Posted: 5/12/2026 10:57:57 PM EDT
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I was originally not interested in the FTX-1, but I think I could replace a FT-991A and TS-590SG with one and lighten my Field Day load. Wondering who has one and their thoughts. How durable is the head/body interface? How is 2m FM performance compared to the FT-991A? Is the tuner typical Yaesu tuner performance? Do the feet provide enough tilt? Will a MARS mod open up 60m? Does it have 2 HF inputs? TIA |
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Good questions, hopefully I'll be able to answer some, if not all, this week. Plan is to get to R&L's shop Monday or Tuesday and pick one up. If the Field unit had an ATU they couldn't take my money fast enough. I'll use the Z11 ProII tuner in the meantime. Not paying $300 for Yaesu's ATU. I have heard the Optima's ATU is more wide ranging than typical Yaesu unit, so hopefully that's the case. It will likely replace the KX3 for portable and IC-7200 in the shack, Anytone 578 in the shack, and probably the 891 as I've never got on with that radio. I had a 991A 4-5 years ago and the 2M / 70cm band worked fine for C4FM and the occasional repeater, I rarely used it except for CW/ SSB, so won't be interested in the FM performance too much. |
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Well, congrats! It looks like you'll be giving the initial reports, as I'm struggling to bring myself to sell the KX3 when I was taking pictures for the ad. Lol. So I can't justify the expenditure...yet. I can confirm that it does have connectors on the Back of the amp unit for 2 HF antennas, which is perfect for my setup with a doublet and an endfed, and should have been standard for the FTdx10. I'm 99% focused on running CW / portable so the FTX-1 checks a lot of boxes. It has a ton of features under the hood unlike my current rigs. |
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I've had one for almost a year now, I'd say it's GTG...after numerous firmware updates lol. It works well on C4FM/Wires-X, I have not tried it on 2M FM. Seems to be sturdy and well-built. Tuner works well, though I haven't tried matching anything too crazy. Two antenna inputs on the Optima amp Has bandscope averaging The front-firing speaker on the head unit is plenty loud. Compared to the 991A.. I think its about a pound lighter. Touchscreen is better on 991A. A/B testing, my ears couldn't tell any difference on HF RX quality, similar DSP filtering/DNR Feet don't tilt the FTX1 quite as high as the 991 One of my few complaints is the long press of the function button to access the menu...annoying AF to me (you'll use that a lot)...no reason they couldn't have let you access the menu from the touch screen. Overall, a fun little radio, I'm sure you guys will enjoy it. |
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I think I’m gonna like it. I’ll play around with it some tonight. Attached File |