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February 2016
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I
n 2002Yaesu launched the FT-897,
a versatile compact transceiver
covering amateur bands from
160m to 70cm. Its successor is the
FT-991.
The FT-897 proved very popular as a
base station providing 100W output at HF
using a built-in mains PSU or external 12V
supply, or as a portable station providing
20W output using internal batteries. It
remained in production for 12 years and
has only recently been discontinued.
The FT-991, is broadly similar in size
covering the same bands, 160m to 70cm
with increased power on 70cm to 50W
output and a built-in ATU. The ATU was
an external accessory with the earlier
radio. VHF aircraft band reception has
been retained but the new radio does not
include Band 2 broadcast FM coverage
and is powered solely from a 12V external
supply. Options for an on-board mains
PSU or batteries are not provided. The
new radio has been given a style makeover
along similar lines to the FT
dx
1200 or
FT
dx
3000 and includes a high-resolution
colour touch-screen display, an expanded
set of features and modernised interface
capabilities including USB and GPS
compatibility. The radio is fully equipped
for C4FM digital modes.
Basic functions
The FT-991 measures 229mm (w) x
80mm (h) x 253mm (d) and weighs 4.3kg.
The receiver tunes from 30kHz to 56MHz,
118 to 164MHz and 420 to 470MHz. The
transmitter is enabled only on the amateur
bands with 100W maximum output power
on HF/6m and 50W on 2m and 70cm.
The power is reducible down to about 5W
and can be set independently on HF, 6m,
2m and 70cm. In addition the power can
be set independently on SSB, AM and
other modes. 60m (5MHz) channelised
transmit operation is included on UK and
US supplied models as part of the memory
bank. The UK model currently provides
seven fixed channels only on USB mode,
a subset only of the present allocation in
this country.
The usual analogue modes are provided
together with RTTY, DATA and the digital
mode C4FM. RTTY mode uses FSK data
input on transmit whereas DATA mode
is more general and uses AFSK input on
SSB or FM. Bands and modes are selected
using the touch screen. When the band
key is pressed, this displays a grid of band
buttons and then touching the appropriate
one switches the radio to the required
band. Three separate stores per band
(band-stack) are available by repeated
touches. There is a separate MW (medium
wave) button in the band selections as
well as GEN (general coverage). Pressing
the mode key displays the mode grid for
selection in a similar fashion.
Front panel
A cluster of buttons grouped around the
tuning knob select some of the more
frequently accessed functions such as VFO or
memory, split frequency operation, clarifier
and ATU. All other functions are accessed
via the touch screen display panel. There are
four touch buttons along the lower edge of
the display and these are the main function
control buttons that require frequent access.
The user can allocate these but there is a
default set. The buttons displayed depend on
operating mode but would typically include
RF power output, microphone gain, keying
speed etc. A push of the F key displays
the full set of available function selections,
a total of 60, in 10 pages displayed as
a grid 6 at a time. You can scroll both
forwards and backwards through the pages
to find the function needed. Functions that
are not relevant to the selected operating
mode are dimmed and not selectable. An
associated click-step rotary (MULTI) allows
for adjustment of the function after selection
in many cases.
The menu system of the FT-991 provides
extensive customisation of the operating
parameters of the radio with 154 separate
items in the current firmware version. A press
of the MENU key shows the menu items
three at a time; scrolling and setting uses
the MULTI control. Menu items are quick
to access but the selected menu line does
not stand out clearly over the other lines. A
dedicated C.S key allows any menu item to
be instantly selected by a single key press.
The eye-catching 3.5 inch full colour TFT
LCD display is clear and bright and very
Review
Yaesu
FT-991 HF/VHF/UHF
transceiver
The front panel of the FT-991 with its touch screen display.
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Frequency offset (kHz)
Response (dB) single tone dynamic range
Selected bandwidth
2.4kHz
IF filter
response
Reciprocal mixing
sideband noise
FIGURE 1:
FT-991 effective selectivity curve on
USB.