Porównanie dwóch czołowych transceiver-ów FT2000 i FT1000MP MARK V dokonane przez amerykańskiego krótkofalowca KE0XS.

Wow talk about a love hate relationship on eham. First of all let me say I've never owned a rig that does what I want.

Want List:
1. Hit a button to remove static crashes/spikes
2. Hit a button and removed Mr. Spreadspectrum
...chewing up the band 2Kc away
3. A Digital Noise reduction system that doesn't
...distort/mangle the incoming signal.
4. Ten Tec QSK on every rig made
5. Noise blanker that works on every known and
...unknown noise to man.
6. Spectrum analyizer display built in radio.
7. Digital Notch filters that remove more than
...one type of hetrodyne.
8. Universal agreement on an TX/RX standard of
...audio....hi hi

I haven't found the "Holy Grail" yet. This review comapares the FT-2000 to a fully filtered FT-1000 Mark V (All filter slots filled) with Inrad roofing filters and TCXO crystal.

When you first touch the FT-2000 compared to the Mark V you'll immediate notice the feeling isn't as robust. The knobs/VFO feel like a toy compared to the Mark V. The layout as has already been commented upon is nearly exceptional.

Item........... 2000 ........... Mark V ..... Edge
.............. Rating .......... Rating .... Rate

Noise blanker... 1 .............. 1 ........... =

Comment: The noise blanker has two positions. Press it once and you're dealing with short duration puluse noises. Hold it down until you hear two beeps and you're dealing with Longer duration man made pulse noise. Yaesu noise blankers have a long way to go. Fortunately I don't have any electrical interference noise where I live.

DNR ............ 1 .............. 1 ........... =
AGC ............ 4 .............. 3 ........... 2K
DNF ............ 2

Comment: Menu 88 allows the usage of a feature called "Sloped" AGC. While it's not useful in every situation this feature is incredible. The majority of the time my AGC is set for "MID." Consider setting menu 4 to 40ms. The DNF does seem to remove some hetrodyne. The DNR needs massive work. Yes you can hear a hash in the speaker when you rotate the knob. Yes it removes noise as well as the signal...that bites! See comment below about the contour gain setting and the DNR function.

Processor...... 1 .............. 4 ............ MK

Comment: As already noted in several reviews, watch the ALC. Without processor using an MD-100 my normal Mic Gain Setting is approx 9-10 o'clock. With processor the setting is more like 7 o'clock. I rarely use the processor and the majority of operators over process regardless of the rig. Do not set the ALC with the processor on!

Shift/Wd ...... 4 .............. 3 ............ 2K
Contour ....... 5 .............. 1 ............ 2K

Comment: This is my WOW button. Menu 90 adjust the gain of the contour filter, try a setting of 10 instead of the default -15. You also may find the DNR feature useful in conjuction with a contour setting of 10 in the menu.

Vox ........... 5 .............. 2 ............ 2K

Comment: How sweet it is to have the control on the front panel! They also actually work and VOX is the easiest thing to set up! Beats having to open a top panel and turn a couple of VR's. I might actually starting using it for the first time in my life

IPO ........... 5 .............. 3 ............ 2K

Comment: Very nice being able as in the PRO III to drop in two pre-amps if needed or remove them entirely. Remember this setting has an overall effect on the receiver and it's settings. You're boosting the incoming signal as well as floor noise.

Roofing FLT.... 4 .............. 4 ............ =

Comment: As others have mentioned I can't descern a difference between 3kHz and 6kHz but from 15kHz to 6kHz is noticable. With the inrad always in the cicuit on the MK5 this is difficult to evalutate.

TX Audio ...... 5 .............. 5 ............ =

Comment: I get just as many unsolicited excellent audio reports with the 2000 as I did my MK5. Now having given them equal ratings, the parametric equalizer is incredible. Being able to set the center frequency as well as the gain and q factor for various parts of the audio spectrum definitely gives the edge to the FT-2000. One thing I found was my MD-100 doesn't have an eceptional freqency reponse on the lower end, so if you try to boast low end frequency response on a mic that just won't go there you'll just muddy your audio. You've got to work within the parameters of your mic! Also rather than use the processor to cut through a pile up, I just throw the "hi Emphasis" on the MD-100 on and leave the other slide switches alone.

RX Audio ...... 5 .............. 3 ............ 2K

Comments: This is from my wife an impartial observer as she was in the shack doing work on the computer. "Honey, that sounds so much clearer than your other radio." The 2000 doesn't suffer from the same receiver desensing as the MK5. Two signals can nearly be on top of each other and you can still pick them both out. So many times on the MK5 someone would be 2kc away and totally quiet/desense the receiver. I've not experienced that on the FT-2000.

VRF ........... 3 .............. 3 ............ =

Comment: The VRF function is easier to access on the 2K since the selection button isn't on the shuttle jog as in the Mark V. So far I don't use it much, although others swear it reduces QRM.

General Observations: I miss the ability of the MK5 to go up the band 100 kHz with the press of a button. The second receiver on the 2000 is great. My FT-2000 is a 7G serial number with the current firmware upgrade and using an SP-8 external speaker. My opinion is that the noise floor is a tad quieter on the FT-2000. The above comments pertain to SSB operation as I'm not an avid CW operator. The "DIM" button is just decoration. Regarding power output here's a line from the manual: "When using the wider bandwidth selections, the apparent power output from the transmitter may seem lower!...it's calibrated for the default 2.4 kHz bandwidth. My menu setting here (#83 is 1-29). Zero beating with the CW indicator is great. Far better than the MK5. I have no problems driving my AL-82 to full legal output with this radio. Also don't forget to save your menu changes you'll have to hold the menu button down until you hear two beeps. The cooling fan on the FT-2000 is quieter than the MKV

73's everyone, hope these comments were useful.

Brad
KE0XS