New FTX-1F Announced in Tokyo Ham Fair!

 All the QRP Portable amateur radio operators out there are elated with the announcement of FTX-1F by Yaesu at the Tokyo Ham Fair, which one of the most attended ham fairs globally. Being a Yaesu user myself, I am also happy that a new radio is being announced. That means the amateur radio hobby is very much alive! Unless the company sees a good potential market, they would not have announced a brand new radio for the portable segment after they had withdrawn the 817/818 duo some time back. My portable amateur radio operator friends out there feel that FTX-1F will be a direct competitor for IC-705. When I checked the specks, some aspects are quite similar. FTX-1F provides 6W power output with the internal 5670mAh Lithium-ion battery pack while it can go up to 10W with an external DC power. Corresponding power outputs for IC-705 are 5W and 10W.


Like my FT-710 radio, it has 3DSS (3-Dimensional Spectrum Stream) display and runs on software defined radio (SDR) technology. But unlike my FT-710 which covers only HF and 50 MHz bands, FTX-1F has additional 144 and 430 MHz bands and is an all mode field transceiver. So the portable operators can use it for HF operations as well as Low Earth Orbit and possibly Medium Earth Orbit Satellite contacts. As it is all mode, it does not have the limitation of my FM only IC-2730 radio, which can be used only with FM satellites. FTX-1F can be used for communication through linear satellites on CW and SSB modes. From the pictures available online, it looks like a full duplex radio with two VFOs, one of which can be the main TX VFO and the other the RX VFO during satellite operations, just as in my IC-2730. But IC-2730 does not have the nice 3D Spectrum Stream which is there in FTX-1F as well as my FT-710. FT-710 displays only one VFO with S-meter at a time, meaning that it is not full, duplex, though it is possible to switch between VFO A and B.

FTX-1F is expected to be available only in second quarter of 2025. I found that DX Engineering website is taking reservations for FTX-1F with a booking amount of $35.00 so that you will be given priority when Yaesu actually makes it available. It is a non-refundable booking amount which can be converted to a Gift Card for buying any other product from DX Engineering if you are not finally purchasing FTX-1F at the price which will be announced only when it is available. As a disclaimer, this is not a paid promotion, I am just mentioning the information which I gained online, for the benefit of the amateur radio fraternity.

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