From: brian@amdcl2.amd.com (Brian McMinn, N5PSS)
Subject: Re: Yaesu FT 5100 Reviews??
Originator: brian@minotaur
Organization: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., Austin, TX.
Distribution: na
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 23:49:26 GMT

(Jeffrey Brian Anderoson) writes:
> Does anyone have any good or bad comments about the Yaesu 5100 Dual Band
> mobile rig???

I've had one for two weeks now.  I'd give it very high marks for both
RF performance and user interface.  Since Yaesu's advertising has
already made the good points known, I'll concentrate on the warts and
shortcomings.  Keep in mind that I think the radio is very good!

(Before I start, I'll make a request for any and all mods for this
radio.  I have an extensive list of mods for the FT470 and I plan to
create one for this radio as well.  Please don't ask for the 470 mods,
they were posted two weeks ago...)

Dual In-Band Receive:  works as advertised except for sensitivity.
The "main" receiver works very well.  The "sub" receiver works very
well when tuned to the opposite band from the "main" receiver.  When
tuned to the same band, the "sub" receiver suffers from slightly lower
sensitivity in the ham bands and greatly reduced sensitivity out of
the ham bands.  Ie. if the main receiver is on 146.94 and the sub
receiver is on 162.4 (weather) the sensitivity at 162.4 will be poor.

There is a 2m VCO/PLL/IF and a 70cm VCO/PLL/IF.  I assume that dual in
band receive is done with the opposite band's receiver.  This would
explain the poor sensitivity, but it sure raises some questions about
how the duplexer works.

I expected a type "N" connector, but the radio came with a UHF.  :-(

Control wart:  (are you listening Yaesu?)  You can only transmit on
the "main" (ie. left) side of the radio.  When both 2m and 70cm
receive are active, you change bands with the "BAND" button.  This
swaps the left and right displays.  When dual in-band receive is
active, the "BAND" button changes both the main and sub receivers from
2m to 440 or from 440 to 2m.  Arrrgh!!!!  I would have rather had the
"BAND" button swap left and right regardless of mode.  (The "SUB"
button is used instead.)

Automatic backlight dim:  works as advertised but the backlight level
under low ambient lighting is WAY too low.  The schematics do not
indicate any adjustable components in the backlight control so this
function is not adjustable.  The backlight can be placed under manual
control with a keypad mod (documented).  Even better, the
adjustability remains after the initial setting (not documented).
After the "hold MHz key during power on, then press FUNC" sequence,
the backlight is adjustable by pressing FUNC and using the tune knob.

Cross band repeat: Advertised but not documented.  It is a simple
power on sequence that someone posted.  (and which I saved and then
deleted -- please send it to me again so I can add it to my list of
"mods.")

DTMF page:  works as advertized, but the *&%$#@ thing insists on
"ringing" like a phone EVERY time it receives the page sequence.  This
means that you have to co-ordinate with the other station to turn the
*&%$#@ DTMF stuff off at the same time or tolerate the "ring" at the
start of every receive.

The page function is nice in that it will receive abc*def (replace
with numbers) and then display the def part on the dial so that you
know who was trying to contact you.

CTCSS decode:  squelch opens quickly when normal CTCSS decode (an
option) is enabled.  There is a CTCSS page function that has a
distinct delay between receipt of carrier with CTCSS and open squelch.
I don't yet understand the use of this "feature."

There is no SCAN button on the front panel.  Scan is initiated by
holding the up or down button of the mike down for two seconds.  There
is no "scan for idle frequency," but I don't need that feature anyway.
The scan is blindingly fast when compared to the Alinco 590 that I
used to have.

Memory:  memory is divided into four "banks."  Two for VHF, two for
UHF.  Only one bank can be active for each receiver.  I consider this an
advantage, but you may not.  There are two obvious (to me) uses for
this configuration.  First, you can store freequencies for different
uses (two cities or ham vs. monitoring) in different banks.  Second,
you can activate one 2m(440) bank in the main receiver and one the
other 2m(440) bank in the other receiver and scan the simultaneously.

Heat management:  After seeing the HUGE heat sink on the back of the
Alinco 590, the Yaesu 5200's sink seems too small.  In a key down
experiment, the heat sink of the Yaesu got almost too hot to touch
before the fan kicked on.  If I were planning to run a packet station,
I would definitely look into some extra forced air over the back of
this one.  As it is, I'm a bit concerned about how hot it will get
mounted in my dashboard.

Again, these are the bad points, Yaesu is responsible for telling you
the good points.

Disclaimer:  I don't have any link with Yaesu!

    Brian McMinn, N5PSS
    brian@amdcl2.amd.com
Newsgroups: rec.radio.amateur.misc