I'm honestly impressed with this radio and its features. For every 1 person who complains that it doesn't have digital, there are 10 others who don't want digital. Yaesu is doing right by not ignoring the analog-only Hams and releasing new radios in a time when other manufacturers have nothing but delays and increased pricing. I think this radio will be an excellent addition to their line-up.
I am in the analog-only camp and love that Yaesu addressed this user base. This is perfect for emcomm, mobile, public service and portable. I have at least three videos in the pipeline for this rig.
NOTES: Not shown on video, the power output on 70cm meets all stated claims. AND yes, the ICOM 2730 is DUAL receive. Not merely dual watch. Thanks for keeping me honest all, it was an unintentional mistake.
I actually love this radio and feel like it was meant 100% for my use case. I love that it is a simple (basic) 2m/440 radio with a data port. The data port is what sold it. If it had SSB this would be the perfect rig. I am going to be relying on the FTM-6000R as my go-to manpack for portable digital (packet) and voice operations. I'm in the process of finishing up the manpack build. It includes: a bag, protective frames, digital integration, external power and a field antenna all in a small package. I wish I had this rig at my most recent public service event. Great stuff, Josh!
I bought an FTM-6000 and love it! It's menu system and functions are super easy to use. It DOES have a dual watch function which can be programmed to one of the mic function buttons. Also you can program up to 5 favorite frequencies separate from the main channel memory and you can scan those faves separately. The radio performs very well. I've received good reports from contacts. I may make use of the data port in the future.
@@joelh1950its probably like the ft60 in that regard, you can monitor two frequencies but only shows one and if a transmission comes through the other frequency it will display it. It just doesnt show both, not a big deal i suppose.
To me this radio feels like a “let’s make a radio with parts we can get our hands on.” I’m glad they’re doing that but this radio is not worth 300 bucks. I think it’s a sign of the times more than anything.
I recently got my Amateur Extra license and it all started with a video from HRCC and a Baofeng. I'm hooked now and I blame you. My biggest fear now is that someday I'll go sk and my wife will sell all of my gear for what I told her I paid for it. Thank you for many great and informative videos and I hope to meet on the waterfall someday. 73, KE8RXQ
I am still happy with my dual display, dual VFO 8800s (2X) which I have had for a decade. If I had to shop for a new radio, I might consider this radio but it still seems expensive for the dozen or so features that most hams use on a regular basis. And on the 8800, the mic plugs into the head so if separated, no need for a long mic cable to connect to the body.
@Jam Pudding I have an 8800 and two 7900s, and I also don't understand why they stopped those lineages. Truly great radios with no obvious reason to discontinue.
@Jam Pudding I have an 8800 and two 7900s, and I also don't understand why they stopped those lineages. Truly great radios with no obvious reason to discontinue.
I wish Yaesu would bring us a tri-band mobile (144/220/440) with some serious 220 power (25w), like the AnyTone AT5888-UVIII. Adding APRS capability would be the icing on the cake. I never understood why their old (discontinued) tri-band mobile only had 1w for 220.
I hear you on that. We have quite a few 200 repeaters in the northern Utah area and I'm wanting to get folks back on them. Hardly any traffic on any of them I monitor them with my Uniden SDS200 scanner, never hear anything. To tell you the truth, I don't hear much on 2m or 440 either and I have over 100 repeater outputs I scan on all three bands!!
I agree totally I have been wanting for a Triband mobile from Yaesu forever. That FTM 350 as nice as it was only had 1 Watt on 220 what is up with that. Even the Yaesu VX 6 only had 1and a half watts on there HT could not even give us 5 watts on an HT. Yaesu pretty much does not care about the 220 band sad to say. I heard Kenwood was coming out with a Triband mobile at the end of this year or beginning of next year so I hope so. And maybe if we are lucky it will do the full 50 watts on 220 as well.
@@larryroop5924 Yaesu doesn't care about us at all. They know plenty of people will rush out to buy their latest crap like the latest iPhone regardless.
Someone has probably already mentioned, but it's worth mentioning, that the "data/packet" port is not the traditional din connector that is available on the older rigs, you need to buy an adapter, so while Yaesu isn't nickel and dime-ing on the head relocation kit or the mount for the RF package. They are doing so with this "data/packet" port with the adapter you will need to purchase to use it. The other issue that I have is that the FT-7800/FT-7900 that this radio essentially replaces had a cheaper street price than this rig at about 280 or less, although I have seen this rig going as low as that, it's a little disappointing that you have to wait and pray for old features to be re-added to a manufacturer's lineup. All that said, 90% of all the gear I have is Yaesu.
Nicely done Mr. Josh! This radio was recommended by my local Armature Radio Emergency Service group. Winlink Vara FM and Packet is a significant part of the work that we do for our local Fire Department. Your review really put some color behind what some of my other local Stations told me. Thank you! ~Matt (KK7MLS)
In the 70's that mobile mount was called the Slide mount to keep 8-Tracks and CBs from being stolen you took them out and into the house or trunk if at a Mall. 8-Track and Cbs were mostly stolen at the mall parking lot
The data port is good to find these days. It was a necessity for 9600 baud packet, IIRC. I have two of the Alinco DR-135T radios... and one of the 1.25m radios. The mobile bracket is quite nice! Reminds me of a motorola slide mount for car stereos. My dad had one.
If this was dual-receive like the IC-2730, then this would be a very interesting option. That's really the big thing making me think it's not a valid competitor at this price point - you're getting half the radio for the same price. It doesn't need fancier features, but dual-receive in a decent mobile radio is pretty basic at this point, so you can have both a simplex channel and a favorite repeater or similar.
I got my license last year and one thing that confused me was understanding what you needed to buy when you bought an icom uhf/vhf transceiver. I eventually settled on a Yaesu because they made it a lot easier for beginners to know what they are buying.
I like your review. I think Yaesu made a huge mistake by discontinuing the FTM-100D. It does everything the FTM-6000 does and even more, like gps location, data port, and it is DIGITAL! I bought mine for $319. the same price as the FTM-6000. Yes, for the same price, I definitely would rather have the FTM-100D.
Josh...LOVE your excellent reviews and vids. You do a GREAT Straightforward job on your videos. Simple, objective, and concise. Thanks for your time, and hard work..... 73 Brian KB9ZPK
Thank you for the great review, very informative and I appreciate hearing your perspective. And now just like with Marvel movies, I will ALWAYS watch to the very end of your videos, not wanting to miss any great nuggets like this one.
A Ft 7250 kept going up in price. Last time HRO and GIGA parts stocked them they were $269--Japanese sellers on Ebay are asking $500 for the 20 watt version
@@africantwin173 ftm-100 DR radios have rear connections new stuff junk 6000 . To orocek on 400 and 300 Yaesu lost all them radios in 2 years let's see. Ftm 100 dr, ftm 3200dr , ftm 3207dr , 7250 , maybe a ht. And slightly before that ft 8900r so 6 meters and wires could be used and 2 years before that ft-8800r which that & the 8900 came out same time in 2007 what a shame. The ft 891 is a good radio with bum menu system . Yaesu must be suffering no c4fm Mobil bugdet radios as the fusion repeaters are being left for analog only .
Glad I got the Yaesu FTM-7250DR before they discontinued it. It was at least $100 less than this, and was capable of YSF, which this is not. No removable faceplate, but still seemed to be a better value.
HRO has the ftm-6000 right now for $249.00 on sale. I currently have the ftm-300dr, and for my hf rig a ft-450. Im all about Yaesu for their value and proven quality. Great review, thanks. 73s Rick KA0RLR
It seems like a direct replacement for my 2900 and I get dual band, detached faceplate, better menu, and new mic. This is a very reasonable price point for a new radio, IMHO. I have an FTM-100DR and it doesn’t have the built in capabilities. As mentioned it doesn’t need them. Thanks Josh for the candid review of features!
Definitely not a reasonably priced replacement for the 2900. You can pick up 2980s for $120 if you wait for sales. But this thing is $320?!! Sorry yaesu, but you missed the mark with this one.
Been debating between ICOM 2730A and this Yaesu. This video was incredibly helpful. I think I am leaning to the Yaesu now because of the data port. Thanks for the great content!
@@hobbiehobbs awesome thanks for the info!!!! As a newer ham I probably would be happy either way...but half the fun is over analyzing every little thing!
I agree. iCom has way more features and watching this video I will pick it as soon as it is available in my local store. Yaesu is too behind with the features.
That price though.. This is what bugs me about the major brands. I got an Icom id-4100 a couple of years ago, and was kinda surprised that they nickel and dime their customers the way they do. Neither bracket, the proprietary bluetooth adapter nor the proprietary data cable are included. Literally $10 worth of parts, but that'll be an additional $200+ if you want full functionality of the several hundred $$ radio you just bought. Didn't leave a good impression with me.
Thank you for this interesting video. I bought a car and have not yet installed a new ham radio back in. the FTM 6000 seems to be a nice simple and maybe even adding some aprs/packet on the go.
Great review! Now for the important part, I waited to see if you had any bloopers or content after your signoff, so I tapped the screen to see how much time was left. A couple minutes? Then I hear quite a nice humble man, simply letting everyone on the repeater know each and every one of his accomplishments, how he is more privileged then others with his training, and such... You can't make this stuff up! I hope he eventually let the repeater cool off! Talking nunchucks on repeater! De K1MAZ
I was wondering what all that time at the end of the review was going to be. Blooper reel, maybe? Oh, but that was SO much better than any blooper reel.
Love the review and if I didn't have a couple Kenwoods with data ports I would probably be interested. In your comparison with the IC-2730 you said that the Icom was "dual-watch". My understanding is that the Icom is not merely dual-watch but a true dual receiver with full-duplex and cross-band repeat. If that is true then I wouldn't put these two transceivers in the same category even though I do like the packet interface on the Yaesu.
I had the IC -2730 dual TX / RX you can do crossband same with the KENWOOD V71A but the V71A is ECHOLINK READY you can get a interface ( optional ) from KENWOOD ( $50.00 ) so that way you can have your own EchoLink node both the IC 2730 or KENWOOD V71A are good
Have a Kenwood D710, same issue. Absolutely horrible design feature. Nice to separate them and mount the body out of the way but totally pointless if you then have cables running everywhere.
@@TomHoops04 you shouldn't have to. The mic should connect to the face, not the radio. This is a bad design decision, and shouldn't have made it into production this way.
If you remote mount the RF deck you will likely also have to extend the speaker, so why not extend the mic as well. Not a huge deal for a clean install. I actually prefer that the mic not plug into the face as I don’t like it pulling at the face. I have the ICOM IC-2730A he mentions. It has a mic connector on both the face and the RF deck. I still choose to extend the mic from the deck with my own custom cabling.
I would agree the data port is worth having. We use those ports for many different things including FLDIGI, WinLink and APRS. I just wish it had bluetooth data then you do most of the data without a cable.
Just getting back into ham radio, been inactive for longer than I care to say. I like this radio, it simple and I like the mount if you could get a couple of those mounts you could move the radio from one vehicle to another.
Josh, thanks for the video! Great timing actually, I'm in the process of building a VHF BBS station, and I will eventually need a dedicated radio just like this one to handle all the RF. Would love to see a review from you in the future when and if you end up interfacing with it via a computer (for use with Direwolf), or directly to a TNC. Thanks!
Regardless of the Yaesu/Icom comparison, the prices continue to rise to ridiculous amounts from the Big 3 Japanese companies. Instead of complaining about Chinese "junk" maybe they should price themselves to be more competitive. I don't expect them to sell an HT for $25, but a "basic" (Yaesu's words) mobile rig should not be this expensive, just like the overpriced FT5. I'd love to get something like this, or any other latest and greatest, and I know their marketing strategy is for people to do just that, but honestly, at these current prices, I'm sticking with what I have. For me, it's not buying Chinese instead of Big 3, it's keeping the money in my pocket instead of buying Big 3. OTOH, glad I stayed around for the last 3 minutes!
I am an electrical engineer that has designed all sorts of commercial products. It is 5x to 10x the price to build something in the USA. When the customers demand low price....they are effectively demanding it be built in China. Even for the products that come from Japan, Germany, USA etc that are made on contract in China must be far more expensive than if it was 100% a Chinese company. Choose your battles wisely or we will ONLY have Chinese products to choose from. ICOM, Yaesu, Kenwood, etc, etc have many decades of innovation. Their reward is consumers complaining that they are more expensive than the companies that are copying them.
@@Factory400 thank you for explaining that. Everyone thinks this equipment should be priced at Chinese prices but don’t understand the time and cost to develop the products. I will stick to the better quality of the big 3. Not knocking the Chinese equipment but remember the stuff on it is just a copy of the Japanese equipment in the end.
Looks like a replacement for the FT-7900. I like the fact that it has a mic gain adjustment in the user menu. My FT-7900 is slightly low in mic gain, and would need to access the service menu to adjust. The data port on the FTM-6000 may work to interface an MMDVM device. Looks like a good companion to the FT-891.
They don't need all the pins. My FT-891 and ID-880H I have setup mobile with cat5 cable using 3 pairs into an RJ-11 jack. Normal shielded cat 5e for extending the mike cables and it works perfectly.
They can. But the connectors are larger for some of these smaller heads so they likely use smaller to keep size down. Its also nice bit of profit too, to charge $30 for a $5 cable. I have used custom adapters to adapt RJ-45 to RJ-11/12 before. Works great.
I wanted a radio that would function if the grid went down for whatever reason. Being a total newb to ham. It appears many if not all the text/email type technologies rely on cell towers or internet connections, meaning they probably won’t work during a disaster scenario. A basic radio like this seems adequate for my interest.
FTM-100 is far from basic. In addition to digital modes, it had a TNC, GPS on board for APRS as well as acts as a node radio. It was the mobile equivalent to FT-2.
To me this seems like a huge step backwards for yaesu in my opinion.. I own the ftm100dr which looks to be the same body as this 6000 but with a smaller and much nicer detachable face, SD card slot, dual watch, integrated APRS, system fusion and wires X "and it has the DATA port to make a pdn.. They should just bring the 100dr back. Not sure why they ever discontinued it.
The thing that doesn't make sense about this unit is how close it is in price to the FTM300DR. That piece at the end, LOL. Glad to see my local repeaters aren't the only ones with those guys.
Looks like a nice little radio. I'm not sure it's one I'd get (I strongly prefer my mobiles having cross-band repeater capability.) If it fits your use case, go for it.
Seems similar in a lot of ways to the radio I’m using for VARA FM Wide, the Icom IC-208H. I picked mine up secondhand, but the key differentiator was the presence and of the data port. It’s such a neglected feature that in researching it was hard to find out what radios did/did not have it on the back. Most everyone in my area runs the Alincos and there is no 70cm packet to speak of that I’ve seen, but if I needed to operate on that band using digital modes, there really aren’t many options out there and none in this price range. Now, give me one that can do CAT control to change the frequency automatically when I choose a node to connect to, that’d be pretty nice.
I get it. Just about every FM radio I have is used for digital operations and none of them have a data port. I can imagine using this radio as a high power base station/beacon or repeater transmitter.
I agree the DIN port is a killer feature. Add a mobilinkd and you have a mobile fully featured aprs unit. Sadly the price in Australia will make it 500+
IC-2730 is a sweet rig. I can monitor two 2m (v+v, v+u, u+u) channels or scan through all my memories, 2m and 70cm, while talking in a repeater. Its the perfect rag chew radio for fm I don't get why yeasu would release a radio without fusion included?
Neat rig, I wish all manufacture would have a mini din or similar port. Did I hear your building a allstar node...by far my favorite "digital" mode. HiHi
Why do they insist on putting the mic connector on the radio body?? It pretty much forces you to buy a mic extension cable if you want to separate the head. Why can't they plug the mic into the head? Yaesu figured it out years and years go with the FT-8900.
looks like an updated ft7900r... the quick and deep menus sound good but i do like the alphabetical sorting within the 7900r menu system, makes it a bit easier to use on the run. thanks for the vid
Unrelated to the main subject but the guy at the end of the video is why I took repeaters out of alot of my scan lists. Just people talking so much about stupid stuff. That's why I'm back here looking for different projects in the hobby.
You can use for antenna pattern and gain tests! If you know just where rptr is and direction from qth. Here is the opposite, rptrs hardly used except a few nightly nets.
I would like the radio manufacturers to make single band 2 m, 70 cm and 23 cm all mode SSB, CW, FM radios with mechanical filters and simple functions with LED readouts. I have 2 FM handhelds and two Ic 2200H radios I rarely use.!
Incredibly late comment but...all radios should come with a data port! The rear data port should be standard on all mobile and base station radios. It clearly makes sense and adds value and versatility to the radio. I really wish my FTM-7250D had this port.
Their lineup doesn't have a dual band analog. They only have two 2m radios and then jump to the 300 and 400. Looking at the prices of the FTM300 and 400 this actually fits nicely in their lineup.
Pricing is a funny thing In the UK-Yaesu is £239.95-Icom is £289.95, but Icoms are traditionally expensive in the UK-eventually I’ll get the Yaesu as a shack FM radio
Can you tell me the dimensions of this radio with the faceplate attached and including the fan? All the dimensions I find exclude the fan and include the faceplate detached.
Thanks for the review. One thing I am wondering is how the receivers of IC-2730A and FTR-6000R compare to each other. I am setting up a base station with the intent to connect to a remote (120 miles away) repeater for the backcountry communications. I can receive the signal from that repeater using my HT connected to a Yagi, but I cannot open it even with 10 Watt TX power. The received signal is OK, but it is still spring and I expect that it will be worse in summer, so receiver sensitivity is important. Thanks.
If you want a simple rugged single bander check out the Yaesu 2980R...Built like a tank and 80 watts...2 meters only but the thing is indestructible and i think its stil around $170 U.S.
I'm honestly impressed with this radio and its features. For every 1 person who complains that it doesn't have digital, there are 10 others who don't want digital. Yaesu is doing right by not ignoring the analog-only Hams and releasing new radios in a time when other manufacturers have nothing but delays and increased pricing. I think this radio will be an excellent addition to their line-up.
Yep it is pretty good.
1100 memory channels with no channel banks, happy hunting btw
I am in the analog-only camp and love that Yaesu addressed this user base. This is perfect for emcomm, mobile, public service and portable. I have at least three videos in the pipeline for this rig.
Yup, nice little rig, not a fan of digital,. Cheers Josh
@@nandrews8412 🤣
NOTES: Not shown on video, the power output on 70cm meets all stated claims. AND yes, the ICOM 2730 is DUAL receive. Not merely dual watch. Thanks for keeping me honest all, it was an unintentional mistake.
So can I do texting over aprs like with my TH-d74a??
@@cedricvillani8502 if you connect a tnc and computing device, yes.
So if it doesn’t have A/B channels or dual watch is it bad at running repeaters? Can you run repeaters?
Cheers
I actually love this radio and feel like it was meant 100% for my use case. I love that it is a simple (basic) 2m/440 radio with a data port. The data port is what sold it. If it had SSB this would be the perfect rig. I am going to be relying on the FTM-6000R as my go-to manpack for portable digital (packet) and voice operations. I'm in the process of finishing up the manpack build. It includes: a bag, protective frames, digital integration, external power and a field antenna all in a small package. I wish I had this rig at my most recent public service event. Great stuff, Josh!
Does the FTM-6000R have the data port?
@@JbowlizzleKC yes, with the caveat that you need an adapter for it from the 9 pin to the more common 6 pin
Ssb would make it a must buy....
I bought an FTM-6000 and love it! It's menu system and functions are super easy to use. It DOES have a dual watch function which can be programmed to one of the mic function buttons. Also you can program up to 5 favorite frequencies separate from the main channel memory and you can scan those faves separately. The radio performs very well. I've received good reports from contacts. I may make use of the data port in the future.
Does the FTM-6000 show both freq when in Dual Watch Mode ?
@@joelh1950its probably like the ft60 in that regard, you can monitor two frequencies but only shows one and if a transmission comes through the other frequency it will display it. It just doesnt show both, not a big deal i suppose.
To me this radio feels like a “let’s make a radio with parts we can get our hands on.” I’m glad they’re doing that but this radio is not worth 300 bucks. I think it’s a sign of the times more than anything.
$320 dx eng. yup and it doesn’t even have fusion, my ftm 100 was about the same price!
I recently got my Amateur Extra license and it all started with a video from HRCC and a Baofeng. I'm hooked now and I blame you. My biggest fear now is that someday I'll go sk and my wife will sell all of my gear for what I told her I paid for it.
Thank you for many great and informative videos and I hope to meet on the waterfall someday.
73,
KE8RXQ
“Sell it for what I told her I paid for it” lmaooo
I am still happy with my dual display, dual VFO 8800s (2X) which I have had for a decade. If I had to shop for a new radio, I might consider this radio but it still seems expensive for the dozen or so features that most hams use on a regular basis. And on the 8800, the mic plugs into the head so if separated, no need for a long mic cable to connect to the body.
@Jam Pudding I have an 8800 and two 7900s, and I also don't understand why they stopped those lineages. Truly great radios with no obvious reason to discontinue.
@Jam Pudding I have an 8800 and two 7900s, and I also don't understand why they stopped those lineages. Truly great radios with no obvious reason to discontinue.
Now THAT is a proper mobile bracket!
I wish Yaesu would bring us a tri-band mobile (144/220/440) with some serious 220 power (25w), like the AnyTone AT5888-UVIII. Adding APRS capability would be the icing on the cake. I never understood why their old (discontinued) tri-band mobile only had 1w for 220.
I hear you on that. We have quite a few 200 repeaters in the northern Utah area and I'm wanting to get folks back on them. Hardly any traffic on any of them I monitor them with my Uniden SDS200 scanner, never hear anything. To tell you the truth, I don't hear much on 2m or 440 either and I have over 100 repeater outputs I scan on all three bands!!
That would require them to acknowledge that their American customers exist.
I agree totally I have been wanting for a Triband mobile from Yaesu forever. That FTM 350 as nice as it was only had 1 Watt on 220 what is up with that. Even the Yaesu VX 6 only had 1and a half watts on there HT could not even give us 5 watts on an HT. Yaesu pretty much does not care about the 220 band sad to say. I heard Kenwood was coming out with a Triband mobile at the end of this year or beginning of next year so I hope so. And maybe if we are lucky it will do the full 50 watts on 220 as well.
@@larryroop5924 Yaesu doesn't care about us at all. They know plenty of people will rush out to buy their latest crap like the latest iPhone regardless.
Someone has probably already mentioned, but it's worth mentioning, that the "data/packet" port is not the traditional din connector that is available on the older rigs, you need to buy an adapter, so while Yaesu isn't nickel and dime-ing on the head relocation kit or the mount for the RF package. They are doing so with this "data/packet" port with the adapter you will need to purchase to use it. The other issue that I have is that the FT-7800/FT-7900 that this radio essentially replaces had a cheaper street price than this rig at about 280 or less, although I have seen this rig going as low as that, it's a little disappointing that you have to wait and pray for old features to be re-added to a manufacturer's lineup. All that said, 90% of all the gear I have is Yaesu.
Nicely done Mr. Josh! This radio was recommended by my local Armature Radio Emergency Service group. Winlink Vara FM and Packet is a significant part of the work that we do for our local Fire Department. Your review really put some color behind what some of my other local Stations told me. Thank you! ~Matt (KK7MLS)
Thanks I hope it helped!
In the 70's that mobile mount was called the Slide mount to keep 8-Tracks and CBs from being stolen you took them out and into the house or trunk if at a Mall. 8-Track and Cbs were mostly stolen at the mall parking lot
That radio traffic at the end was certainly more compelling than the eye doctor and gout flare up conversations you hear up here in Tulare County.
The data port is good to find these days. It was a necessity for 9600 baud packet, IIRC. I have two of the Alinco DR-135T radios... and one of the 1.25m radios. The mobile bracket is quite nice! Reminds me of a motorola slide mount for car stereos. My dad had one.
I think so too.
This reminds me of my TYT TH-9800. The mic hooks to the face plate, so remote mounting is way better. DTMF, tons of memory slots, and wide band
If this was dual-receive like the IC-2730, then this would be a very interesting option. That's really the big thing making me think it's not a valid competitor at this price point - you're getting half the radio for the same price. It doesn't need fancier features, but dual-receive in a decent mobile radio is pretty basic at this point, so you can have both a simplex channel and a favorite repeater or similar.
I got my license last year and one thing that confused me was understanding what you needed to buy when you bought an icom uhf/vhf transceiver. I eventually settled on a Yaesu because they made it a lot easier for beginners to know what they are buying.
I like your review. I think Yaesu made a huge mistake by discontinuing the FTM-100D. It does everything the FTM-6000 does and even more, like gps location, data port, and it is DIGITAL! I bought mine for $319. the same price as the FTM-6000. Yes, for the same price, I definitely would rather have the FTM-100D.
100% agree. The FTM-100D has alot more features and value than the FTM-6000. I'm glad I got my FTM-100D for $300 bucks when they were available.
Josh...LOVE your excellent reviews and vids. You do a GREAT Straightforward job on your videos.
Simple, objective, and concise. Thanks for your time,
and hard work.....
73 Brian KB9ZPK
Thank you for the great review, very informative and I appreciate hearing your perspective. And now just like with Marvel movies, I will ALWAYS watch to the very end of your videos, not wanting to miss any great nuggets like this one.
If Yaesu wants to make me happy, Bring back the Yaesu 7250 for us guys that don't have a big budget. That radio was dual band with fusion for 219.00.
Dam right ... Ftm 6000 a ft 7900 replacement no c4fm , no mic connector on face then no sale
A Ft 7250 kept going up in price. Last time HRO and GIGA parts stocked them they were $269--Japanese sellers on Ebay are asking $500 for the 20 watt version
But is has no data packet port 9k6. Thats 's why I didn't bought it.
@@africantwin173 ftm-100 DR radios have rear connections new stuff junk 6000 . To orocek on 400 and 300
Yaesu lost all them radios in 2 years let's see.
Ftm 100 dr, ftm 3200dr , ftm 3207dr , 7250 , maybe a ht.
And slightly before that ft 8900r so 6 meters and wires could be used and 2 years before that ft-8800r which that & the 8900 came out same time in 2007 what a shame. The ft 891 is a good radio with bum menu system .
Yaesu must be suffering no c4fm Mobil bugdet radios as the fusion repeaters are being left for analog only .
Looks like a anytone copy overpriced for what it has
Thanks for the video Josh, you mentioned it only did FM, I believe it does do AM receive for the Air Band
I meant for transmit. But yes, am receive on the airband. 👍
I’d really love it added 220 to pair with the VX6R ht. It would be an awesome duo.
Glad I got the Yaesu FTM-7250DR before they discontinued it. It was at least $100 less than this, and was capable of YSF, which this is not. No removable faceplate, but still seemed to be a better value.
I have two of the 7250's - really like them!
That radio is built similar to the FT891. I really love that quick release mount!
You make me feel better about this radio. Thanks.
HRO has the ftm-6000 right now for $249.00 on sale. I currently have the ftm-300dr, and for my hf rig a ft-450. Im all about Yaesu for their value and proven quality. Great review, thanks. 73s
Rick KA0RLR
That is a good deal!
@@HamRadioCrashCourse I know I just ordered it.
It seems like a direct replacement for my 2900 and I get dual band, detached faceplate, better menu, and new mic. This is a very reasonable price point for a new radio, IMHO. I have an FTM-100DR and it doesn’t have the built in capabilities. As mentioned it doesn’t need them. Thanks Josh for the candid review of features!
You also get a fan that’s louder than a tornado. I love the silence of the 2900/2980
It's also over twice the price.
Definitely not a reasonably priced replacement for the 2900. You can pick up 2980s for $120 if you wait for sales. But this thing is $320?!! Sorry yaesu, but you missed the mark with this one.
Been debating between ICOM 2730A and this Yaesu. This video was incredibly helpful. I think I am leaning to the Yaesu now because of the data port. Thanks for the great content!
I have many Yaesu radios but I also have the 2730 and I will tell you the 2730 is a great radio. I am very pleased with it.
@@hobbiehobbs awesome thanks for the info!!!! As a newer ham I probably would be happy either way...but half the fun is over analyzing every little thing!
I agree. iCom has way more features and watching this video I will pick it as soon as it is available in my local store. Yaesu is too behind with the features.
That price though.. This is what bugs me about the major brands. I got an Icom id-4100 a couple of years ago, and was kinda surprised that they nickel and dime their customers the way they do. Neither bracket, the proprietary bluetooth adapter nor the proprietary data cable are included. Literally $10 worth of parts, but that'll be an additional $200+ if you want full functionality of the several hundred $$ radio you just bought. Didn't leave a good impression with me.
Pause - This radio's microphone jack is NOT on the remote head? Only on the Body of the radio? That is an issue.
That's pretty standard for yaesu kit. The separation kit usually comes with the extension cable in the box.
You have to buy extra mic cord if install remote
Thank you for this interesting video. I bought a car and have not yet installed a new ham radio back in. the FTM 6000 seems to be a nice simple and maybe even adding some aprs/packet on the go.
Yaesu is the bomb
Great review! Now for the important part, I waited to see if you had any bloopers or content after your signoff, so I tapped the screen to see how much time was left. A couple minutes? Then I hear quite a nice humble man, simply letting everyone on the repeater know each and every one of his accomplishments, how he is more privileged then others with his training, and such... You can't make this stuff up! I hope he eventually let the repeater cool off! Talking nunchucks on repeater! De K1MAZ
I died when I stumbled on that.
He's talking about a system of self defense that he developed over two seasons of fighting in the octagon.
I am very happy with this radio. I have one in my car, my father has one in his and at his station.
I like the review. Best part is the end of the video!
Very good video I can see the display on the video
I was wondering what all that time at the end of the review was going to be. Blooper reel, maybe? Oh, but that was SO much better than any blooper reel.
Hi great informative video . In the uk it’s going fir £239.95 . Thanks mark
Love the review and if I didn't have a couple Kenwoods with data ports I would probably be interested.
In your comparison with the IC-2730 you said that the Icom was "dual-watch". My understanding is that the Icom is not merely dual-watch but a true dual receiver with full-duplex and cross-band repeat. If that is true then I wouldn't put these two transceivers in the same category even though I do like the packet interface on the Yaesu.
I had the IC -2730 dual TX / RX you can do crossband same with the KENWOOD V71A but the V71A is ECHOLINK READY you can get a interface ( optional ) from KENWOOD ( $50.00 ) so that way you can have your own EchoLink node both the IC 2730 or KENWOOD V71A are good
It needs a mic connector on the detachable control head, otherwise this feature is useless to me.
just get an extender or passthrough
Have a Kenwood D710, same issue. Absolutely horrible design feature. Nice to separate them and mount the body out of the way but totally pointless if you then have cables running everywhere.
@@TomHoops04 you shouldn't have to. The mic should connect to the face, not the radio. This is a bad design decision, and shouldn't have made it into production this way.
If you remote mount the RF deck you will likely also have to extend the speaker, so why not extend the mic as well. Not a huge deal for a clean install. I actually prefer that the mic not plug into the face as I don’t like it pulling at the face.
I have the ICOM IC-2730A he mentions. It has a mic connector on both the face and the RF deck. I still choose to extend the mic from the deck with my own custom cabling.
I would agree the data port is worth having. We use those ports for many different things including FLDIGI, WinLink and APRS. I just wish it had bluetooth data then you do most of the data without a cable.
Definitely worth the watch till the end.
Yause's coming out with some beautiful stuff man thank you for sharing it very nice radio 👍💕
Thanks for the review. I'm thinking about buying my first mobile radio.
Just getting back into ham radio, been inactive for longer than I care to say. I like this radio, it simple and I like the mount if you could get a couple of those mounts you could move the radio from one vehicle to another.
Tks for this. I'm still looking for my first radio other than a Baofeng
I'm a new ham, licensed late July. The FTM 6000R is a radio I'm researching, considering purchasing.
Josh, thanks for the video! Great timing actually, I'm in the process of building a VHF BBS station, and I will eventually need a dedicated radio just like this one to handle all the RF. Would love to see a review from you in the future when and if you end up interfacing with it via a computer (for use with Direwolf), or directly to a TNC. Thanks!
There's lots of ppl on vhf usb
Thanks, Josh. Great info, as always.
I built my go box around this radio. Great performance, no regrets.
Nice!
Regardless of the Yaesu/Icom comparison, the prices continue to rise to ridiculous amounts from the Big 3 Japanese companies. Instead of complaining about Chinese "junk" maybe they should price themselves to be more competitive. I don't expect them to sell an HT for $25, but a "basic" (Yaesu's words) mobile rig should not be this expensive, just like the overpriced FT5. I'd love to get something like this, or any other latest and greatest, and I know their marketing strategy is for people to do just that, but honestly, at these current prices, I'm sticking with what I have. For me, it's not buying Chinese instead of Big 3, it's keeping the money in my pocket instead of buying Big 3.
OTOH, glad I stayed around for the last 3 minutes!
I am an electrical engineer that has designed all sorts of commercial products.
It is 5x to 10x the price to build something in the USA. When the customers demand low price....they are effectively demanding it be built in China. Even for the products that come from Japan, Germany, USA etc that are made on contract in China must be far more expensive than if it was 100% a Chinese company.
Choose your battles wisely or we will ONLY have Chinese products to choose from. ICOM, Yaesu, Kenwood, etc, etc have many decades of innovation. Their reward is consumers complaining that they are more expensive than the companies that are copying them.
@@Factory400 thank you for explaining that. Everyone thinks this equipment should be priced at Chinese prices but don’t understand the time and cost to develop the products. I will stick to the better quality of the big 3. Not knocking the Chinese equipment but remember the stuff on it is just a copy of the Japanese equipment in the end.
With what I see so far, I like it! I need to save and get one.
I’d like to see a video on how you use the data port to interface with your other electronics and aprs
I will be doing this as I am buying it 👍
Also, add a repeater builder board and RasPi and put it in Packet 9600 mode and you can then use it as a Digital Node.
Thanks for the review.
Looks like a replacement for the FT-7900. I like the fact that it has a mic gain adjustment in the user menu. My FT-7900 is slightly low in mic gain, and would need to access the service menu to adjust. The data port on the FTM-6000 may work to interface an MMDVM device. Looks like a good companion to the FT-891.
Why can't radios with remote heads use ethernet cords? Would make custom installs so much easier.
They don't need all the pins. My FT-891 and ID-880H I have setup mobile with cat5 cable using 3 pairs into an RJ-11 jack. Normal shielded cat 5e for extending the mike cables and it works perfectly.
They can. But the connectors are larger for some of these smaller heads so they likely use smaller to keep size down. Its also nice bit of profit too, to charge $30 for a $5 cable.
I have used custom adapters to adapt RJ-45 to RJ-11/12 before. Works great.
You can terminate a cat5 with an rj11 no problem, just choose your conductors.
my anytone uses rj45/ethernet for remote mounting
I love the old 78/7900s I have 4. Great to mount in my boat, one on my quad, trucks of course. Wide banded transmit and receive.FRS
I wanted a radio that would function if the grid went down for whatever reason. Being a total newb to ham. It appears many if not all the text/email type technologies rely on cell towers or internet connections, meaning they probably won’t work during a disaster scenario. A basic radio like this seems adequate for my interest.
Great info. Thank you
FTM-100 is far from basic. In addition to digital modes, it had a TNC, GPS on board for APRS as well as acts as a node radio. It was the mobile equivalent to FT-2.
FTM-100dr also does APRS with a built in GPS.
Pretty nice looking radio but I went with icom 2730a for the cross band repeat function
To me this seems like a huge step backwards for yaesu in my opinion.. I own the ftm100dr which looks to be the same body as this 6000 but with a smaller and much nicer detachable face, SD card slot, dual watch, integrated APRS, system fusion and wires X "and it has the DATA port to make a pdn.. They should just bring the 100dr back. Not sure why they ever discontinued it.
If you want to use the 2730 with the head attached to the body you have to buy an attachment to do that too.
The thing that doesn't make sense about this unit is how close it is in price to the FTM300DR.
That piece at the end, LOL. Glad to see my local repeaters aren't the only ones with those guys.
Yea this radio is going to be on my list for christmas
A very good reveiw. Survivalist Mike Adams at end of your video, Health Ranger. He puts out some great info!
This just made it to the top of my dual band radio list. APRS Winlink
#crazyending
Looks like a nice little radio. I'm not sure it's one I'd get (I strongly prefer my mobiles having cross-band repeater capability.) If it fits your use case, go for it.
Seems similar in a lot of ways to the radio I’m using for VARA FM Wide, the Icom IC-208H. I picked mine up secondhand, but the key differentiator was the presence and of the data port. It’s such a neglected feature that in researching it was hard to find out what radios did/did not have it on the back. Most everyone in my area runs the Alincos and there is no 70cm packet to speak of that I’ve seen, but if I needed to operate on that band using digital modes, there really aren’t many options out there and none in this price range. Now, give me one that can do CAT control to change the frequency automatically when I choose a node to connect to, that’d be pretty nice.
I get it. Just about every FM radio I have is used for digital operations and none of them have a data port. I can imagine using this radio as a high power base station/beacon or repeater transmitter.
The dialog at 1540 is Mike Adams "The Health Ranger" very informative pod cast.
That's a funny way to spell "entire career built on pushing pseudoscience that doesn't stand up to any kind of rigorous scrutiny"
You have all the great qualities of a prime-time newscaster or an attorney. Consider expanding your talent. 73
Well I am an engineer. 👍 thanks!
@@HamRadioCrashCourse this made me chuckle
Great review
I agree the DIN port is a killer feature. Add a mobilinkd and you have a mobile fully featured aprs unit. Sadly the price in Australia will make it 500+
IC-2730 is a sweet rig. I can monitor two 2m (v+v, v+u, u+u) channels or scan through all my memories, 2m and 70cm, while talking in a repeater. Its the perfect rag chew radio for fm
I don't get why yeasu would release a radio without fusion included?
Glad I got the FTM-7250 for $199 end of 2020 before it got discontinued. Have a 7800R as well so no interest in this. $300 seems way high.
Love the Steven Segal QSO at the end!
Neat rig, I wish all manufacture would have a mini din or similar port. Did I hear your building a allstar node...by far my favorite "digital" mode. HiHi
Why do they insist on putting the mic connector on the radio body?? It pretty much forces you to buy a mic extension cable if you want to separate the head. Why can't they plug the mic into the head? Yaesu figured it out years and years go with the FT-8900.
looks like an updated ft7900r... the quick and deep menus sound good but i do like the alphabetical sorting within the 7900r menu system, makes it a bit easier to use on the run. thanks for the vid
Will the data port work with or as a I.R.L.P. radio? KR7KZ
I'll be especially interested to see how this radio interfaces with digital devices. I'm also interested to see how that guy's duel turns out.
Did they ever ID during that rant at the end?
Are you kidding? They don’t do that there.
@@HamRadioCrashCourse I didn’t figure they did but thought I’d ask 🤣
Unrelated to the main subject but the guy at the end of the video is why I took repeaters out of alot of my scan lists. Just people talking so much about stupid stuff. That's why I'm back here looking for different projects in the hobby.
You can use for antenna pattern and gain tests! If you know just where rptr is and direction from qth. Here is the opposite, rptrs hardly used except a few nightly nets.
great stuff
I would like the radio manufacturers to make single band 2 m, 70 cm and 23 cm all mode SSB, CW, FM radios with mechanical filters and simple functions with LED readouts. I have 2 FM handhelds and two Ic 2200H radios I rarely use.!
Incredibly late comment but...all radios should come with a data port! The rear data port should be standard on all mobile and base station radios. It clearly makes sense and adds value and versatility to the radio. I really wish my FTM-7250D had this port.
Agreed!
Their lineup doesn't have a dual band analog. They only have two 2m radios and then jump to the 300 and 400. Looking at the prices of the FTM300 and 400 this actually fits nicely in their lineup.
Pricing is a funny thing
In the UK-Yaesu is £239.95-Icom is £289.95, but Icoms are traditionally expensive in the UK-eventually I’ll get the Yaesu as a shack FM radio
Can you tell me the dimensions of this radio with the faceplate attached and including the fan? All the dimensions I find exclude the fan and include the faceplate detached.
Check whether the microphone plug is an Ethernet plug. If so it's easily extended.
Thanks for the review. One thing I am wondering is how the receivers of IC-2730A and FTR-6000R compare to each other. I am setting up a base station with the intent to connect to a remote (120 miles away) repeater for the backcountry communications. I can receive the signal from that repeater using my HT connected to a Yagi, but I cannot open it even with 10 Watt TX power. The received signal is OK, but it is still spring and I expect that it will be worse in summer, so receiver sensitivity is important. Thanks.
Great review for a great radio. Seems Yaesu keeps introducing new good stuff.
Yeah. What he said. lol
So the data port has a feature for an audio interface to use some digital computer based modes?
Oh like your content.
If you want a simple rugged single bander check out the Yaesu 2980R...Built like a tank and 80 watts...2 meters only but the thing is indestructible and i think its stil around $170 U.S.
Needs the microphone port on the head unit like the 7900, can’t remote the unit away from microphone length
I’m thinking about getting these for off road vehicles. What is the range in mountain terrain? I’m needing a 50-60 mile range. Thanks.