I bought a Kenwood TM-V71A for my wife car, but she needs a more simple to operate dual band radio. I was thinking about the FT-100DR as a replacement, as there are a number of Fusion repeaters in my area.

Does anyone have one of these and can tell me what their experiences have been with it?

Also I have a brand new  TM-V71A for sale in EE if anyone needs one thanks to she who must be obeyed.

I've been researching these two radios and the FTM-100 isn't any easier and in many respects seems to be more difficult.

You mentioned dual band but do you mean dual receive?  If all your wife needs is dual band, the FT-7900 is dirt simple to program and operate.  Can't comment on a dual receive.

The separate controls and dual display gives her fits on the TM-V71A. She would hear me call on one band and try to answer on the other. It was much to difficult for her while driving. She had a Kenwood TM-281A and I think she misses the simplicity of that rig. All she had to adjust on that rig was the volume and channel control.

I too think that the FT-7900 is a good choice, but really wanted to try the Fusion repeaters that are going up in our area.

I have had one for about a month now and have mixed emotions.  It is a single receiver radio, so you can't listen to both bands at one time.  I've used it for regular FM and Fusion in both analog (FM) and digital through old antiquated obsolete FM repeaters and brand spanking new Fusion repeaters.  I haven't found much value in Fusion so far, mostly due to how the local repeaters are configured.  

Programming it through the front panel isn't nearly as difficult as a Boo-Fang.  It has two banks of 500 memories, one bank for the A band and one bank for the B band, and they're NOT shared.  It does display both the memory name and the frequency simultaneously, which is nice.  The scan is pretty fast.

If you're planning on doing digital voice through a repeater, there are some things to keep in mind.  The radio receives either digital or analog all the time, but you have to configure it to transmit the way you want.  It took me a little while to really understand the settings.  I haven't played with any of the pure data capabilities such as sending images, because I can't find anybody else around that can play.

I'd be happy to go into a Fusion discussion as deeply as you'd like.

Bottom line: the FTM-100DR is a nice, VERY small radio with very good audio on both send and receive.  If you exclude the Fusion functionality, it's a lot like the Kenwood.  I use mine mainly for APRS because it has the built in GPS receiver, but that's a whole other topic.

Here's my happy little one on the dash of the Nissan Frontier.  The control head is really small, and easy to find a place for.  The display is bright enough to see even in strong sunlight.

Can you connect a TNC to the FTM-100?
thx

Yes, you can.  Page 111 in the manual has pin-outs for cables.  I haven't done it myself, so the manual is all I have to go by.

I think the single receiver is the answer to my wife's complaints. I know in St.Louis the Suburban radio club is installing 5 of the Fusion repeaters, so this might be what I need. The APRS is a bonus feature that I had not considered.

For KISS operation…it's hard to beat a good ol'fashioned Kenwood TK-x90 (Vertex VX-4000/5000/6000) combo…or a Motorola Astro Spectra combo if you have the patience to set that up.