than the limited FT-817/857/897 are TS-2000 – never liked the receiver on that (we have one at the local club), IC-7000 – heat issues prevented me daring to buy one and I am not a big fan of Icom’s look and feel and the limited microphone options. IC-7100 – want to like it, from videos, receiver doesn’t blow me away. IC-9100 – looks impressive but very expensive and its an Icom, which am not so keen on compared with Kenwood and Yaesu – perhaps unfairly. FT-847/FT-100/IC-706 MKIIG – old and often requires mods and options to get them up to spec.

Another excellent looking compact HF/6m radio (and 4m for those countries with 70MHz allocation) is the upcoming IC-7300, which I love the idea of but only would consider if the FT-991 became problematic. That said, I would miss having 2m & 70cm in the same radio.

If you check out my YouTube channel (search M0SAZ or Google a120068020), you will see I have owned a ton of radios, bought new then sold – I have “wasted” thousands of pounds with nothing to show for it except a lot of radio hardware experience. If the FT-991 behaves as it has the past two weeks I can finally start saving money once again and my search for my perfect radio would be over.