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Posted: 9/23/2020 8:03:23 AM EDT
[#1]
Quoted: I'm thinking about an FT3DR. Can you tell me if the Club Activity Monitor feature supports frequencies outside of the ham bands? Yes, you can only transmit if you do the mars/cap mod. It also depends on if the freq's are within the normal rx range of the radio and using that specific mode as well. ETA, I'm guessing you are talking about FRS type freq's. |
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Posted: 9/23/2020 9:07:39 AM EDT
[#2]
Cool thanks! How do you like the radio overall, would you buy it again?
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Posted: 9/23/2020 9:16:02 AM EDT
[#3]
I really like mine. Would buy again. Some complain about low audio from the speaker but mine is perfectly good.
I have gone fusion on my truck radio, FTM-400, and base radio, FTM-100. |
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Posted: 9/23/2020 9:54:52 AM EDT
[#4]
I have one it’s a neat little radio.
Cons Audio sucks Battery life is kinda sucky Bluetooth is kinda sucky Stock charge time sucks Pros Small and feels great in hand Wide RX Has full APRS Easy to use Is it worth $400?..... You could have 2 Anytone 878 for that price or 3-4 of the 868. Both of which have higher TX power and longer run times. Question you should ask yourself do you have fusion repeaters in your AO or APRS Igates. If it’s a no to both I’d look at what’s in your area and run with it. This is coming from a guy who has 4 repeaters 3 of which are fusion. |
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Posted: 9/23/2020 10:05:45 AM EDT
[#5]
good points swampfox, I appreciate the perspective as things like batt life are important to me. I've never done APRS or any sort of digital, it seems interesting.
What I like about the ft3dr is the Club Activity Monitor, I'd like to be able to monitor for activity on freqs outside of ham like frs/gmrs and be able to notice activity using the ft3dr. I see Yaesu has a BT headset, I don't think I'd use BT unless rig control via app is good to go. You have the AA battery case? Any comments on the AA case performance? |
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Posted: 9/23/2020 2:51:32 PM EDT
[#6]
Quote HistoryQuoted: good points swampfox, I appreciate the perspective as things like batt life are important to me. I've never done APRS or any sort of digital, it seems interesting. What I like about the ft3dr is the Club Activity Monitor, I'd like to be able to monitor for activity on freqs outside of ham like frs/gmrs and be able to notice activity using the ft3dr. I see Yaesu has a BT headset, I don't think I'd use BT unless rig control via app is good to go. You have the AA battery case? Any comments on the AA case performance? Dont have the AA case. About 5 guys in the club have the FT3 and all seem to like it but agree on the issues I have listed. The rapid charging base seems to make the charging issue go away. I did not even know the Club Activity Monitor (CAM) was a thing on this radio. If I understand it correctly its making the unit a wide band scanner.  Attached File |
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Posted: 9/23/2020 5:43:42 PM EDT
[#7]
I have one and love it, but I baby it because its pricey and I don't way to break it, especially the screen being touch and all.
If you don't plan on using APRS I would Look at the FT-70DR and just use different memory banks for each club or type of group you want to scan, that is actually how I use my FT3D I don't currently use Club monitor just I just scan banks. As for Bluetooth, I don't know what Yaesu did, the "SSM-BT10" head set from Yaseu works great on a phone, but you can't get the radio more than an arms length away before it cuts out when using it on the radio. Finding an alternate headset that would work has been difficult, I recently found Mpow H12 Noise Cancelling Headphones Work Great, and let me walk across the room with out loosing connectivity or getting clacking. |
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Posted: 9/23/2020 8:30:02 PM EDT
[#8]
I have a ft2dr. What would I gain with a 3dr? Color screen..what else? I have no use for the bluetooth...
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Posted: 9/23/2020 11:03:51 PM EDT
[#9]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I have a ft2dr. What would I gain with a 3dr? Color screen..what else? I have no use for the bluetooth... Bluetooth, better screen and touch sensitivity, and all your accessories are compatible. Probably not worth it. |
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Posted: 9/24/2020 11:43:40 AM EDT
[#10]
That CAM feature seems cool.
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Posted: 9/24/2020 11:49:42 AM EDT
[#11]
Quote HistoryQuoted: That CAM feature seems cool. If the CAM feature is the main thing your looking at you maybe better off with a Uniden portable scanner and a cheaper HT. Just a thought. Or buy both! |
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Posted: 9/24/2020 1:35:05 PM EDT
[#12]
Point of order:
The FT3DR and it's battery actually lasts longer than other radios with an equal (or as close to equal) similar sized battery, including the 878. However, the 878 typically comes packaged with a battery that is almost half again as capacious, being 3100 mAh to the ft3dr's 2200 mAh. https://www.ar15.com/forums/outdoors/Side-by-side-battery-test---VX-6R--FT70DR--FT3DR--878UV---Final-Data-2nd-Post-/22-696071/ 
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Posted: 9/24/2020 1:54:35 PM EDT
[#13]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Point of order: The FT3DR and it's battery actually lasts longer than other radios with an equal (or as close to equal) similar sized battery, including the 878. However, the 878 typically comes packaged with a battery that is almost half again as capacious, being 3100 mAh to the ft3dr's 2200 mAh. https://www.ar15.com/forums/outdoors/Side-by-side-battery-test---VX-6R--FT70DR--FT3DR--878UV---Final-Data-2nd-Post-/22-696071/ https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/20677/Screen_Shot_2020-02-02_at_1_34_09_PM-1260199.png That’s probably true. I just know I have to charge my FT3 every evening while the 878 can go 2-3 days. And yes the 878 is a brick. The FT3 is much more handier |
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Posted: 9/24/2020 10:33:41 PM EDT
[#14]
Quote HistoryQuoted: That CAM feature seems cool. It is, and has it uses. It's basically a band scope for 5 custom frequencies at a time. With that said you have to be watching it to use it. I use it when setting on the sofa and monitoring, but most of the time I'm doing other stuff away from the radio, so I just scan banks both on A and B. |
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Posted: 9/25/2020 2:46:07 PM EDT
[#15]
Another thing, you can't run APRS and CAM at the same time.
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Posted: 9/25/2020 10:33:14 PM EDT
[#16]
Quote HistoryQuoted: It is, and has it uses. It's basically a band scope for 5 custom frequencies at a time. With that said you have to be watching it to use it. I use it when setting on the sofa and monitoring, but most of the time I'm doing other stuff away from the radio, so I just scan banks both on A and B. What happens if I leave the CAM screen? Do the counters keep count? |
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Posted: 9/26/2020 5:47:55 AM EDT
[#17]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I have one and love it, but I baby it because its pricey and I don't way to break it, especially the screen being touch and all. If you don't plan on using APRS I would Look at the FT-70DR and just use different memory banks for each club or type of group you want to scan, that is actually how I use my FT3D I don't currently use Club monitor just I just scan banks. As for Bluetooth, I don't know what Yaesu did, the "SSM-BT10" head set from Yaseu works great on a phone, but you can't get the radio more than an arms length away before it cuts out when using it on the radio. Finding an alternate headset that would work has been difficult, I recently found Mpow H12 Noise Cancelling Headphones Work Great, and let me walk across the room with out loosing connectivity or getting clacking. The FT-70 lacks GPS, if that's important to you. |
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Posted: 9/26/2020 12:25:41 PM EDT
[#18]
I have one and love it --plenty rugged for daily carry. The audio on mine is fine,no issues. Battery life is also good lasts all day dependent upon how much transmit time. I carry a extra battery JIC and use the drop in charger. The bluetooth is horrible no range prone to interference....F- on that feature Yaesu
 But then again I never saw the point of a headset that is as big or bigger than the radio requires its own charger/battery....like a remote control for a car stereo you sit less than an arms length from.... If anything a speaker mic or wired headset with PTT button makes more sense. Mine interfaces to my Blue parrot HS but the audio quailty is awful with some kind of beat frequency behind the recieve and transmit audio. Another local HAM has the Yaesu BT earpiece and it does the same thing as well as not reliably pairing. Better off turning off the bluetooth and saving battery. |
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Posted: 9/26/2020 5:39:52 PM EDT
[#19]
Quote HistoryQuoted: What happens if I leave the CAM screen? Do the counters keep count? If you leave the CAM screen it just goes back to A/B mode. But sence you have to be in memory mode to switch to CAM you can rotate through your memory channels and select one of the groups when it's active, then use the recent button to go back to the memory channel while staying in the CAM screen mode. |
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Posted: 9/27/2020 10:27:27 PM EDT
[#20]
Thanks for all the good info.
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Posted: 9/29/2020 4:20:21 AM EDT
[#21]
I'm not sure if it was pointed out, but the manual states with the AA pack, it will only transmit at .9W and .3W, so low2 and low1 on the settings. It also states that only alkaline batteries are to be used, which had I known that I would have bought a second Li-ion battery instead of the AA one. It doesn't make much sense to have restricted power levels, and having batteries that run the risk of leaking when you spend 30-40 more dollars for a better battery pack that still allows full use of your radio.
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Posted: 10/3/2020 10:34:07 PM EDT
[#22]
 Attached FileFirst image I have downloaded with my HT. I have a repeater and finally started Playing with the news feature on it. I stored a few maps on the system along with some text files that can be accessed from users. Pretty neat. |
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Posted: 10/4/2020 12:15:27 AM EDT
[#23]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I have one and love it --plenty rugged for daily carry. The audio on mine is fine,no issues. Battery life is also good lasts all day dependent upon how much transmit time. I carry a extra battery JIC and use the drop in charger. The bluetooth is horrible no range prone to interference....F- on that feature Yaesu But then again I never saw the point of a headset that is as big or bigger than the radio requires its own charger/battery....like a remote control for a car stereo you sit less than an arms length from.... If anything a speaker mic or wired headset with PTT button makes more sense. Mine interfaces to my Blue parrot HS but the audio quailty is awful with some kind of beat frequency behind the recieve and transmit audio. Another local HAM has the Yaesu BT earpiece and it does the same thing as well as not reliably pairing. Better off turning off the bluetooth and saving battery. Good to know. I could see a BT handmic being really useful, I believe some marine vhf and even CB has that. Too bad Yaesu didn't deliver on that, maybe next go-round. If Yaesu really had their thinking caps on, they'd make a mobile app that provides a 'soft head' to the radio via BT. |
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