New Yaesu rig

[G4POP]

See http://qrznow.com/yaesu-ft-991/

[DF5WW]

Once more again a new Transceiver with frequencies up to 440 MHz but without 70 MHz ... I don´t understand those manufacturers

[KA3RCS]

Once more again a new Transceiver with frequencies up to 440 MHz but without 70 MHz ... I don´t understand those manufacturers

On this side of the pond, the question is why they don't include 220 MHz!

The answer is the same, of course. Very few countries have 70 or 220 (or 900, or...) MHz amateur bands; they concentrate on the bands which are available worldwide. I wish we had 4 meters, as that sounds like a really cool band. For us it's within TV channel 4.

Of course, we have come a long way. Not long ago, no HF rig even included 6 meters, let alone 2 or 440. On top of that, FM often required an option board (if it was supported at all), and AM wasn't even available as an option on many rigs (HF, VHF, or UHF).

At any rate, despite its missing bands, that is one sweet looking radio...

[DF5WW]

Hi Karl,

o.k. but normally there are versions for the Japanese, the American and the European Market ..... Hier in EU a lot of countrys can work on 4 m and the rest will coming soon i beleave. So why Yaesu don´t including the 70 MHz in the EU and the 220 in the A versions With 70 MHz in the EU Versions Icom shows that it works But Yaesu still sleeps

[KA3RCS]

Hi Juergen,

You are right, they have versions for various markets. However, the differences between them are rarely more than a different software configuration. Among the most extreme examples are the US versions which have different firmware which makes it impossible to receive the 800 MHz analog cellular band. This is one of the most ridiculous restrictions in history, especially considering that all analog cellular traffic has been shut down for many years, yet the FCC continues to force the manufacturers to do this. The worst part of this is that they even force them to block potential images of forbidden frequency ranges, so many modern radios cannot even receive a major portion of the 900 MHz ham band.

Besides blocking certain frequency ranges for certain regions, the main differences lie in the actual upper and lower frequency limits of the same bands. Virtually all of the world has 2 meters, for example, but not with the same band edges (or default tuning steps or repeater offsets, etc.). We have 144-148 MHz, while IARU Region 1 only has 144-146. Many of the other bands follow a similar pattern. What they have in common is that at least some portion of the band is used just about everywhere.

The much more geographically limited bands, such as 70 and 220 MHz, are a different story, because they require significant additional hardware. This is becoming less of an issue, but they still require at a minimum additional filter components (and relays or diodes to switch them, and firmware to control them, and additional production testing...), all of which adds cost. They (not just Yaesu, but all of the manufacturers) cannot justify the added expense for something which will be of no use whatsoever to the vast majority of their customer base.

I'm not trying to make excuses for them; indeed, I would love to see these extra bands included as well. However, having done embedded hardware and software design myself, I have an appreciation for what is required to add seemingly simple features to equipment. That said, there is some precedent for this actually happening. For example, the VX-7, generally advertised as a tri-band radio (6/2/440), includes low power 220 transmit in its US version. The only Icom model I've seen which covers 70 MHz is an HT which has received a third-party modification, and which has questionable suppression of spurious transmit signals. The Yaesu FT-847 can be modified similarly from what I have read.

I'm not a fan of Alinco, but they did come out with the only purpose-built amateur 900 MHz transceiver ever a few years ago (a dual-band HT which also covers 220, the DJ-G29T). I bought one soon after it became available. Unfortunately, I understand that it has already been discontinued because too few of them were sold. There are certainly some people who will go out of their way to buy a radio which covers some obscure band, but I'm not sure that that's enough to convince them to include such bands in 'normal' radios.