More Proof Yaesu Makes Junk!

[Shockwave]

After dealing with everything from the "waterproof" muffled TX audio, to the "square wave" PL encoder that no receiver can filter out, my VX-7R revealed yet another Yaesu factory design flaw, relating to the misuse of ceramic filters in their IF stages. It went deaf on all bands until you bypass the narrow band ceramic IF filter by switching the receiver into the wide band FM mode.

It is important to understand this is not the result of some defective part that Yaesu inadvertently used. It is the direct result of Yaesu engineers completely ignoring the manufacturers datasheet for the ceramic filter, where it indicates the filter cannot have DC applied to it and must be used with DC blocking caps.

No one at Yaesu cares anymore. They know there is only 2.7 volts DC applied to the ceramic filter and that is not enough to short the filter before the warranty expires! I now call Yaesu "Three in one" because this is the second Yaesu I've purchased new, where they have managed to squeeze three significant design flaws into a single product!

 

[bob85]

I learned long ago when I bought my FT100d that yaesu were clowns & I would not be buying another new yaesu product,

The disgraceful bodge modifications they did to try to fix the pa oscillation / high vswr icon problem was un freaking believable,

They never sorted it even though they made a mess in everybody's radio with metal straps clips drilling the chassis & putting copper foil where its doing nothing at all or in places where its not needed,

I found the problem by accident, fixed it without doing any soldering or mods to the circuit board & had zero issues since,

I did another for a local & removed the yaesu clown™ mods & its still working without any oscillation issues,

They say every cloud has a silver lining, Some Yaesu Owners can add,

"over 20 years unpaid experience in product testing & troubleshooting for a multinational communications company" to their CV

 

[Handy Andy]

You're not the only one that has lost receivers to poor designs...

Realistic scanners, Cobra Plus series - Many Uniden chassis - had similar "faults" that made some of their radios more collectors items because of their faults and quirks - they just didn't sell well due to their high return rates - they stopped making them the same year of the first production run, which is what makes some of these collector items.

Several of their "Push button Face" and Uniden's Effort to make CB's a part of Maritime life - some epic fails but collectors nonetheless.

 

[Shockwave]

I seriously can't say enough negative things about Yaesu today. The company has completely gone to hell and does not appear to hire knowable people that give a dam about anything today, other than pumping out more junk. They cover over so many problems with ineffective band aides, that they are too embarrassed to publish any of their "fixes" in service bulletins.

I'm thinking they need a few lawsuits for selling millions of pieces of equipment which blatantly ignored the manufacturers datasheet and resulted in premature part failure. Then go after them for selling PA stages that oscillate to the point that they could never pass a legitimate FCC inspection while they still manage to carry the now meaningless type acceptance label.

 

[Shockwave]

You're not the only one that has lost receivers to poor designs...

Realistic scanners, Cobra Plus series - Many Uniden chassis - had similar "faults" that made some of their radios more collectors items because of their faults and quirks - they just didn't sell well due to their high return rates - they stopped making them the same year of the first production run, which is what makes some of these collector items.

Several of their "Push button Face" and Uniden's Effort to make CB's a part of Maritime life - some epic fails but collectors nonetheless.

I agree that other "lesser" companies have made mistakes but the difference is, Yaesu will repeat the same mistake in several designs and keep making them for a decade. When they fail, they will replace the part with the same one that failed in the original design so the problem can be repurchased for a second round of trouble.

You pick the problem from weak FET drivers, defective LCD displays or misused ceramic filters. No one mass produces defective designs in larger numbers than Yaesu. You'll never find an Icom or a Kenwood that oscillates all over the band on TX or that destroys its IF filters due to design flaws that have been left intact for over a decade.

Your only chance of getting Yaesu to correct a design problem from the production end, is if the defect is costing them too much money in warranty work. If the problem typically does not become apparent until after the warranty, they won't lift a finger to correct it or assist you, without you paying for their mistake first.

 

[Shockwave]

On another note, I just ordered the parts to correctly fix Yaesu's mistake. The parts were under $10 and that includes the REQUIRED DC blocking caps that this company decided to leave out. That's about all I'm willing to invest into this radio before I take it outside and test its Mil Spec case with a hammer.

At that point, if it doesn't work I'll buy a new PAIR of Baofeng's for about the cost that Yaesu wants for just one replacement battery!

 

[Handy Andy]

That's about all I'm willing to invest into this radio before I take it outside and test its Mil Spec case with a hammer.

Great stuff!

 

[DoctorAudio]

take it outside and test its Mil Spec case with a hammer.

16 lb. sledge so you can fix it so it never needs fixing again!

 

[Rwb]

where is B.J. Radionut? i kinda got burned by yahoo opps yeasu too

 

[Slowmover]

Okay.

Have but one and won’t bother with more.

 

[ljh505]

Meanwhile, the Yaesu FTDX101D and FTDX10 test 1st and 3rd in the independent Sherwood Engineering receiver rankings
http://www.sherweng.com/table.html
Kenwood is completely missing from the top 5, and Icom only has a receiver (not a transceiver) in the top 3. FlexRadio and Elecraft fill out the rest of the top 7. If you scroll down to #8 and #9 you'll see Icom and Kenwood offerings appearing, right above the Hilberling.

Testing methodology is given in the DOC/PDF download link at the top of the page.

 

[Shockwave]

Meanwhile, the Yaesu FTDX101D and FTDX10 test 1st and 3rd in the independent Sherwood Engineering receiver rankings
http://www.sherweng.com/table.html
Kenwood is completely missing from the top 5, and Icom only has a receiver (not a transceiver) in the top 3. FlexRadio and Elecraft fill out the rest of the top 7. If you scroll down to #8 and #9 you'll see Icom and Kenwood offerings appearing, right above the Hilberling.

Testing methodology is given in the DOC/PDF download link at the top of the page.

Meanwhile, some 37 years ago in 1984, Kenwood's TS-940S would still take second place in that list today, with a wideband dynamic range of 102db...

It took the others forever to catch up with Kenwood's advanced receiver specifications. Yaesu is only the first to release new items today, for one reason. They rush them into production while removing way too much debugging and quality control. One thing I can bet money on from years of factory authorized service work experience, is when Kenwood offers a new product, far less of them will be coming in for warranty work.

 

[FredTx63]

Most of the new FTDX-10's have loose screens. You apply the slightest amount of physical touch (specifically in the bottom right-hand corner) and the screen moves inward like it's not mounted securely. Yes, it's only a tiny fraction of an inch - it's not like the screen is literally flopping around in the chassis, but the amount of movement is unacceptable on a $1,700 radio.

One of the first YouTubers to review the radio pointed it out and Yaesu said "Don't push so hard" - others (including myself) have confirmed the same issue with ours. It's not a matter of excessive force being used. I've also recently owned TS-890S, a few 7300s, a 7610, etc. and none of them had this issue.

I'd almost forgive the wobbly screen if they'd release a firmware update that adds an averaging function to the band scope.

But yes, I will agree the receiver is pretty great.

 

[w9cll]

I have zero interest in today's radios, they are either a computer in a box with knobs or completely overpriced junk. I keep using my 40-year-old equipment, they are easy to work on, most parts are still available, and damn it they look cool.

 

[Shockwave]

It's not like the screen is literally flopping around in the chassis, but the amount of movement is unacceptable on a $1,700 radio.

One of the first YouTubers to review the radio pointed it out and Yaesu said "Don't push so hard" - others (including myself) have confirmed the same issue with ours. It's not a matter of excessive force being used.

Not for nothing, but if I still did warranty work for Yaesu and a $1,700.00 customer walked into to our storefront complaining about this, it would have been fixed while they waited. It would have gone into the backroom where a few drops of carefully placed hot glue would have been put on the inside, bottom right edge of that display. Like I said, Yaesu doesn't give a damn however, some of the independently owned authorized service centers, did.