Classic Yaesu FT-902DM Hf SSB ham radio transceiver all-mode

Рет қаралды 126,110

10 жыл бұрын

This is the Yaesu FT-902DM, Yaesu's flagship radio sold during the late seventies / early eighties. The radio is built like a battleship, a sharp contrast to today's plastic and flimsy ham radios. The radio covers all shortwave ham band including the WARC bands.
The FT-902DM was the last of the hybrid transceivers ever produced, having a solid-state receiver/exciter and a tube RF power amplifier. The FT-902 uses a pair of 6146B tubes, good for up to 150 watts PEP with excellent linearity. The FT-902DM has a whole host of other neat features. The receiver is excellent, with a Schottky balanced ringmixer and a user-adjustable preselector resulting in a receiver with great sensitivity and very good large-signal handling capability.

Пікірлер: 112

@agoraphobicadam1171 7 жыл бұрын

A good friend of mine that passed away loved those Yaesu's.I enjoyed sitting at his house and just watching him talk all over the world on them.

@FrankMD11 10 жыл бұрын

I bought one brand new way back when. Of course I wish I still had it! 73, Frank WA3RSL. Very good video!

@leightonlewis4954 6 жыл бұрын

I can't get over the very good clarity of reception on this Yeasu 😃

@CharlesMartel676 7 жыл бұрын

Hands down, this is THE most beautiful ham transceiver EVER made! LOVE it!

@vachemarine8 Жыл бұрын

Btw I live in Québec near the Maine border

@lylewatts6370 6 жыл бұрын

Nice radio and glad to see people who appreciate the old classics. Yes I have one on 40 meters right here now and use it most days. They had a few accessories to like the V/U transverter and synthesized scanning VFO. Keep the old radios on the air.

@radioman4738 Жыл бұрын

Very nice video that helps to explain about the features of the FT-902DM, I was looking for a comparison video to learn the main differences between the 901 and 902 and this video helped explain that. For example the receiver and how it's made up of a different circuit for the front end receive. Thanks for making and posting this video!

@Andy-xb5qg 5 жыл бұрын

Had a 902DM many years ago... The two 6146s were great for DXing! Good times!!

@MM0IMC 6 жыл бұрын

I used one of these about 5-6 years ago. What a piece of kit! 😁

@Cosmicblast77 9 жыл бұрын

What a beautiful transceiver, nicer quality and sound then late model ones. Real solid, not flimsy plastic like todays models.

@srinivasansalem1491 6 жыл бұрын

I have worked for 30 yrs with it from 1978-2018. I have used it for field days, rallies, jambooris, & other national calamities. Since prefinal & final are tubes, it can take heavy abuses. Works in tough conditions.

@deano3258 Жыл бұрын

Great radio and video thank you. I have the 902DM also and a 101ZD Mkiii and love the audio on them far superior than the newer radios.

@lesjohnson9740 7 жыл бұрын

Absolutely magic to see, well done, my man,..(all our yesterdays), good vid. Les. G4XMX.

@slartybardfarst52 7 жыл бұрын

Beautiful radio, they don't make them like this anymore, it's all radio!

@wadepatton2433 5 жыл бұрын

Excellent video of a great classic hybrid. Thanks, I'll be checking out more of your videos. 73

@wadepatton2433 5 жыл бұрын

Crap, I bought one. Like I needed another radio. Made too big of an offer on a 901DM. Hope works looks half as good as yours. If not I'll bet it can be fixed. My first hybrid, I started with a second-hand TT Corsair.

@frankENZC 2 жыл бұрын

I bought a brand new FT-902DM way back when! I should have kept it and the 62 Corvette I had in 1980. LOL 73 de WA3RSL

@marklowe7431 2 жыл бұрын

That RX audio is incredible.

@rjy8960 10 жыл бұрын

A thing of great beauty :)

@sourcheeseaa 5 жыл бұрын

That's amazing

@dougjohn6439 6 жыл бұрын

Agreed best Tx radio ever

@CanadianPrairiesShortwave 7 жыл бұрын

Great radio.

@fernandoscrenci9555 3 жыл бұрын

Beyond Nice!! 👍

@mikelee8520 9 жыл бұрын

That is a very smart radio.

@iparivaddiszno 9 жыл бұрын

Nice rig!

@johannesmostert8023 9 жыл бұрын

This was my first choice but waited a longer and bought the FT980 flagship Still have it up and running. I see you are from PA country . Thanks for sharing. 73 AF5AI

@LifeIsTooShortForQRP 8 жыл бұрын

Yes, the FT-980 is a very good rig too. I am restoring one as we speak, will put it on KZfaq later when it is done.

@altarman 7 жыл бұрын

Ik ben nog op zoek naar deze radio.

@KG5JMV 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the detailed video. Your rig is in great condition. I'm working on one that has a few minor issues. The -TUNE -PROC - ATT -RX -TX buttons are stuck in the (In) position. All the other features are working. Hope to get time to repair it soon after being motivated by your video.

@CanadianPrairiesShortwave 4 жыл бұрын

Great transceiver

@benmackay5160 4 жыл бұрын

I got one of these from my Grandad yesterday as a gift, its beautiful.

@LifeIsTooShortForQRP 4 жыл бұрын

Nice! And worth $$ too, I have seen clean ones go for $1400!

@benmackay5160 4 жыл бұрын

LifeIsTooShortForQRP That’s crazy! Are these radios quite rare now a days? He wanted rid of it as it was taking up a lot of room and he didn’t use it much anymore. I’m very new to this hobby and don’t know how to even start using a radio like this. I’ve powered it on and it starts up perfectly but that’s as far as I’ve went with it so far. Here is a photo of it :) i.imgur.com/XszXY3O.jpg

@LifeIsTooShortForQRP 2 жыл бұрын

@@benmackay5160 Did you ever sell it?

@benmackay5160 2 жыл бұрын

@@LifeIsTooShortForQRP Yes I sold it not long after I received it! Sent all the way from the UK to Texas.

@SWRadioConcepts 8 жыл бұрын

I have a Kenwood TS-530S but this looks sweet. Beautiful Radio.

@LifeIsTooShortForQRP 8 жыл бұрын

Yes, it is a nice rig. To the point where this actually ended up being my best viewed video of all time - I had not expected that. There must still be a lot of enthusiasm for this classic old lady.

@TerryMcKean 8 жыл бұрын

+LifeIsTooShortForQRP Yep..it's a beautiful thing...grabs attention, kinda like the old Philco Model 90 radio ... certain sets have that "certain thing"... :-)

@VanishingNomad 7 жыл бұрын

I have a TS-530SP as well. GREAT rig, one of the best Kenwood ever made!

@DanielDeRudder 10 жыл бұрын

How come that the form factor of that generation of transceivers is so attractive compared to modern gear?...

@vivek-1318 Жыл бұрын

Awesome

@chriscrichton98 6 жыл бұрын

yaesu made some good radios !

@smallenginedude71 9 жыл бұрын

thats a nice radio.

@boblivingston8660 10 жыл бұрын

Thank You Very Much For The Video. It Gives Many Of Us The Info WhichThat Is Hard To Find. Bob W4PWL

@francescopiccone3769 9 жыл бұрын

Nice tranceiver 73 YV4GJN

@fartyass1 9 жыл бұрын

Recently purchased one of these at a local radio rally,really fine rig & its a keeper.I have put my Ft101zd up for sale. The only thing that I question is that you need an extension board kit to work on the radio,due to the modular construction.It is my favourite radio at the moment.Will get a spare set of valves when funds permit.I think every ham should have at least one boat anchor in the shack.Jeff

@eddgong 8 жыл бұрын

Ha ha i just saw your watt meter behind the radio ,one of the few things i still have to this day missing some slugs though LOL

@LifeIsTooShortForQRP 8 жыл бұрын

You can't beat the good ole Bird 43 watt meter - the best ever made, and very simple to operate. A true classic! Just wished those slugs weren't so darn expensive :-)

@rondellschuyler7074 4 жыл бұрын

Great radio, excellent receive. The receiver is so clear, it is probably better than some of the very modern radios today in 2020.

@kd8opi 8 жыл бұрын

Nice radio. The old stuff isn't bad, radio is a mature technology and I'm sure this rig will do basic SSB, AM, and CW great. 150w is more than what is offered today. Where the vintage stuff (before mid-90's) suffers is with connectivity to a PC and the convenience that computer controls offer - and with working digimodes. Also, while I'm sure great for the time, that manual frequency shifting for split or repeaters is charming for about 5 minutes. Still, a very nice example of tech that is now approaching 40 years in age.

@Munky332 7 жыл бұрын

this radio looks sweet. looking for a budget HF mainly for 10m (also looking for 6m SSB though). any recommendations that aren't like 900$? i'm looking in the 400$ range.

@walter32RC001 2 жыл бұрын

FT ONE...YAESU..........THE BEST

@Homer19521 6 ай бұрын

The AMGC switch activates a microphone gain threshold

@vk5jajay147 5 жыл бұрын

Correction, the FT-102 was the last Hybrid Yaesu. Fitted with 3 x 6146 Finals. But this FT-902DM was KING of YAESU of all the Hybrid range.

@davidisraelyan5017 7 жыл бұрын

No old reviews between this and the TS-830, which was more popular?

@nikolaykholodniak3025 10 жыл бұрын

Интересно!

@captlarry-3525 6 жыл бұрын

LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO NOT DEVELOP ENOUGH SKILL TO OPERATE QRP.AND THE YAESU IS NICE TOO !

@lflowers230 10 жыл бұрын

One Day!

@alanjanover1624 9 жыл бұрын

Just wondering where you are, and what you're using for an antenna, that 20m is sooo quiet! What incredible audio coming out of that thing.

@LifeIsTooShortForQRP 8 жыл бұрын

Florida, and the antenna is a 24 ft whip, with the base at about 20 ft high. The soil here is salty, that helps a lot. I tune the antenna to resonance from within the shack with eiter an AT100 Datron automatic antenna tuner (for up to 100 watt) or a Collins 180S-1 manual tuner (when using legal limit power). It can be tuned anywhere from 3.5MHz to 54 MHz, even down to 1.8MHz when using an additional series coil. Hope this helps.

@eddgong 8 жыл бұрын

I have a neighbor with absolutely no electronic or radio experience for that matter . while I do not have that much either but do have a lot of experience from the good old CB days when those of us with any respect did get licenses even if everything else from power limits to antenna heights were illegal , the late 60's to early 80's ,using Golden Eagles tube radios and tube power at 750 watts with 150 watt kickers with ending up n the later years with 90 ft of Rone tower ,with a 10 ft of boom and stack 5 element beams and later a MoonRaker for antennas in the old days . It wax easy to get away with living in the middle of the woods . My respect to all ham ops and in no way would I ever infringe on those of you that have the proper skills and knowledge etc required for license. I have been totally away from the hobby except for use as a trucker ,now retired . Here are some facts about something I will ask you later on here . It is in regards to my neighbor. .It seems this week , he has come into possession of this particular TX / RX Ham unit along with a lot of other radio gear .A Kenwood mobile unit 2meter tx/rx, , a kenwood handheld 2 meter plus a military giant of a RX forgot the band , plus 2-3 huge power supplies .And some other smaller variable voltage regulated pwr supplies . I purchased an old vintage guitar amp chassis from him already . He acquired these from cleaning out an old storage unit and he's asking for my advice on what to do with them , their $$ value etc. i tried to be as honest as possible but know little in this subject . It seems he is wanting more from me than he is interested in compensating me for my efforts ,that is trying to sell these for him. But its the Yaesuf FT-902DM he has that has my interest . And since he has no respect for this radio other than to (like everything else he gets his hands on )destroy it for whatever he can scrap for its wire and materials .It was all i could do to get him not to destroy the pwr supplies trying to convince him that all the weight was the iron cores of the transformers not the copper thats wrapped around them. Sometimes dealing with an alcoholic can be very frustrating .If I were to aquire the radio and I assure you i would have no desire to key the mic ,only to listen .as i said earlier ,my only working knowledge is that of CB am band . I have little knowledge on the legalities of owning one ,realizing Im in the US and dealing with the FCC but i would think laws are similar regarding radio operators licensing (Ham)worldwide . I am a lifelong military aviation hobbyist and love listening to traffic and living very close to one of the worlds largest and notorious bases ,Nellis ,AFB . .i was wondering if this radio has the capabilities to dial in those freqs I cant get with my scanner in the lower band and in the 200Mhz to 400mhz I cannot receive . But i see a lot of plane spotters around the base that do get these freqs . If the radio is capable of receiving these ,is it illegal for me to own or much less operate in a receive only mode . Id really like to save the radio from Im sure a terrible demise but if it will not recieve the freqs . Im interested in listening to ,Id just as soon save whatever $$$ I will offer him for it . It was all i could do to convince him that the weight of the power supplies were mostly just the iron cores of the transformers and not the copper surrounding them . thanks in advance as I accidentally saw this post and your channel digging up info on the guitar amp I bought from him .thanks Ed in las vegas

@rw6783 8 жыл бұрын

this radio is HF 160-10. most air traffic and scanner activity is VHF. different radio. Dont let that guy scrap that radio. he can make more selling it on ebay

@VanishingNomad 7 жыл бұрын

He can sell all those radios on ebay for around $500 each....

@winstonchurchill6506 2 жыл бұрын

one for sale on ebay very tempting not many out there...cheers bud uk....

@LifeIsTooShortForQRP 2 жыл бұрын

Yeah, I checked it. Poor photos though, and no mentioning of the FM board and/or optional filters. So keep that in mind before you buy. Cheers!

@SupRec 9 жыл бұрын

Wonderful. 73's de PU7USB

@LifeIsTooShortForQRP 8 жыл бұрын

+Marcelo T.M.B. Thanks!

@user-hi5dq8is6e 10 жыл бұрын

OK..very..good..vdo / hs2zix thailand

@vachemarine8 Жыл бұрын

Hi, i bought a house and one of this yaesu ft-902dm radio and yaesu fc-902 antenna amplifier were left there by the previous owner. I know nothing about radios, all i know is that it powers up. Entusiasts seem to like them, how can I sell this and how much could it be worth? Thank you

@LifeIsTooShortForQRP Жыл бұрын

Someone left this in a house you bought? That's quite something. Anyway, if you want to sell it, eBay is probably your best bet. QRZ.com and eHam.net are two other options for selling.

@MM0SDK 10 жыл бұрын

Is that solid state or does the PA use valves? Audio sounds nice.

@LifeIsTooShortForQRP 10 жыл бұрын

Yes, two 6146B tubes in the PA, and a driver tube. Rest is solid state.

@MM0SDK 10 жыл бұрын

OK. Very nice.

@rmccombs66 9 жыл бұрын

I am curious about your accent, are you from El Salvador?

@LifeIsTooShortForQRP 9 жыл бұрын

+Rick McCombs No. 52°22'21.1"N 4°54'01.0"E

@gregthompson6278 7 жыл бұрын

Still for sale?

@MM0SDK 10 жыл бұрын

How wide is the variable bandwidth scale?

@LifeIsTooShortForQRP 10 жыл бұрын

The bandwidth can be set from the maximum SSB bandwidth (2.7kHz) to zero, so the smallest workable bandwidth you can set it to is about 100Hz. And anything in between 2.7kHz and 100Hz of course.

@ricardotadeo5863 7 жыл бұрын

me interesa comprar este equipo yaesu ft 902 dm gracias

@cindys1819 6 жыл бұрын

I want to see what all you guys who are dependent on rice boxes are going to do when ONE EMP device goes off and the only thing that remains unfried are the R 390's and SP 600's.....

@OfficialDPTheRealDeal 5 жыл бұрын

Cindy S sweet

@AmishSpecialForces 4 жыл бұрын

And no way to power them.....

@alessiorroadies800 9 жыл бұрын

they say that the transistor outlives the valve I say it's just another hoax. I see transistor finals blow up, varicaps going crazy and old valve tranceivers outlive the solid state ones. Nice rig, i guess I will " adopt " a similar one for my station . with valve finals ;) this rig is bult like a tank due the fact it has variable capacitors slicing into each other instead of the lausy varicaps

@LifeIsTooShortForQRP 8 жыл бұрын

That's a good point. I have a Collins KWM-2A tube rig here from 1966, now 50 years old. It works like new, never had to repair it. I'm pretty sure that those modern super-duper transceivers that you can buy today won't work any more after 50 years. Memory retention problems with the flash memory; LCD displays turning black; VLSI ICs giving up over time due to cosmic radiation and metal migration, the latter also being true for RF power transistors. And the fun part is - ALL tubes used in the KWM-2A still can be bought new today for decent prices. Try to find a spare VLSI chip for the the Icom IC-7851 (as an example) 50 years from now - you won't be able to. That leads to a simple conclusion - today's modern rigs are throw-away rigs.

@mrufolover 9 жыл бұрын

HOW CAN I GET ONE? WHAT DO THEY COST? THANKS

@eugenecbell 3 жыл бұрын

They are no longer in production, but I see a couple on EBay for $500. Less if you can win the auction.

@guillermogarro3579 4 жыл бұрын

Buenas noches soy de costa ricas me gustaria tener un radio como ese soy radio aficionado de muchos años

@nikonman3971 4 ай бұрын

im trying to find one

@timkridel3828 10 жыл бұрын

It's in pristine condition. Was it rehabbed? Either way, very nice!

@LifeIsTooShortForQRP 8 жыл бұрын

+Tim Kridel No, nothing done to it! It came from an estate, the previous owner obviously took very good care of it. 73s.

@davidhunt3161 5 жыл бұрын

Is the test for the beginner license differcult ?

@LifeIsTooShortForQRP 5 жыл бұрын

No, it is actually very simple if you have some knowledge of electronics. Even if you have none at all, you can memorize the answers because the ham exams are taken from a pool of standard questions. Just go to the ARRL website and take a bunch of test exams. After a while, you will know enough of the answers that you can pass the official exam!

@davidhunt3161 5 жыл бұрын

Thanks, happy Dxing

@davidhunt3161 5 жыл бұрын

Are ham radios expensive in the states ?

@LifeIsTooShortForQRP 5 жыл бұрын

I don't think so - Check out eBay

@davidhunt3161 5 жыл бұрын

Thanks