Intercept values were determined using -97 dBm referenceīottom Line The FT-450D adds a standard internal antenna tuner, new CW filter bandwidths and several ergonomic upgrades to the original FT-450.
Key: Dynamic range and intercept values with preamp off. While the addition of a 300 Hz setting is The narrowest setting, 500 Hz, tested in the lab at closer to 600 Hz either way it proved to be too wide for very crowded band conditions. The filter widths for CW were 500 Hz, 1.8 kHz and 2.4 kHz. The filter was not continually adjustable as commonly found on other radios and had fixed settings at different widths for SSB, CW, AM and FM. The original review commented on operation of the DSP filter bandwidths on CW. This is a significant improvement over the CW filter in the original FT-450 transceiver. Lab tests indicate that the 500 Hz filter setting on the D model measures close to 500 Hz. The D model DSP filter has width settings on CW for 300 Hz, 500 Hz and 2.4 kHz. For a rig in this price class the ’450D’s tuner did a good job. I tried matching an 80 meter dipole that was cut for the upper phone portion of the band and was able to get a match from about 3.6 MHz to 3.9 MHz. Pushing the TUNE button momentarily brings the tuner inline and pushing and holding for about 1 second activates the tuning procedure.
BENCH TEST ICOM IC 7800 MANUAL
The manual also cautions that antennas such as nonresonant whips and wire antennas such as G5RVs may not be within the matching range of the tuner. The new D model includes an automatic antenna tuner that covers the 6 to 160 meter bands and will, according to the manual, match impedances between 16.7 and 150 W. This review is available to ARRL members online at product-review.Īn internal automatic antenna tuner, the ATU-450. Lindquist, N1RL, “Yaesu FT-450 HF and 6 Meter Transceiver,” Product Review, QST, Dec 2007, pp 53-57. New Accessories The original FT-450 had as an option 1R. Much of the information in the original FT-450 review in December 2007 QST still applies, and we won’t repeat it here.1 So what is different on this new and improved FT-450D? There are six significant upgrades to the original FT-450: Internal automatic antenna tuner New knob design New standard hand microphone Button illumination Foot stand 500 Hz and 300 Hz CW filters Let’s see how the advertised improvements stand up. Following in the line of the FT-100D, FT-817ND, FT-857D and FT-897D is the latest version of the FT-450…you guessed it the FT-450D. The D model improvements have included additional popular accessories such as antenna tuners, DSP filters and the addition of 60 meters in some models. Reviewed by Mike Corey, W5MPC ARRL Emergency Preparedness Manager Over the last decade or so many of Yaesu’s popular HF transceivers have undergone improvements and been re-released as D models.