Railfan Technology > One more Yaesu FT-270R question

After many good years of excellent service, my Regency HX1000
scanner died. Subsequently purchased a Uniden BC125AT, and my
satisfaction level is "Marginally OK."

Been reading the reviews on the FT-270R, and leaning toward it.

I realize we're talking 20+ years of technology span, but out of
curiosity, can anyone provide a comparison between the how the HX1000
performed, vs. today's FT-270R.

I can't help with the FT-270R. But I have a VX-150 and a FT-250. My HX-1000 is still going strong. I did a comparison between all 3 and found the VX and the FT are actually pretty close in reception to the old brick. I really like the small size of the Yaseau's very nice for hiking around. I did get a Comet SMA-24 antenna it made a night and day difference in reception. The antenna is about $25 and it is a 17" long whip. MFJ and Diamond also make a whip that is almost identical to the comet. They are all dual band antenna's but they work great in the RR band. I was in CA before Winterail and I was standing next to a guy with a FT-250 and I was picking up things he was not he had the stock duck on his. They are great radios especially with the whip.

Scott O'Dell

About the same experience for me as Scott with the same radios he mentioned. The HX is hard to beat in sensitivity but the Vertex/Yeasu offerings are a close second.

Posted from iPhone

I'm using a 270R for scanning here in east Tennessee... I'm an old construction guy that cant hear anymore and that is used to "commercial quality" handheld radios and high grade marine band handhelds... The Yaesu is a great radio... The volume is loud and the selectivity is great... I can hear trains 6 or 7 miles out with no problem (...if their radio is good...) and the dispatcher channel is clear as a bell... The Yaesu 270R is the equal of any handheld Ive ever used... My only problem wuz programming it... I bought the RS Programming software... The truth of the matter is that nowadays ya can buy a lot of radio for $149 or so...

leroy

The 'stock duck' for these radios is in the Ham Band. They don't work well in the RR Band. The FT-270R is awesome, good volume, great reception, good battery life and very rugged. The downside, for me anyways, is they don't receive the EOT frequencies (452/457).

The rugged case, the robust volume and the convenient size are also big factors, Yaesu makes other models that may have comparable specs but they don't have those other qualities.

Make sure you get a RR band antenna, my 'gain' antenna was less than 20 bucks but is pretty tall. A standard antenna in the RR band would not be so awkward. The whole show was about 200 bucks but I consider it a very worthwhile investment for the hobby and to avoid wasting time.

The spec for comparison is called 'sensitivity'. For example, functionally, the FT-270R with a 'gain' antenna in the RR band compares well with an older Uniden M1000 (??) with a 5/8 wave antenna. The Uniden was said to have 0.2 microvolt sensitivity which was pretty good in it's day.

*Should add that all these discussions bring up the topic of going 'digital'. That's an important consideration, I don't have any suggestions about that. It could be $200 bucks down the drain, but a good radio would have re-sale value on the HAM market.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/16/14 19:32 by TCnR.

A lot of this has been covered before, so just a brief repeat:

1. The FT-250 and FT-270 are basically upgrades to the VX-150 and VX-170 radios. All 4 essentially use a commercial grade receiver as far as sensitivity, selectivity, and audio output go--they beat any current scanner that I know of in those key features. They are all very good analog radios.

2. Like nearly all amateur radios, they won't do 2.5 kHz tuning steps, so they will not program to the "splinter" AAR channels that are now available in the RR band that, so far as I know, are not in use yet, but could easily be during the life of the 270.

3. As noted, the 270 is not a digital radio, so it is a useless radio for railfanning once the RR's go digital with NXDN. That is likely to be a long time coming on the major RR's, but may start creeping in as time goes on.

If you want the 2.5 kHz steps, you should look at an analog commercial radio. I'm liking the Wouxun KG-UV6X pretty well right now--note that it is a dual-band radio that will receive the EOT frequencies. If you want NXDN capability in a handheld, you are limited to the commercial NXDN Kenwood or IDAS Icom radios.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/16/14 19:58 by WW.

I have a VX-170. Works really great. Like most of the newer ham radios, the program is complicated if you just want to listen. Programming software from RT Systems makes the job a snap. You basically type in the channel and the frequencies and save it to the radio. I was on the Cardinal a few years ago. The conductor was having trouble hearing the dispatcher or someone while I was hearing them quite well. I do have the longer antenna that is mentioned above. The Comet, Diamond, or MFJ antennas are great but they can make a really small radio top heavy. Spend about $20 for the antenna. It's a great and worthwhile upgrade.

John

Although it has been years since my HX1000 died, my Yaesu FT-270R seems to closest match the HX1000's sensitivity. The FT-270R can sometimes be overloaded by a strong (example - being very close to a government NOAA weather antenna broadcasting on 162.400) signal. I am using a Smiley Antenna 5/8 commercial handheld antenna peaked for 160 megahertz. It is about nine inches long and does an excellent job. Even better, you can purchase one with the SMA mount instead of having to get a SMA to BNC mount adapter if you bought an antenna with a BNC mount. As the others have said, the software for the FT-270R is almost a necessity.
Bob



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/17/14 18:00 by refarkas.

refarkas Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>>snip<<
I am using a Smiley Antenna 5/8 wave commercial handheld antenna peaked for
160 megahertz. It is about nine inches long and does an excellent job.
Bob
<<snip>>

The 5/8 designation of the "Smiley Antenna" is a model number, not an electrical
description of the antenna.

A 5/8ths wavelength antenna for the RR band would be about 44" long, less base
loading coil.

Be Well,

Tim Colbert K3HX



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/17/14 08:34 by K3HX.

Will join the chorus over antennas... Have got the Smiley tuned for 160 and the Diamond SRH77CA... I like the Diamond the best... The problem is that it's about 17 or so inches long.... The Smiley is a "rubber duck"...
Link here: http://www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/diamond-srh77ca-4983.html

leroy

I've used an HX1000 since 1983, have a few of them yet and still keep them charged up and handy. As you know, the HX is slamdunk easy to use, has good sensitivity and new battery packs on eBay now last upwards of 24 hours continuous use on each charge. A mobile speaker plugged into the ear jack gives good volume in the car with the windows rolled up, not so good on a fast chase with the windows down. The tendency to black screen will usually halt if you avoid temperature extremes and too much sunlight. I've had a few with partial black for years and they have not worsened at all. And it's hard to make an HX quit, they keep going if you treat them OK, though they might drift off freq with the years and need realignment. No, they don't do narrowband splinter freqs, but the wide selectivity means you can still hear ok in a pinch. In Northern Cal, no railroads have gone with the new freqs, so maybe we'll get some use out of the old equipt for awhile yet. Someday we'll have to replace it with something new, of course.

Also use the Icom 32at which is very good on the railbands, VHF and UHF both, has better volume in the car, is pretty intermod proof, and just won't die. I've compared it to commercial radios over the years and it hears almost just as well. Won't do narrowband, so the volume is a bit lower now, so I'm looking into a HT1250 other more recent commercial handheld.

The VX170 I like for the volume level using the speaker/mic and, being reasonably waterproof (nothing really is), it still works great when fishing and after one stumbles on a rock and it goes in the drink ! The VX also has good sensitivity, but for ease of use cannot beat the HX. Using a Smiley 2/70 dualband telescopic on it.

I like the Diamond RH77CA also, it beats most other antennas in the non-telescopic class. However, don't drop the radio too hard with the antenna on. One drop on Donner in 2012 and the antenna broke clean off at the connector. So I use the Smiley VHF duck when hiking the tracks, it can take a good beating, but make sure the whip is securely screwed onto the connector - they have a tendency to come loose and I've already lost one whip that way.

Tim, thanks for clarifying the 5/8 as a model number. I am sorry for any confusion my post may have caused. I'll edit it after posting this.
Bob



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/17/14 18:03 by refarkas.

What kind of digital are the railroads going to? I know I had to buy a new
scanner for my local FD when they went to APCO P25 Phase II AKA 2 slot TDMA. It would
be really nice if they went to the same modulation scheme.

EDIT: Never mind Wikipedia to the rescue. From what I read on Wikipedia it's
FDMA, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NXDN. If this is the same FDMA the
NJSP, APCO P25 Phase I, use my old Uniden BC796D handles it no problem.

The article goes on to say TDMA and CDMA could also be used. If memory serves me
right CDMA is what Verizon uses in it's older cell phone technology.

And also according to the Wikipedia article it looks like the more common radio
manufacturers to market are Icom and Kenwood and their equipment is strictly
in the commercial market. I really can't see a piece of Amateur Radio equipment
being marketed for FDMA, TDMA or CDMA. just my opoinion though.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/09/14 09:23 by nr2d.

NO SCANNER CURRENTLY MANUFACTURED WILL DECODE NXDN. End of story, until such time as the scanner manufacturers decide to build an NXDN-capable scanner. From what I can ascertain, that won't be happening anytime soon.