www.scanbc.com

So... anybody out there in radio land have one? If yes, what are your thoughts/likes/dislikes?

(Not that I *need* a new radio...but since I'm going to be near a Ham Radio Outlet store in the next month or two, I thought I should do some research...just in case I happen to have a few extra $$ in my pocket and a moment of weakness...

Buy 2 and give me 1!!! Lol

I've been looking at that radio myself...

Sure.. no problem.. you want the GPS antenna to go with it?

Now that RT Systems has come out with programming software for it, the FTM 350 is a viable option for "my new toy"...

Definitely a strong competitor against the TM-D710A... Worth checking out for sure.

This is a interesting never seen before option;

http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/ ... 53350.html

Yes

Hmmm, but if I get you one now, what am I going to get you for your birthday?!?

Yeah, the add on monitoring device is sorta cool... might be better off picking up an el cheapo scanner though...

Well... what with HST etc...it made more sense to "buy local"....so the order went in yesterday and I got an email saying the new toy is in the mail... OH BOY OH BOY OH BOY

Now to order the software!

Nice! Make sure to give us a honest review after you get it.

Cheers,

Oh boy oh boy...Mr Postman left a big box for me today...
Contents of the big box


What was in the radio box

Ok... another day of work done and I got to really play with it today...

Step one was to put Anderson Powerpoles on the power lead and install the gps receiver in the back of the control head.

The control head, btw, does not attach to the main body...unless you use zip ties, glue or magnets...

Next I powered it up and put the control head on the window sill so the gps could aquire...nothin... however a quick comparison with a Garmin hand held gps showed crappy geometry and signal strength.. so out to the car... gps aquired within a minute or two.

Last trick of the day was to update the firmware... easy enough to do with the instructions from the Yaesu web site.

First impressions... the display/head is huge... see below for a head-to-head (sorry) comparison with the FT8800 and the control knobs have a nice smooth feel....

Now I just have to wait for the software to arrive so I can program it... I'm too lazy to do it all by hand!

Nice dude.. thanks for posting the unboxing pics

does it blend

It might make a wicked martini or a very nice G+T... what with work and being out of town I haven't had any time to play with it or even crack the manual...

OK...the programming software arrived.

Programming was pretty painless after importing my VX-8 data file.

Audio sounds good...but sounds a bit better to my ears after playing around with the "tone" settings a bit... too many years around a four-engine turboprop I guess....

The button pushing on the control head seems pretty logical...after reading the manual ...and the display is nice and clear and big...

I'm going to have to muck around with the Smartbeaconing parameters a bit as it seems to be transmitting a little too often while sitting here on the desk.

The display shows both an alphanumeric name and a frequency for each side... which is kinda nice.

The only issue I've run into thus far is trying to see what the power meter says vs. what the manual says it puts out.... apparently you can't put out 50 watts of rf power if the input fuse on the power bar is 5 amps but that's hardly a design flaw... unless we're talking about my brain or lack thereof...

...I'd go and get the fuses out of the car...but I hate not having extras in the car...so off to Canadian Tire tomorrow!