New 2 Meter Radio

With all the driving I do with my job, I decided to purchase a new ham radio for my van.  I drove up to Amateur Electronic Supply in Cleveland and picked up the new Yaesu FT-1900R.  The one I wanted was discontinued, but this is looking more and more like it is a better radio.


One thing that has concerned me is that the new mobile 2 meter rigs run 50+ watts.  This one is 55 watts, and the package is so tiny, I was afraid that there wouldnt be enough heat sink to dissipate the kind of heat that a 50 watt final would produce.  Turns out the entire bottom of the radio is finned heat sink, and it runs really cool with no temperature rise.  Could they be running a class E PA in their rigs now?  It would make sense.


Now for the operation of the rig...  For a new radio, it is relatively convenient.  You do need to reference the user manual, however, as programming the radio involves a few keystrokes, especially when you need to use CTCSS to access a repeater.  You can also name the channels so you dont have to remember the frequencies when you tune thru the memories.


Operating the radio is a breeze once its set up.  Power level is changed between 4 steps using a front panel button, tuning can be direct entry via the DTMF microphone (standard equipment), or by turning the tuning knob.  The receiver has a hot .2 microvolt sensitivity, and the transmit audio is nice and clean.  I've made a few QSO's on the radio from the mobile, and I am very pleased with it.


I also started a yahoo group on this radio, and if you have one, you're welcome to join it.  The url is at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ft-1900r/