I found the receiver in the ft450 a bit noisy, but that was more than likely 
due to the antennas on the top of the radio shop building in an industrial 
area of the city where there's lots and lots of QRM.
also, the filters and AGC may not have been set properly to dim down the 
noise level.
beyond that, the brief 5 minutes i had with the ft450 impressed me.  the 
front panel is nicely layed out, it's compact, it speaks freq signal and 
mode right out of the box without any need to access menus or install a 
voice chip, at least that's what I thought since the owner of the radio shop 
didn't even know that feature was in the radio until I asked him to check.
it's no less accessible than the IC7000 or some of the kenwood rigs.
And, if you can get through the manual, one can most likely memorize key 
sequences and so on and set menu items without sighted assistance.
most of what you are going to set in the menu will have a marked result on 
the radio, so you can usually tell if you've accomplished what you need 
to...and there's always a reset feature to bring things back to default.

73
Colin, V A6BKX
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael Ryan" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, March 31, 2010 7:06 AM
Subject: Re...


> Hi colin:=20
>
> I have ordered my Yaesu FT-450AT and it should arrive sometime this =
> week.=20
> I know Yaesu has taken a beeting on this list but I think the new =
> compact Icomms, don't permit blind accessibility to adjust the RF power =
> out.=20
> The 450, you can. You have to set your select dial to access that =
> function, which will take some sighted assistance but once done, you =
> can.=20
> Plus with the advance of software, almost any rig is blind accessible, =
> FREQ announcement, S-9 announcement and Mode. It's to bad the menus =
> aren't announced like in the KWs.=20
> Icomm is also coming out with a 746PRO replacement, the 9100 or =
> something like that but I'm guessing that will be a 2K+ rig. I can see =
> KW's new HF be like you said, competing with the 7600/FT-2000, making a =
> 3K+.=20
> I'll certainly post as I shake down the 450. It might be the best bang =
> for the 1Ks.=20
>
> 73:=20
>
> Michael DE VO1RYN=20