FT3D

Never before in my life a new presentation of any part had given me an increased heartbeat. But this was to change suddenly with an announcement by YAESU at the Dayton Hamvention!

Whether cars, laptops or food processors, I basically bought at least three quarters of a year on one device - in the hope that by then the "teething troubles" that normally occur would have been eliminated.

On 20.05.2019, when I saw the first informations and short YouTube videos of fairgoers about the new FT3D handheld radio, I was hooked.

- Colour display
- Longer battery life
- PDN function
- APRS
- Accessories can be used with the FT2D
- TX / RX record function
- ...

...were telling arguments.

A few videos of the device and about an hour later I had already written a mail to my trusted dealer:

Subject: Can I pre-order YAESU FT3DE?

[...]
Are there any reliable statements about the delivery date or the final price of the FT3DE? Is it possible to pre-order the above mentioned device? If so, please put me on the list! :-)
My customer number is [...]
Many thanks in advance. [...]

One hour and five minutes later I received an answer:

Good morning,
thank you for your advance order.
[...]
Delivery date approx. end of June / beginning of July.
I will put you on the pre-order waiting list.
We will contact you as soon as the device is in stock.
With kind regards [...]
 

WAITING...

On 11.07.2019 I received another e-mail from the dealer, this time with an invoice for 50,- EURO deposit for the device.
Never before I had transferred an amount so gladly. :-)

WAITING...

On 07.08.19 I received the eagerly awaited delivery note of the FT3D from my trusted dealer.

On 09.08.19 the parcel service rang and presented me with a package...

The already pre-charged battery of my FT2D shortened the waiting time, and within a few minutes the FT3D was ready to be switched on. After about 2 seconds the device asked me to enter my callsign. But I was so overwhelmed by the brilliance of the new display that I just stared at it without even being able to press a button. It was simply awesome!

After entering my callsign, it took less than 15 seconds and the radio certified me a "GPS fix". A glance at the display showed me the strong reception of 12 (!) satellites. And that in the house! The absolute madness! I wasn't even used to something like this from my Garmin outdoor GPS devices.

After several months of intensive use of the device, I can only say that I have never been as excited about a handheld radio as I am about the FT3D.

In FM as well as in C4FM / WIRES-X it is a pleasure to work with this part. The modulation is flawless, the speaker is loud and clear, and the handling is very easy. The battery life of good 12 hours also allows me to use it during a whole day without any problems.

As I am often out and about in the forest, I make intensive use of the APRS and GPS log function. In direct comparison with my Garmin GPSmap 64s, satellite reception is even much better under difficult conditions!

I do not want to badmouth the FT2D. It is still an excellent device, which I use with pleasure.

Thanks to a firmware update I now use the FT2D mainly as an HRI access point. An ingenious possibility, I think.  

But outside, where the display is important to me, the FT3D is my absolute number one.

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